Genetically altered to withstand heavy applications of toxic chemicals, resist disease or contain more nutrients, so-called “Frankenfoods”
are appearing on supermarket shelves at a rapid rate. Currently,
genetically modified (GM) corn and soy can be found in many processed
foods, and the produce section may contain GM zucchini, corn on the cob
and papaya. But beyond those that have already been approved for human
consumption, many more GMOs are on the way – and they probably won’t be labeled.
These 20 crops and animal products include both those that are already
available (whether we like it or not) and some that are still in
development, like cows that produce human breast milk.
Corn
If
you eat any kind of processed food on a regular basis – tortilla
chips, cereal, granola bars – chances are, you consume genetically
modified corn. The Center for Food Safety
estimates that over 70% of the processed foods in American grocery
stores contain genetically modified corn or soy. Corn is altered to
contain proteins that kill insects that eat them, so they effectively
produce their own pesticides.
Rice
Rice plants are often modified
to be resistant to herbicides and pests, to increase grain size and to
generate nutrients that don’t exist in the grain naturally. Varieties
include Bayer’s herbicide-resistant “LibertyLink” rice, vitamin
A-infused “golden rice” and the bizarre Ventria Bioscience “Express Tec”
rice, which has been altered to contain human proteins naturally found
in breast milk. The latter is used globally in infant formula.
Tomatoes
Among
the first foods to be genetically altered, GM tomatoes have been
developed to be unnaturally high in anti-oxidants, to have more intense
flavor and to stay fresh longer.
While there are not currently any genetically modified tomatoes on
store shelves, they’re being used extensively by scientists to study the
function of genes that are naturally present in the plants.
Soybeans
The
most common genetically engineered food of all is the soybean. Since
1996, scientists have been creating varieties of soybeans that are
resistant to both pests and herbicides, and they wind up in places you’d
least expect them, like candy bars. A new GM soybean with higher
levels of healthy oils was approved by the USDA in 2010; chemical
companies DuPont and Monsanto are both working on their own versions of the biotech bean.
Cotton
We
don’t think of cotton as a food, and technically it isn’t – but we
still end up eating it. Cotton isn’t classified as a food crop, so
farmers can use any chemicals they want when growing it. That means
cottonseed oil, which is present in products like mayonnaise and salad
dressing, can be packed full of pesticides.
Along with soy, corn and canola, cotton grown for oil extraction is
one of the most frequently genetically modified crops in the world.
Canola Oil
Canola,
a cultivar of rapeseed, produces one of the most commonly consumed
food oils, and it’s one of America’s biggest cash crops. What you may
not know is that canola stands for “Canadian oil, low acid,” referring
to a variety of rapeseed developed in the 1970s. 80% of the acres of
canola sown in the U.S. are genetically modified, and a 2010 study in North Dakota found that the modified genes of these plants have spread to 80% of wild natural rapeseed plants.
Sugar Beets
Despite the fact that an environmental impact study has yet to be completed, the USDA has announced that farmers may now plant Monsanto’s
Roundup Ready sugar beets, which have been altered to withstand the
company’s herbicide. This decision comes despite a 2010 court order
that prohibited planting the GMO beets until the study was performed.
Sugar beets provide about half of America’s sugar.
Salmon
Salmon may become the first genetically modified animal to be approved for direct human consumption. The FDA has decided
that a variety of GM salmon that grow twice as fast as their natural,
un-modified peers is both safe to eat and safe for the environment.
“We’re
looking here at a scenario where the fish might wind up sooner or
later in the ocean,” Brian Ellis, plant biotechnologist at the
University of British Columbia Vancouver, told Discovery News. “I think
if we go down this route, we have to be prepared to accept some
potentially unknown consequences.”
Sugar Cane
Providing
the other half of America’s precious sugar, sugar cane is set to debut
on our shelves in genetically modified form sometime soon. Brazil’s
state-owned agricultural research agency has been hard at work
developing drought-resistant sugar cane that also bears increased
yields for years now, and may have it certified for commercial use
within five years. Australia is also working on its own version.
Papaya
After
the Ringspot Virus nearly destroyed all of Hawaii’s papaya crops, a
new variety was engineered to resist the disease, and it now represents
the majority of the papayas grown in the United States.
“Papaya would be unique in the sense where the industry in Hawaii is dependent on biotech,” says Kevin Richards,
director of regulatory relations for the American Farm Bureau. “What
you have in Hawaii is a very contained, isolated agro-eco system, which
is vulnerable to diseases.”
