American Worry Growing Over Organic Crops Contaminated With Genetically Engineered Seeds

Graphic courtesy of Oregon State University.

In an effort to eat as healthy as possible, many of us have turned to buying an increasing number of products labeled as organic, whether they’re meat, dairy, fruits, vegetables, grains, and so on. The question is: Are we always getting the quality of product that we’re expecting?

“Unsuspecting consumers by the tens of millions are being allowed to purchase and consume unlabeled genetically engineered foods, despite a finding by U.S. Food and Drug Administration scientists that these food could pose serious risks,” according to the Center for Food Safety.

“New genetically engineered crops are being approved by federal agencies despite admissions that they will contaminate native and conventional crops and pose other significant new environmental threats,” adds the CFS.

In February, Consumer Union, the non-profit publisher of Consumer Reports, released the results of a national telephone poll finding that, “A majority of respondents (58 percent) expressed some level of concern with contamination of organic food crops by genetic engineering.”

Roughly half of respondents said that they buy organic foods, like meat or dairy products. In the poll, those most likely to buy organics were:

• Women (57 percent).
• Individuals ages 18 to 34 (60 percent).
• Residents of the Western United States (60 percent).

Now some might ask what is the concern about eating products containing genetically engineered genes. Research from Medline Plus finds “concerns that the genes from one food that are inserted into another food may cause an allergic reaction. For instance, if peanuts genes are in tomatoes, could someone with a peanut allergy react to the tomatoes?”

Image courtesy of Sott.net.

The Institute of Medicine of the National Academies published a report in July 2004, which similarly found that, “Foods, whether or not they are genetically engineered, carry potentially hazardous substances that must be assessed for safety. Breeding and other alteration methods can sometimes increase the levels of hazardous substances.

“For example, celery plants with elevated levels of psoralens suffer less damage from disease and insects and appeal to more consumers, and therefore have been selectively bred. Unfortunately, workers who harvested high psoralen-producing celery or packed it in grocery stores had on occasion, developed severe skin rashes, especially if they were exposed to bright sunlight.”

The Institute added that, “Foods that are new to humans, whether conventionally bred or genetically engineered, can also create health issues.

Medline finds other potential risks involved in genetic engineering, including that:

• Plants may be less resistant to some pests and more susceptible to others.
• Modified organisms may interbred with natural organisms and out-compete them, leading to extinction of the original organism or to other unpredictable environmental effects.

Now the question might be asked: How is it possible for genetically engineered crops to get accidentally mixed in with conventional or organic crops?

The CFS explains that, “One way the persistence of engineered genes or transgenes can occur is by spreading into sexually compatible wild relatives of crops. This process is known as gene flow.

Creeping bentgrass. Photo from uspest.org.

“Concerns about gene flow from genetically engineered field trials to wild plants recently gained new urgency with the discovery that an herbicide resistant gene had spread via pollination into wild creeping bentgrass plants (some species of which are used for lawns, athletic fields, and golf courses) in Oregon.”

In this situation, the issue of concern is that there are now wild weeds that are resistant to herbicides. Among the CFS’s recommendations to the U.S. Department of Agriculture is that it “should immediately evaluate and strengthen confinement requirements for crops that have wild relatives in the U.S.”

While there are many dangerous to creating genetically engineered crops, there are also some benefits. Medline finds that the “potential benefits” of these types of foods include:

• More nutritious foods.
• Decreased use of pesticides.
• Increased supply of food with reduced costs and longer shelf life.
• Disease and drought resistant plants that require fewer environmental resources (water, fertilizer, etc.).

Medline research currents finds that, “Genetically engineered foods are generally regarded as safe. There has been no adequate testing, however, to ensure complete safety. There are no reports of illness or injury due to genetically engineered foods. Each new genetically engineered food will have to be judged individually.”

Reader comments and input are always welcomed!