G is for GMO

Simple, Practical, Science-Based Tips for a Long Healthy Life

A reader asked us to clear the confusion on GMOs so today’s G is for GMO.

 First, a quick quiz. Which of the following are grown using genetically modified organisms or GMO?

• Seedless watermelon
• Pink strawberries
• Grape tomatoes
• Honeycrisp Apples

Correct answer? None of the above. All are grown using traditional breeding techniques that farmers have been using for thousands of years to improve crops, including taste and consumer demand (hello, seedless watermelon!) The Honeycrisp apple, one of the most popular varieties, was developed by the University of Minnesota by traditional breeding by crossing two apple varieties selected for sweetness, firmness, tartness and shelf life.

GMOs are an extension of traditional breeding using a more precise and rapid tool. Breeders can identify a desirable trait (say, a drought tolerant corn or a disease resistant papaya) and take a trait from one plant and add it to another. GMO crops were created to protect against insect damage, allowing reduced need for pesticides, to improve tolerance to drought, to enable plants to resist diseases, to improve nutritional quality, and reduce food waste. The most compelling example is the papaya. The entire Hawaiian papaya industry was on the brink of extinction from a nasty virus. GMO technology was utilized to save the papaya and today over 90% of fruit is GM. (For a closer look at this example, click here.)

What GMOs are and what they are not

GMO is a lousy name…genetics, modified, organisim….no wonder people are so afraid of crops using this technique. But did you know that insulin is produced using GMOs? Forty years ago, it was controversial but now it is the industry standard insulin and has replaced the use of pig or beef pancreas (the organ where insulin is made) and is a purer, less expensive way to get the life-saving drug to those with diabetes.

There are only there are only 10 commercially available GM crops in the U.S.: alfalfa, apples (known as Arctic Apples and sold has pre-cut slices), canola, corn (field and sweet), cotton, papaya, potatoes (a variety called “Innate Potatoes”) soybeans, squash and sugar beets. Crops, like alfalfa, field corn and soy are used for livestock feed. Other uses for these crops include common food ingredients, such as sugar, canola oil, cornstarch, and soy lecithin. If someone tells you to eat only non-GMO strawberries, remind them there is no such thing.

Indeed, the non-GMO verification project reports that about 60,000 foods are “verified” as containing no GMOs and sales of foods with the logo top $40 billion. The website for the verification claims, “there is no scientific consensus on the safety of GMOs” and that isn’t true. Scientific authorities throughout the world have analyzed thousands of research studies and concluded that GMO food crops do not pose any more risks to people, animals or the environment than any other foods.

In fact, a recent paper showed that genetically modified crops (since their first widespread commercial use 22 years ago) have reduced pesticide spraying by “775.4 million kg (8.3%) and, as a result, decreased the environmental impact associated with herbicide and insecticide use on these crops by 18.5%. The technology has also facilitated important cuts in fuel use and tillage changes, resulting in a significant reduction in the release of greenhouse gas emissions from the GM cropping area. In 2018, this was equivalent to removing 15.27 million cars from the roads.”

What It Means For You?

• GMO-free is not a health claim.
• GMO foods have been grown for over 20 years and proved to be safe.
• Don’t waste money on products that have never been and will never be genetically modified, like GMO-free water or GMO-free salt (same goes for GMO-free cat litter and yes, it exists!).
• Sometimes the terms “Bioengineering,” “Genetically Modified Organism,” “GMO,” and “Genetic Engineering,” are used interchangeably for marketing purposes.
• A bioengineered food disclosure is a marketing label, and does not convey any information about the health, safety, or environmental attributes of bioengineered food as compared to non-bioengineered counterparts, according to the National Bioengineered Food Disclosure Law.
• This law requires foods that contain any genetically modified ingredients, including GMOs, to be disclosed on the label. If you are not convinced that the foods are safe, look for this symbol instead of non-GMO verified.

Our next post? O is for Omega 3s! Keep reading.

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