Potatoes
The first genetically modified food to be approved for cultivation in Europe in over a decade, Amflora potatoes
are currently being grown in Sweden. High in starch content, the
potatoes are actually meant for use in paper, glues and other commercial
products rather than as food, but that doesn’t mean they won’t end up
affecting the food chain. Nearby farmers worry about their rabbits,
deer, and especially their bees.
Honey
Could genetically modified crops have something to do with the mysterious ailments that are killing honeybee colonies by the billions? Some researchers believe so. A zoologist in Germany found that genes
used to modify rapeseed crops had transferred to bacteria living inside
bees. GMOs are currently considered to be among the possible causes of
Colony Collapse Disorder. And if the genes are causing changes within
the bees, they’re also likely to cause changes to the honey that the
bees produce.
Bananas
After banana crops in Uganda were affected by a bacterial disease that caused the plants to rot, scientists developed a genetically modified variety
that could help alleviate the $500 million annual loss. The ban on GM
crops was waived to make way for the GM version of Uganda’s staple food.
A gene from sweet pepper was inserted into the bananas that make them
resistant to the bacteria. Cultivated bananas have almost no genetic
diversity, so supporters of this decision argue that introducing the GMO
fruits will actually help bananas as a whole.
Zucchini Squash
Zucchini
are among the foods currently on store shelves that are often
genetically modified. The main threats to zucchini harvests are viruses
and fungal infections, and GM zucchini eliminate those problems.
Pork
Pigs are currently being genetically modified for the possibility of producing human organs as early as 2013, but that’s not their only use. Another variety may eventually end up on our plates. A project called “Enviropig”
has inserted genes from mice and E.coli bacteria into pigs to make
them process their food more efficiently, potentially reducing their
environmental impact. The modification allows the pigs to digest
chemicals called phosphates which are present in cereal grains; these
chemicals normally just pass right through a pig’s system where they can
end up in waterways.
Alfalfa
Genetic
modification is making its way into the sprouts on your sandwiches and
salads. The GMO industry demanded that the USDA allow unrestricted
planting of genetically modified alfalfa,
which makes up about 7 percent of U.S. crop fields. Alfalfa is a
prolific pollinator, so it can easily spread to non-GMO alfalfa. USDA
chief Tom Vilsack resisted the idea at first, but in January 2011, he
gave in.
Meat and Eggs
The
importance of that GMO alfalfa decision? It has a huge domino effect
on the entire food chain. Alfalfa is not just grown for edible sprouts,
of course – it’s mainly animal feed. Livestock have been fed
genetically modified grains like corn and soy since 1996, when these
crops were first introduced, and adding alfalfa to the mix will
substantially increase the amount of GMOs that animals like cows,
chickens and pigs take in. Of course, just like all of the other
effects of GMOs, how all of this will pan out for the livestock and for
us is not yet clear.
And direct genetic modification of food animals is in the works, too. Aside from the previously mentioned pigs, animals that are in “laboratory stage” include
cows and goats that can produce milk containing drugs like
antibiotics, and chickens that produce drugs in their egg whites. Under
current FDA rules, GMO meat and dairy won’t need to have special
labels on store shelves, making it extremely difficult to tell what is
modified and what isn’t.
Milk
Aside
from the contamination that may occur when dairy livestock consume
genetically modified feed, GMOs can end up in your milk in other ways,
too. The United States is currently the only nation in the world that
allows milk containing the genetically engineered recombinant bovine
growth hormone (rBGH) to be sold for human consumption. Milk from cows treated with these artificial hormones has been found
to contain lower nutritional value, higher pus content (yes, you read
that correctly) and increased levels of the cancer-causing hormone
IGF-1.
And then there are the cows
that are being genetically engineered to produce human breast milk.
Scientists in China have bred a herd of 300 dairy cows with milk that
resembles the balance of fats and nutrients that are best for human
babies. The researchers believe that this modified cow milk is a
possible substitute for human milk, and could be sold on store shelves
in the future.
Aspartame
How can an artificial substance be genetically modified? Aspartame may seem like an odd addition to this list, but the fact is, Monsanto makes it
using genetically modified bacteria. The bacteria produce the amino
acid phenylalanine, which, when combined with aspartic acid, creates the
faux sweetener.Source: http://gmodangers.blogspot.com/2012/06/20-gmo-crops.html
