Genetically Modified food has become very common in the United States, and most people eat products containing these substances daily – about 70% of processed food in the U.S. have a minimum of one ingredient that is GM.
How do YOU feel about ingesting so many GMO’s?
I don’t think many of us are very excited about the prospect of eating Frankenfoods, but it doesn’t seem to have impacted the sales of junk food! And while we have been eating these types of foods for 20 years or so, there really hasn’t been much research showing what kind of impacts we have from their consumption.
Europe has been pretty strict in banning genetically modified food which has resulted in delay in a free-trade agreement between the United States and Europe.
[box type=”info” align=”alignleft” ]Currently there is no requirement for labeling on GM food, although Connecticut and Maine have both recently passed laws on labeling, and another 20 states are queued up to do the same.[/box]
If you are concerned about eating these types of foods and what they may do for your health, you can avoid them by only purchasing food that is labeled “100% organic,” as they can only be labeled in that way if it has been modified in any way.
However, if it just says “organic” it could contain up to 30% GMs.
So while we don’t have enough information to know for sure whether GMOs are safe, here are a few things to think about:
1. Scientific American has reported that we have saved 473 million kilograms of pesticides by using genetic engineering, while increasing production by more than $98 billion.
2. Scientists are trying to incorporate nutrients into foods to help combat malnutrition, like the “golden rice” spliced with beta-carotene.
3. In order to produce enough food for the world’s population, expected to reach 9 billion by 2050, genetic engineering will need to help combat droughts.
Read more about GMOs on health.am:
Can GMOs be good for you? 7 surprising truths about the frankenfoods we feed our kids.