Dangers in Genetically Modified Food
A commentary by Rex Sexton
United Church of God Pastor, Olympia and Tacoma, WA
Posted November 12, 2009
 Some
smart chickens are telling us that something foul is in our food supply!
A few months ago Strilli Oppenheimer's chickens refused to eat the
feed she bought from a large supplier.
It was not big news at the time. But now word of the event is spreading
around the world.
Strilli's famous chickens
When Strilli's indigenous African chickens refused the maize, she
took a sample to a testing facility at the University of the Free State
(in South Africa).
The results confirmed what Strilli had suspected. The maize had been genetically
engineered to produce proteins that are toxic to certain weeds and insects.
The Oppenheimer family immediately stopped eating eggs produced by the
chickens and changed the feed to organically grown vegetable sources.
If chickens refuse to eat genetically modified (GM) food, is it safe for
human consumption? Many researchers have serious concerns.
Research results
One well known scientist, Dr. Arpad Pusztai, demonstrated that rats fed
on GM potatoes suffered from a weakened immune system and stunted growth
of their internal organs including the liver, kidneys, and brain. Dr. Pusztai
was fired by the Rowett Research Institute in the UK in 1998 after his
research into the adverse effects of GM foods on humans.
Biowatch director Rose Williams said that there is global concern that
GM products have not been adequately tested in terms of their effect on
people, animals, and the environment. GM food is now being marketed all
over the world despite that fact that very little research has been done
to determine what the consequences might be.
In his book Seeds of Deception, Jeffrey Smith provides an in-depth
overview of the extent of these modified foods. According to his research
you have a 75 percent chance of picking a food with genetically modified
ingredients every time you visit a grocery store. In other words, three
out of four items on the shelves contain genetically modified ingredients.
Culprits and symptoms
The four main culprits are soy, corn, cottonseed, and canola. Common ingredients
that come from these GM sources include maltodextrin, soy lecithin, and
high fructose corn syrup. Other GMO products include milk containing rbGH,
Rennet, and Aspartame. It is shocking how widespread these ingredients
are.
Symptoms in people traced back to GM foods include: severe pain, hair
loss, memory loss, muscle weakness, and skin problems. Smith has documented
that food related illnesses such as allergies doubled between the years
1994 and 2001—the same time that genetically modified foods flooded
the market.
Genetically modified foods are also affecting our farm animals. Farmers
in the United States are reporting sterility or fertility problems among
livestock fed on GM corn. In 2003 Indian farmers reported the deaths of
thousands of sheep and other small livestock after they had grazed on post-harvest
Bt cotton crops. Bt
is a synthentic gene designed to be toxin to the bollworm, a major
cotton pest.
Genetically modified foods reflect a much larger problem—greed in
the marketplace and the powerful drive for profits. The desire for more
and more money can cause producers to overlook the possible adverse effects
that these products could have on consumers.
Helpful guides and advice
If we want to be as smart as Strilli's chickens, what can we do?
Guides—such as The GMO Food Guide—are available to
help concerned consumers with food selection. Having your own vegetable
garden is another way.
Our Creator intended and desires for us to be healthy in spirit, mind,
and body (1 Thessalonians 5:23), but we must do our part in partnership
with Him for that to be a reality. That God wants us to be healthy is also
indicated in the last letter of the Apostle John, "I pray that you
may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you" (3 John
2, New International Version).
As modern nations drift farther and farther away from biblical teachings,
our Creator's warnings through Moses warrant our attention. His words
of caution are: "If you do not obey the LORD your God and do not
carefully follow all his commands and decrees…all these curses will
come upon you and overtake you" (Deuteronomy 28:15, New International
Version). These curses will afflict "your basket and your kneading
trough" and "the crops of your land, the calves of your herds,
and the lambs of your flocks" (verses 17-18, NIV).
By genetically modifying foods created to make us healthy, we also could
be in danger of reaping those types of consequences.
 To learn more about the life that your Creator desires for you to lead
and enjoy—including principles for maintaining your health—simply
request, download or read online our free, informative booklets: Making
Life Work.
Related Resources
Where
Will the Genetics Revolution Lead?
This century has seen astounding scientific and technological advancement. Developments
continue to amaze. But is all such advancement a good thing?
GN Commentary: October 26, 2009 - Smart Chickens
Take the time to learn from your Bible what God says about the food
on your table.
|
