Do you like scary movies? Chalk it up to a bad experience with The Changeling (not the Angelina Jolie version but the really old 80’s one) or just an overactive imagination but I normally stay as far away from the scary stuff as possible. The other night however, I found myself parked in front of my computer glued to the scariest movie I’ve seen in the past decade. It had all the makings of a horror flick: wickedly powerful bad guys, gruesome deaths, a citizenry unaware of the disaster just around the corner and just a handful of helpless good guys standing between us and them. The movie that’s been haunting my dreams? The Future of Food.
I know, it sounds like one of those 1950’s film reels that they used to punish us in elementary school on rainy days and yet I’m telling you this was seriously frightening stuff. It was all about what “GM” – genetically modified – foods are doing to humanity and our critical food supply. If this subject interests you, I certainly recommend watching the whole documentary – you can even see it for free on Hulu – but I’m warning you: you will never look at your food the same way again.
Which Worry is the Most Worrisome?
Anyone who knows me knows that few things cause me more consistent grief than food. I’m worried about when to eat and when to not eat and how to eat and what to eat and what to not eat and so on until I became full-on look-at-the-crazy-lady-on-TV-ma sick. Strangely, in all of my worrying about food it had never before occurred to me to spend much energy worrying about the genetics of my food.
As a neurotic pregnant woman, my current obsession has been with organic vs. local food. Everyone from Jillian Michaels on down says that pesticides and food additives wreck your metabolism and harm your general health. The other thing everyone tells you to do is to eat locally – it saves the environment and supports local farmers. The problem, of course, is that it’s hard to do both exclusively as one generally precludes the other.
The organic-local debate was wiped clean from mind though after hearing what scientists are saying about all of our genetically modified foods. Who cares if there is pesticides on the outside of your peach if the very genes that make it up are dooming you personally and society as a whole?
But is all the furor over frankenfoods legitimate or just hysteria? Basically what we’re talking about are plants that have been altered at the genetic level to provide some benefit, i.e. drought tolerance, higher crop yeilds, resistance to pests and so forth. The potential benefits are immense – you may have heard of the “miracle” rice that is touted as Africa’s salvation or the GM wheat that sparked the green revolution in the 1950’s and saved millions from starvation. The problem however, is that nature didn’t create the plants that way and even though we think we are making them better, humans are notoriously short-sighted when it comes to “better” food. For example, the negative effects of the Green Revolution are just beginning to emerge in hard-hit areas like India. GM foods also introduce other signficant economic problems such as patent rights for seeds and all the attendant problems that come with single-source farming.
The Research
Unsurprisingly most of the research into GM foods has been conducted by the massive food conglomerates, such as Monsanto and Cargill, that are most heavily invested in them. The FDA and the WHO (World Health Organization) have also done some studies. The report states: “Foodstuffs made of genetically modified crops that are currently available (mainly maize, soybean, and oilseed rape) have been judged safe to eat, and the methods used to test them have been deemed appropriate.” One author cautions, “However, the lack of evidence of negative effects does not mean that new genetically modified foods are without risk.”
On the other side, there is a lot of anecdotal evidence and cautions from scientists about the potential risks of these foods. The movie summarizes these quite well.
Conclusion
The problem with worrying about GM food is that right now it is so prevalent in our food supply, mostly in the form of GM corn and soy, that it would be nearly impossible to avoid it completely. Also, while a few places such as the European Union have introduced legislation requiring labeling of GM foods, most places including America do not. Buying organic doesn’t mean it wasn’t genetically modified or engineered. Even going so far as to buy your own seeds, plant them and grow your own food won’t necessarily help because most conventional seeds come from the same few seed banks which use GM seeds. And even if you were to splurge on heirloom seeds, chances are yours would get cross-contaminated with the GM seeds that your neighbors are using.
