Fishy Strawberries, Super-Salmon? What’s in Your Food?
A call for consumers to demand labeling for GMO in foods in Canada
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| (Image from"The bad food news of 2011) |
by Moonfyre Cardinal
Nov 15, 2010
Do you know much about Genetically Modified foods? Do you
currently eat food products made with GMO’s?
Would you like to know what you are eating and if your strawberries have
been combined with a fish gene to make the fruit more frost tolerant?
Genetically modified food ingredients are available for consumption to
unknowing Canadians because labelling is not mandatory and, without mandatory
labeling requirements, producers are choosing not to volunteer GMO information
in their products leaving us unable to determine if the strawberry we are
eating has been genetically engineered. Why are Canadians not being given the
right to know what foods contain genetically modified ingredients by our Government?
Our Bill of rights states that we have the “Fundamental Freedom of thought,
belief and opinion” (Government of Canada). How can we exercise
this right if crucial information is withheld at the source? In 2005, when 83 % of Canadians were in
favour of mandatory labeling, our government defeated the passage of a bill
that would have implemented mandatory labeling. (Carter).
There are negative implications in regards to the effect of genetic modified
food ingredients in regards to the environment, our health and to future
generations yet we able to eat GM ingredients in our food before these
questions have been answered.
Genetically Modified Organisms and genetic engineering has a
number of contentious issues surrounding it, not the least of which is their
potential impact to the environment. As
more genetically engineered crops are being planted, the potential for cross
contamination is no longer a ‘what-if’ situation. GM crops have been proven to
cross pollinate with non GM crops, endangering native plant species. The U.S.
Department of Energy Genome Programs suggest that this can contribute to the
loss of biodiversity and that it has “unknown effects on other organisms” (U.S. Department of Energy Genome Programs). Other environment
effects include a decrease in the effectiveness of current pesticides and herbicides
through increased resistance and cross pollination (Whitman). However, it is not
only plant products that are being genetically modified, recently GM Salmon was
presented to the American Food and Drug Agency for approval for sale and public
consumption. The decision by the FDA was
stalled due to controversy surrounding its safety (Leo Broderick). With the genetic modification of
animals for food comes a host of concerns and controversies such as the
potential environmental impact on non-GM animals. In the case of the GM Salmon, a frightening
fact is that without mandatory labeling, we as consumers would never know it
was not the same as its non-GM cousin.
While it may seem like the GMO argument may seem like it is
the stuff out of science fiction, the presence of genetically modified
organisms in Canada’s food supply is much wider spread than one might realize. For
example “in Canada, up to 70 per cent of the processed
foods found in grocery stores contain GE ingredients” (GreenPeace). Most of these products have no indication on their labels
that they contain genetically modified ingredients. The Centre for Food Safety in the United
reported that thousands of food items are available to American consumers that
contain genetically modified ingredients without any labeling, even though
there are concerns from doctors and scientists about the safety of these foods
to health and the environment (The Center for Food Safety). When the bill
proposing mandatory labeling was denied, MPs quoted misinformation about GMO’s
gathered from corporately sponsored associations ,with an active stake in the
debate to justify their decision to vote against what the majority of their
constitutes demanded. It was claimed
that implementing a mandatory labeling law would cast too much money and would
harm the agricultural industry in Canada (Carter).
Interestingly; the European Union and the Australian Government both have had
strict laws governing the use of GMO’s and mandatory labeling on food items due
to potential safety concerns and health hazards. For instance “the law in
Australia requires that food labels must show if food has been genetically
modified or contains genetically modified ingredients, or whether GM additives
or processing aids remain[…]” (Deakin University Australia). If these governments were able to implement mandatory
labelling without such appalling results as claimed by the MP’s who voted
against mandatory labeling then surely Canada should be able to do the same. The
Canada Food Inspection Agency does have a provision in the laws that govern
Organic foods, that says if a product is labeled “organic” it cannot contain
GMO’s (Government of Canada) but that is the
extent of our ability to determine the presence of GM ingredients when it comes
to labelling. As this suggests if you
cannot afford to buy organic or do not wish to, you have no way of knowing if
you are buying genetically modified foods.
