Alarming GMO Corn Results
Despite the deliciousness of eating a freshly boiled ear of corn dripping with salted butter, I stopped eating non-organic corn many years ago. It tasted and felt like plastic — not real food being chewed in my mouth. My body was telling me not to eat that stuff.
Lately I’ve also been avoiding products that contain non-organic corn. If it’s not made with organic corn, chances are 99% it’s genetically modified (GMO or GE) corn. This means tons of label reading at the supermarket since corn, corn syrup, corn solids, etc., are added to nearly all processed foods. The only way to be sure is to buy certified organic products only, or to avoid all processed food.
A 2012 Canadian study released today on mer cola.com “Analysis Identifies Shocking Problems with Monsanto’s Genertically Engineered Corn” highlights the alarming nutritional differences between GE and organic corn that Monsanto and other industry supporters have been trying to suppress:
• Calcium: GMO corn = 14 ppm / Non-GMO corn = 6,130 ppm (437 times more)
• Magnesium: GMO corn = 2 ppm / Non-GMO corn = 113 ppm (56 times more)
• Manganese: GMO corn = 2 ppm / Non-GMO corn = 14 ppm (7 times more)
GMO corn was also found to contain 13 ppm of glyphosate, compared to zero in non-GMO corn. This is quite significant and well worth remembering.
The Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) “safe” level for glyphosate in American water supplies is 0.7 ppm. In Europe, the maximum allowable level in water is 0.2 ppm. Organ damage in animals has occurred at levels as low as 0.1 ppm. At 13ppm, GMO corn contains more than 18 times the “safe” level of glyphosate set by the EPA.
The so-called “Monsanto Protection Act” currently before Congress would protect US biotech companies from litigation if their GMO seeds turn out to be dangerous.
Research conducted on GMO foods confirms the ability of these products to manipulate the genetic codes of other organisms. Could they also manipulate human genetic codes? Research has yet to be completed because the product is still too new! We are consuming the product without knowing of the dangers.
If biotech companies are willing to hold our food industry hostage by owning the GE seed patents and profits, they must own the risks as well. This corporate buyout of Congress is shameful, outrageous and real.
Current GMO labeling efforts are focused in the state of Washington and the I-522 petition. If manufactures are required to label their products containing GMO ingredients even in just one state, sales of these products will decline all over the US.
No matter where you live in the United States, please donate money to these labeling efforts through the Organic Consumers Fund.
If you live in Washington State, please sign the I-522 petition. You can also volunteer to help gather signatures across the state.
For timely updates on issues relating to these and other labeling initiatives, please join the Organic Consumers Association on Facebook, or follow them on Twitter.
Carol Bedrosian is the publisher of Spirit of Change, New England’s largest holistic magazine.
See also:
Whole Foods Announces Mandatory GMO Labeling
Support GMO Labeling by Voting With Your Purchases