You’d think that the inevitability of it all would give me a free pass to stop worrying about it but somehow it makes it weigh heavier on my mind. Which is where you guys come in: I’m known for being neurotic. Talk me down off the ledge people – does it matter to you if your food is genetically modified? Do you take any steps to avoid it? Anyone else watch The Changeling as a kid and get totally freaked out??
I think that in general we worry too much about what we're eating. Just like with any other kind of diet/food product (splenda, low carb, paleo/primal, low-fat, weston-price-esque, calorie restriction, raw food), there will be some people who swear by it and some who will shun it totally. And there will be "research" to back both positions, though as you pointed out, many times the research is sponsored by parties with a stake in the published results and therefore may be unsound.
I must point out that last week I ate a grapple — what must be the grand-daddy of GM foods, a cross between a grape and an apple — and it was pretty cool and i neither suffered from some detriment nor did I find salvation!
A friend loaned us that movie a couple of months ago. As ranchers, with many relatives who are farmers, it worries me. I worry about a lot of the aspects of it. It bothers me that the US gov't, in their infinite wisdom, has allowed huge corporations such as Monsanto to patent seeds. Those corporations control most of the seeds now, and it worries me that they have so much power.
I could go on and on about all the things about this that bother me, but this is, after all, not my blog…..
I need to go add another layer to my tinfoil hat now.
Gargh, Monsanto creeps me out. I go to school in Calgary. In the prairies in Canada, GM foods are a big deal, and there's a lot of debate about them. There were positions posted for summer law students with Monsanto, but I just couldn't bring myself to apply.
They treat the farmers horribly, and when seeds blow from one farmer's field (who uses Monsanto products), to another farmer's (who doesn't), Monsanto will sue BOTH of them.
I don't know how I feel about GM foods. I feel weird about knowing that fish genes are in my tomatoes, but at the same time, those Grapples ARE pretty cool. Tastes like an apple, smells like a grape- but not real grape, like grape-popsicle grape. So maybe they're more weird than cool. Hmm…
I've completely given up on eating locally most of the year (because if I did it all year, I'd eat only root vegetables between October and June), and the rest of the time I aim organic and non-GM if possible.
There's a great little mom-and-pop organic store near me at school, where they are really good about getting non-GM foods, and I shop there almost exclusively, which makes it really easy and convenient for me. Plus, I'm supporting local business!
Also I wish Canada had Hulu 🙁 I really enjoy documentaries like this, and I hope I can find it somewhere else.
And have you heard of the movie Food Inc.? I think it just came out in theaters recently, but I think you'd enjoy it!
I'm glad to hear your pregnancy is going well and safely thus far!!
Like most alarmist news, I believe the hype over GM foods is overblown.
For example, you mention the debate over locally-grown produce. Here's a pretty convincing post over at Skepticblog showing that buying local is actually worse for the environment.
http://skepticblog.org/2009/05/28/the-fallacy-of-locally-grown-produce/
I need to fret more perhaps — in all areas of my life 🙂
With the GM I just do what I can, work to avoid as best I can and eat as well as I can and then let it all go.
sounds GREAT huh? maybe but I think Id get more done across the proverbial board in life if I fretted and "reacted" a weeee bit more.
hell, Id for sure have better posts 😉
love your writing
as always.
*squints to see if yer still on the ledge*
Miz.
Oh crap, I'm like you and already worry more than I should about what I eat.
It really seems like something that needs to be dealt with at a national level, as individual consumers are pretty powerless to protect themselves.
