GMO's - It's Not Cross-Breeding - It's More Like Brundlefly Meets the Bionic Man

The last time I wrote to you all, I introduced you to GMO's (or Genetically Modified Organisms - read "foods").  I talked about the grape that was made stronger with the addition of worm DNA and the soybeans that contained Brazil nuts.  And I also mentioned that Monsanto created something called RR (or Round-Up Ready) seeds, which make Corn, Soy, Canola, and Alfalfa resistant to the weed killer (Round up) that kills the weeds that may threaten to choke them out of existence.  One of the unforeseen by-products of this, however, has been that RR Canola, Alfalfa, etc. can spread its seeds to weeds that are genetically similar to the original crop, creating - you guessed it - Superweeds!  Weeds that can not be killed with conventional herbicides.  Ooooops!   And I mentioned that organic farmers have had a problem with the RR pollen getting into their fields and contaminating their produce, rendering them unable to call their produce "organic" anymore.  Moreover, and you are going to love this one, Monsanto sued some of these farmers for "using their RR seeds without having paid for it".  Can you guess who won? 

Right now, no labeling is required in the U.S.  for GM foods.  In the European Union and other parts of the world, all food and any ingredients directly produced from a GMO must be labeled.  And some countries will not buy crops from U.S. farmers that have been genetically modified.  Organic foods do carry labels saying their foods are free of GM ingredients.  But the FDA and USDA are fighting the labeling of GM foods even for them because they fear it will give people the impression that the labeled food is in some way "different".  Duh???  In fact, the US pro-GM pressure group AgBioWorld has argued that GM foods have been proven safe.  Really?  How do they know?

Genetically modified foods are not the result of cross-breeding, like when you mate a horse with a donkey and get a mule.  Or when you cross a cocker spaniel with a poodle to get a cockerpoo.  This is more like Jeff Goldblum's character in the movie, "The Fly" - where the combining of the genetic material of Goldblum's character, Brundle, was mixed with that of a fly creating what he referred to as Brundlefly.  And, if you've seen the movie, you know how well that turned out!  In the case of Round-Up Ready crops, it's more like "The Bionic Man", where human tissue was combined with steel and other metalic alloys to create a superman of sorts. 

Why did I lump this topic together with those pertaining to cancer prevention?  I don't know about you, but if Round-Up is in the seeds of most of this nation's conventional corn, canola, soy, and alfalfa, I think there is some chance that it could end up in my system, too, doing God knows what to my body.  My youngest son, always the optimist, said, "Well, what if it turns out to be good for us?  Like the cure to cancer or something?"  I think that's a sweet thought, but as for me, Antioxidants and Organics, here I come!

(Sources:  "Supreme Court Lifts Ban on Planting GM Alfalfa", New York Times, June 21, 1010;  Los Angeles Times, 4/20/10; Plus check out the site posted on my FB wall by a friend pertaining to RR Alfalfa,  January, 2011)