Strictly Nutritious: insect resistant crops

Wednesday, July 17, 2013

Understanding GMOs: Part 4

Image via prevention.com

BY: SHANNA WAHLQUIST, CONTRIBUTOR

Welcome to Part 4 of our "Understanding GMOs" Series. So far we've discussed what GMOs are, how they are created, why they were created in the first place, where they are in our food supply, and how they are related to disease (so nothing all that much, really... wink, wink). The next few weeks are going to blow your mind so buckle up, baby! You are in for a ride!

Ok, these past few weeks have been a bit unsettling, and now I'm getting a little disturbed by this whole GMO story. Tell me about Insect Resistant (IR) GMOs.

Crops that are engineered to be insect resistant have sections of DNA from a bacteria called Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) inserted into the DNA of plant cells. This line of bacteria (which has thousands of strains) produces proteins that are toxic to insect pests; therefore, different strains of Bt can be selected depending on the insect pest being targeted. Each cell in the GM plant produces Bt toxins, meaning quite literally that your crop is now an “insecticide plant” too! Get it? If it’s a tomato plant producing Bt toxin then it’s now an industrial plant at the same time!

Ok….maybe it’s not that funny...

Anyway, back to the point…. When the plant is eaten by the target insect pest, the toxins bind to receptors in its gut, causing the gut wall to break down and allowing spores and bacteria to infiltrate the blood stream. As the spores and bacteria multiply in the body, the insect dies. Voila! Don’t come back now, you hear!?!

Image via permaculturenews.org

But wait….if we eat the plants that are now making the toxin (either directly or indirectly from the foods we eat), AND we have a variety of receptors in our gut too, then what? Oh wait – there are no long term studies from the biotech companies telling us what happens! Oh boy! You can see what that might lead to, right?

Hmmmm, I’m confused. How safe is Bt toxin for humans?

Bt proteins contain a segment which tests positive when undergoing the type of allergen testing recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO). Studies show the Bt toxins (aka. Bt proteins) survive digestion in humans, which allows them to destroy the lining of our stomachs.

Hmmm…don’t we need the lining of our stomach to, oh, I don’t know... function properly??

In animal studies of mice eating Bt corn, there was an increase in infertility, a decrease in birthweight, and prevalent/evident liver and kidney toxicity. Also present were indicators for blood pressure problems, anemia, and infection based on circulating components within the immune system! Oh, and these were all findings of a Monsanto study that only became public after a lawsuit! WHAT?! You’ve got to be kidding me, right!!??!?!??!?

Image via npr.org

It gets worse, my friends…

In farmworkers, it is critical to note the significance of itchy wounds experienced by Bt corn field workers! Not only that, but farmworkers started expressing an immune response to the Bt toxin. Having an allergic reaction to bacteria is very rare - it’s only seen in a few lines. Bt is apparently one of them. Not only are itchy rashes prevalent, but so are respiratory, eye and skin reactions. Skin prick tests done even 4 months after exposure showed elevated IgG and IgE levels.

In fact, in 2001 The EPA’s own Scientific Advisory Panel suggested that Bt-toxins may be allergenic:

Mouse and farm worker studies…“Suggest that Bt proteins could act as

antigenic and allergenic sources. … Only surveillance and clinical assessment of

exposed individuals will confirm the allergenicity of Bt products.”

But the EPA has not yet changed their regulations or assumptions on how they regulate pesticide-producing crops.

Several other animal studies (sheep, cow, goat, buffalo, etc.) show a litany of horrible symptoms and conditions before “sudden death” after consuming Bt corn and Bt cotton, specifically. It’s shameful! There are even indicators that the Bt toxin kills rumen bacteria (uh oh... we are back to gut health issues with this one!).

One last important study to note for today: In a study of rats fed GMO-potatoes vs. non-GMO potatoes laced with insecticide (the same insecticide the GMO-potatoes were engineered to produce), it was found that the rats fed the non-GMO potatoes had no symptoms. However, rats fed the GMO-potatoes were discovered to have developed potentially precancerous cell growth in the digestive tract, smaller brains, livers and testicles, partial atrophy of the liver and damaged immune systems. This demonstrates that if the insecticide itself didn't damage the rats, then the damage was most likely linked to the process of genetically engineering the insecticide to be produced in the plants.