According to experts in the field there
is not a lot of definitive research done on the long term impact of GMO’s on
our environment or our health. However, it is clearly indicated through all the
available research is that there is concern expressed by world governments,
health professionals and environmental experts about the potential impact and
the lack of long term testing prior to GM foods being added to the market. Arpad Pusztai, a pioneer in the research of
the effect of GMO’s on health states,
How can the public make informed
decisions about genetically modified (GM) foods when there is so little information
about its safety? The lack of data is due to a number of reasons, including: […
]Information is scarce about health hazards, such as toxicity in genetically
modified (GM) crops., It’s more difficult to evaluate the safety of
crop-derived foods than individual chemical, drug, or food additives. [… and] Publications
on GM food toxicity are scarce […] In fact, no peer-reviewed publications of
clinical studies on the human health effects of GM food exist. Even animal
studies are few and far between. In conclusion: We need more and better testing
methods before making GM foods available for human consumption.” (Pusztai)
Some
documented health risks include cases of severe allergic reaction which have
been reported after people ate genetically modified soy and corn that was
originally intended for animal feed but somehow made it into the human food
supply chain. Other health issues that may be of concern include the transfer
of antibiotic markers and toxicity over long term exposure. In an often
referenced study of genetically engineered tomatoes that were fed to lab rats,
seven out of forty rats died due to stomache lesions that were contributed to
the genetically modified tomatoes. With
all the concern, potential and documented health issues and lack of long term
study, the consensus in the global scientific community is that more study is
necessary before we can safely and confidently conclude that GMO’s are not
dangerous to our health.
My position on the issue of GMO’s is not to argue whether or
not they are safe for human consumption since there is not enough data to determine
a conclusion at this point. Rather, I believe we, as consumers, need to have
the ability to choose whether or not we wish to eat food products made with
genetically modified ingredients. Labelling needs to be mandatory just as it is
for other common food additives. The Canada Food Inspection Agency says “ […] the components which, if present, must be declared as if they were
ingredients include salt, monosodium glutamate, hydrolyzed plant protein,
aspartame, potassium chloride and any components which perform a function in,
or have an effect on the final food” (Government of Canada). If these items are deemed important enough to be listed on our
food labels, surely GMO’s with untested risks to health and environment should
be included in this list, thereby, giving the consumer the chance to make an
informed decision.
I urge you to do your
own research and come to your own conclusions about whether you wish to eat genetically
modified foods. Until we can convince
the Canadian Government that we have the right to choose what we put into our
bodies there are things we can do. For instance, a number of organizations such
as Greenpeace, have published guidebooks about how to avoid GMO products. Unfortunately it is not an exhaustive list,
nor is it all that current. If you wish
to avoid GMO’s A good rule of thumb is to stick to certified organic food
sources since the labelling laws in Canada state that Organic labeled foods
cannot contain genetically modified material. I believe in our right to know what is
in the food we eat and have written my MP to demand action on this issue. You,
too, can write your MP, create a petition or even call your MP’s office if you
also believe as I do that we should have the ability to freely choose by having
genetically modified ingredients stated on food labels.
Bibliography
Carter, Lauren. "Bill on Labelling
GMOs in Canada Voted Down." 9 May 2008. Celcias. 27 October 2010
.
Cook, Christopher D. "Agricultural
Apocalypse." Cook, Christopher D. Diet
for a Dead Planet. New York: The New York Press, 2004. 7-9.
Deakin University Australia. Genetically Modified Food. February
2010. 27 October 2010 .
Fukuda-Parr, Sakiko. "Introduction:
Genetically Modified Crops and Development Priorities." The Gene Revolution, GM Crops and Unequal
Development. Ed. Sakiko Fuluda-Parr. London: EarthScan, 2007. 4-6,9-12.
Government of
Canada. "Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms." 29 March 1982. Department of Justice. 27
October 2010
.
Government of
Canada. "Chapter 2 - Basic Labelling Requirements." 15 September
2010. Canada Food Inspection Agency.
27 October 2010
.
GreenPeace.
"GMO Shopper's Guide." n.d. GreenPeace.
27 October 2010 .
Leo Broderick, Dr. Michael Hansen, Lucy
Sharratt. "Press Release- Critics slam “Sloppy Science” on GE Fish at FDA
Hearings." 20 Sept 2008. CBAN-
Canadian Biotechnology Action Network. 27 Oct 2010 .
Pusztai, Arpad. Genetically Modified Foods: Are They a Risk to Human/Animal Health? June
2001. 27 October 2010
.
Smith, Jeffery M. Seeds of Deception, Eposing Industry and Government Lies About the
Safety of The Genetically Engineered Foods You're Eating. Fairfeild: Yes!
Books, 2003.
The Center for Food Safety. The Centre for Food Safety. 2008. 27
October 2010 .
The
GMO Trilogy: Unnatural Selection, Hidden Danger Kids' Meals, You're Eating
What? DENKmal-films &
Haifisch films, Yes! Books. 2004, 2005.
Tiberghien, Yves. "Europe; Turning
Against Agricultural Biotechnology in the Late 1990's." The Gene Revolution, GM Crops and Unequal
Development. Ed. Sakiko Fukuda-Parr. London: Earthscan, 2007. 51-65.
U.S. Department
of Energy Genome Programs. Genetically
Modified Foods and Organisms. 5 November 2008. 27 October 2010
.
Whitman, Deborah B. Discovery guides:Genetically Modified Foods: Harmful or Helpful?
April 2000. 27 Octobber 2010.
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