FrankenFood

In last Friday’s e-Alert (“This Week in the HSI e-Alert” 8/16/02) I responded to a question from an HSI member named Bernice about genetically modified corn. Then over the weekend this e-mail came in from a member named David: “Your printing of comments by ‘Bernice’ regarding genetically modified corn made me wonder: why does anyone care if the corn – or any other crop – is genetically modified or not? Under the guidance of the almost totally random effects of evolution, every virus, bacteria, crop, and animal – including ourselves – is constantly being modified from one generation to the next. So what’s the big issue!!”

The issue is three-fold: 1) we don’t yet know what affect these manually modified crops will have on our bodies; 2) you simply don’t know what you’re eating and how your individual system will react to it. (For instance: they cross-bred salmon and strawberries so the latter would freeze less – so if you’re allergic to salmon, you might now have an unexpected and unpleasant reaction to strawberries); and 3) now that modification has begun, it’s impossible to completely control.

On the latter point – as I mentioned in the Friday e-Alert – unmodified crops can become cross pollinated with nearby genetically modified crops. In addition, Aventis CropScience – maker of the first widely used genetically modified corn called StarLink – has admitted that our food supply will never be rid of the new strain.

Meanwhile, the Centers for Disease Control is still studying the effects of genetically modified corn in an investigation of 44 people who reported sickness after eating corn products. The CDC is specifically trying to determine if those who fell ill experienced an allergic reaction from the StarLink corn.

In short, we simply don’t know what we’ve gotten into with genetically modified corn and other crops. They didn’t exist before 1995, and so far there are no human studies to show what, if any, effect they might have on the human body.

So should we rush to embrace genetically modified food? Or should we wait until it’s fully tested? The question is moot because, now that it’s out there, it seems that our opportunity to test first and then proceed with caution has passed.

To Your Good Health,

Jenny Thompson
Health Sciences Institute