Image from facebook.com via Pangea Organics

What are some of the environmental concerns of the Bt toxin GMOs? Are there impacts on the soil?

Here's a quick peek at the environmentally-relevant insecticide issue from a 2010 European Study:

“Although the use of Bt crops reduced the amount of chemical insecticide sprayed

by 124 million pounds over the first 16 years, the Bt plants themselves produce far more insecticides

per acre than they have displaced. For treatment of the European corn borer, the GM crops produce up to 5 times the amount of toxin in each field. For treatment of root worm, the GM varieties

produce up to 13 times the amount of toxin per field.“

IF we designed insect resistant crops to eliminate the need to use environment-damaging insecticides on our crops, BUT THEN the crops themselves produce MORE insecticides than we previously used, WELL THEN that kind of defeats the purpose, right?

Here's a quick summary of the pro's and con's of Insect Resistant GMOs:

Pro’s: I’ll need to get back to you on this one…

Con’s: There's a plethora of evidence linking insect resistant GMOs to a variety of illnesses, infections, allergies, disease states, deaths and significant environmental pollution.

So, who wants to eat Insect Resistant GMOs? Not me!! You?

Next week we will dive into the mind-boggling world of herbicide resistant GMOs! If today didn’t phase you, Part 5 will surely do the job!

References for this series:

1 http://people.csail.mit.edu/seneff/glyphosate/glyphosate.html

2 "Genetically Modified Organisms and the deterioration of health in the United States” N.L. Swanson, 4/24/2013, Seattle Examiner.com

3 A Samsel and S. Senef Glyphosate’s Suppression of Cytochrome P450 Enzymes and Amino Acid Biosynthesis by the Gut Microbiome: Pathways to Modern Diseases. http://www.mdpi.com/1099-4300/15/4/1416

4 http://people.csail.mit.edu/seneff/

5 http://vimeo.com/65914121

6 http://www.responsibletechnology.org/resources/powerpoint-presentation-on-gmos

7 V. E. Prescott, et al, “Transgenic Expression of Bean r-Amylase Inhibitor in Peas Results in Altered Structure and Immunogenicity,” Journal of Agricultural Food Chemistry (2005): 53

Shanna Wahlquist is a Certified Holistic Health Coach specializing in empowering women to adopt a sustainable and healthy lifestyle without “dieting” or feeling deprived, and supporting them in balancing their gut-mind-body relationship, which she believes is the foundation of every chronic disease and ailment. She is the mother of two toddlers, ages 4 and 2.5 years old; her happy place is in the ocean surf, and her guilty pleasure is red wine – especially if it involves a limo with a group of friends! Shanna found her path to holistic healing after discovering the benefits of vegetable juicing in February 2012, a journey inspired by her desperation to discover the cause of the sudden onset of recurrent chronic respiratory illnesses suffered by her children. She used that experience as a launchpad for a career change and ended up discovering her true authentic self and life’s purpose. She’s always had a passion for science, food, healing and stewardship, and has created a business where she can enjoy them all simultaneously while making a difference in the lives of her family, friends, clients and community. You can find her on facebook at “NourishingMySoul”, her blog at www.shannawahlquist.wordpress.com or her website, www.shannawahlquist.com.

Wednesday, June 26, 2013

Understanding GMOs: Part 2

Image via anh-usa.org

BY: SHANNA WAHLQUIST, CONTRIBUTOR

Welcome to Part 2 of our GMO series. Last week we discussed what GMOs are, how they are created, and how the creation process is different from natural selection. This week we are focusing on how GMOs are regulated and how they got into our food supply to begin with.

How are GM crops regulated for consumer safety?

Great question! GM crops aren’t subject to safety standards or government regulation standards! Say what!?! How is a food product not subject to safety regulations?? Unfortunately, science and common sense were somehow blindsided in the early 90’s when the FDA issued a “Statement of Policy” supporting Monsanto’s claims that the technology used to create GMOs was no different than hybridization, which is why they do not have to rigorously test their products for safety before putting them on the market. In Europe, the burden of proof is on the company to prove their products are safe, but in the U.S. the burden is placed on the government to ensure safety. In the case of GM food products, something interesting happened, these biotech companies were given a hall pass and currently do not have to prove anything!! Crazy, right? Here is the FDA statement that made this possible, excerpted and explained from Genetic Roulette by Jeffrey Smith:

May 29, 1992 “Statement of Policy”:

“The agency is not aware of any information showing that foods derived by these new methods differ from other foods in any meaningful or uniform way.”

