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Top 10 reasons to label genetically engineered foods
Ronnie Cummings, Director of the Organic Consumer Association
HUFFINGTON POST, July 26, 2010
1. A threat to life: The Convention on Biodiversity recognizes that genetic engineering is a threat to amount and variety of life on the planet.
2. They're unhealthy: Scientists reviewing data from Monsanto's own studies "have proven that genetically engineered foods are neither sufficiently healthy or proper to be commercialized."
3. Allergens: Biotech's scattershot technique of spraying plant cells with a buckshot of foreign genes that hit chromosomes in random spots would trigger the expression of new allergens and change the character of plant proteins.
4. The dairy's different: Milk and dairy products from cows injected with genetically engineered growth hormones are different from conventional and organic milk and dairy products.
5. Birth defects: The third generation of hamsters fed genetically engineered soy suffered slower growth, a high mortality rate, and a bizarre birth defect: fur growing in their mouths. Many also lost the ability to have pups.
6. It makes a difference: Animals fed genetically engineered feed are different from animals fed conventional and organic feed.
7. Gene transfer: A single serving of genetically engineered soy can result in horizontal gene transfer, where the bacteria in the human gut adopts the soy's DNA.
8. They're different: Genetically engineered foods are different from conventional and organic foods.
9.Testing: Genetically engineered foods have not been tested to determine whether they are safe for human consumption.
10. They're everywhere: Almost all non-organic processed food and animal products in the U.S. today contain ingredients that come from genetically engineered crops or from animals given genetically engineered feed, vaccines or growth hormones.
Full Slideshow on HuffingtonPost.com
Take action now and support legislation to establish mandatory labeling, prohibit open-air cultivation, and ensure protection for farmers and ranchers impacted by GMO contamination!