Image via santacruz.com

Wait a second – didn’t we say in last week's post that there were memos from FDA experts reporting the opposite? That they ARE different and that there are different risks? The answer is YES! This argument is documented in several memos and documents; yet, this 1992 statement resulted in the final policy. It should make you wonder WHY they made a policy supporting the opposite. Below is an excerpt explaining how this simple Statement of Policy has changed our food system in a precarious way:

“This sentence in the 1992 FDA policy, which still stands today, is the reason why GM crops are on the market. On the basis of this statement, the FDA said no safety testing was necessary. If Monsanto or the other biotech food companies say their foods are safe, the FDA has no further questions…..”

Say what?! I’ll leave it to you to dig deeper, but the information is out there on who let this happen, as well as their affiliation with GMO biotech giants. Remember, this isn’t a political post, but now you are in "the know". Go fish!

I’m dying to know – why GMO? How did GM food crops get started in the first place? How prevalent are they today in our food supply?

GMOs began in the late 80’s in an effort to create tobacco plants that were resistant to herbicides. They were later made insect resistant too. As of August 2012, the FDA had approved 144 different GMO crops that are either allowed for human consumption or for animal feed. You can find a list here to break it down:

http://www.fda.gov/Food/FoodScienceResearch/Biotechnology/Submissions/default.htm

GE Crop	# of FDA approvals	Food Product	Other Uses
Alfalfa	1	Seeds, sprouts, leaf meal used for fortifying baby food and other special diet foods	Animal feed
Canola (rapeseed)	17	Cooking oil, mayonnaise, salad dressing	Animal feed
Cantaloupe	1	Cantaloupe
Cotton	22	Cottonseed oil for fried foods	Cloth, animal feed
Flax	1	Oil as a supplement, meal added to grain products	Animal feed, cloth
Corn (maize)	38	Cooking oil, corn products, corn, corn syrup	Animal feed
Papaya	2	Papaya, juice
Plum	1	Plum, jelly, jam, canned plums
Potato	28	Potato, potato chips, flour	Animal feed
Radicchio	1	radicchio
Rice	2	Rice, crackers, cereal, flour	Animal feed
Soybean	17	Cooking oil, tofu, soy sauce, lecithin, soy nuts, soy milk, infant formula, cereal products, flour, soy protein, mayonnaise, salad dressing	Animal feed
Squash	2	squash
Sugar beet	3	Anything that contains beet sugar	Animal feed
Tomato	7	Tomato, tomato sauce, paste, ketchup, canned tomato

Wheat	1	Flour
Source: FDA: Completed consultations on bioengineered foods

A recent report from the USDA shows approximately 93% of our soy, 88% of our corn, and 94% of our cotton in the US was genetically engineered. In comparison, when the crops were first being introduced to the market in 1996, less than 10% of soy, 20% of corn, and 10% of cotton was genetically engineered. That’s a HUGE shift! While not all of these crops are approved for human consumption, many are, and the ones designed for animal feed still get into our food supply by way of meat, eggs, milk and mild products. We eat what our food eats (you are what you eat…you get the gist).

Image via oregonculinaryinstitute.com

A final key point I want to leave you with - Not only are GMOs present in our food supply both directly and indirectly, but GMO animal feed changes the quality of the animal's tissue. Grain fed cattle have higher concentrations of omega-6 and omega-9 fatty acids in their tissue, opposed to the higher quality, essential omega-3 oils found in grass fed cattle. Let me explain why this is important - our cell membranes are made up of omega-3 fatty acids. When we don’t have enough, alternative fats are used in the cell membrane, resulting in molecules (such as neurotransmitters) being unable to attach to their receptor sites. Can you see how that would be REALLY, really bad? Even if your blood work does not show you as being deficient in the molecule, the fact of the matter is that if the molecule can’t get into the cell, you’ll be deficient regardless (and some pathway for disease will be triggered over time). So when I say GMOs negatively impact us at the cellular level, this is exactly what I'm talking about!

Next week, we'll look at the types of GMOs out there, their relation to disease, and how they impact the health of our children. The data is out there – it’s just not mainstream yet. That's where I come in!