I'm hoping that a change in political administrations might lead to a little more oversight and a more protective attitude towards the safety of our food supply? The agribusiness lobby is so powerful though…
You know, I think back over the last (almost) 29 years of my life and realize that what I eat now is not and will not ever compensate for everything that has passed into my system over the last three decades; okay, slightly less since I wasn't doing those things when I was five. I do, however, worry about what I give my daughter. When she was able to switch from formula to whole milk — don't judge on the formula; she was six-and-a-half weeks premature and needed the extra supplements — I went nuts buying only organic food for her. Call me crazy, but I get worried about…ummm…early development. Everybody get that reference? Okay, moving on. So, yeah, I haven't completely written myself off, but I worry more about what she (and soon her little brother) will be eating. I buy organic when I can afford it, but haven't looked into the GM foods at all. Someone in college once brought up the same fish DNA in strawberries and I thought he was out of his mind; score one for him, I guess. I'm a good vegetarian, in that I don't eat meat at all; no fish, no chicken, no red meat, white meat, or any other color meat. I'm not a fan of eggs by themselves, but I make a mean broccoli-cheddar quiche (per a Weight Watchers recipe I modified), and that's about the only way I can eat eggs, i.e. dressed up in something else. I will admit to loving me some cheese, but that makes me a product of my environment and family (thank you Aunt Donna and Uncle Glenn and the rest of you dairy farmers up in Wisconsin). And maybe it's not so bad to have some fish DNA in my food; I'm going to play the Ostrich Syndrome Game: If I Can't See It, It Doesn't Exist.
I've been trying to eat better, but mostly because I'm trying to be conscious of what I feed to my family. If it helps me in the process, so be it, but I have enough problems to worry about now without returning to my bad food relationship. So, Charlotte, please step back from the ledge and take this cool refreshing bottle of low calorie, low-sugar Propel Fitness Water…wait, I mean…tall glass of tepid tap water. I'll even throw in a slice of lime gratis.
I agree with you that it all matters! Walking the line between living and going "crazy" about it is a slippery slope. I am often overwhelmed by all the numerous mistakes we have made with our food supply.
Charlotte, chill out. As long as you're eating your fruits and veggies, and making sure there's no dirt or glowing, radioactive goo on them before putting them in your mouth, you'll be fine.
Besides, maybe it's salmon genes in the tomato, and we all know how good salmon is for you.
And yeah, I hate the huge food cartels (they guard their turf as obsessively as drug cartels, so that's what I call them).
I've seen The Future of Food and Food Inc.
I'm on the fence about GMOs. What freaks me out more is that life-forms can be patented and owned, which means that a company can control our food supply.
Reminds me of the movie Total Recall, in which an evil corporation which owned air processors had control over the air supply on Mars.
Alarmist movies or reports that play on your fears are hype or marketing from someone with their own agenda, not real science. Come on down off the ledge! U.S. food safety requirements are among the highest in the world. I've been checking out junk food science dot come lately – the site's writer goes directly to the actual studies & shows how often the actual results are the opposite of the sound bites we hear in the popular media.
My concern for GMO food is not so much for myself but for those with allergies and kids. My oldest daughter (7 yo) recently tested positive for every environmental allergy you can think of (grass, trees, mold, animals etc). The only thing that was negative was food. While I am really glad she is not food allergic, I can't help but wonder: if they are taking fish genes and adding them to strawberries (wow didn't know that) then what if they start using grass or tree genes in food? Then they are creating a potential food allergy for my kid that I 1. don't know about and 2. can't control exposure to as it isn't listed on the "ingredient" list. That concerns me big time. And as the number of kids who are diagnosed with asthma and allergies (like mine) is growing, there is a large segment of society that this could be harmful to.
I'm a bit iffy about the whole thing. I agree with whoever said the whole seed patent thing is bad. Where I live (and my parents used to farm) you really couldn't get away from using GM crops. Canola (I believe) was GM so you didn't have a choice, barely was still "natural".
but the thing about "natural" is that nothing really is. Genetic modification has been taking place every since farming first began (or even gardening). Cross pollinating and selective germination are basically GM aren't they?
The thing I really don't like is the bad rep all GM gets and the people who perform it. I'm glad you pointed out that they're generally trying to make things better and to help. (my sister is studying cold tolerance in crops and possible ways to improve it. She's not a monster and eats organic food! Go figure!)
That URL is actually junk food science dot blogspot dot com!
We can both be neurotic together. But it's pointless to endlessly worry about these kinds of things when, as you say, even the seeds etc can be GM or contaminated etc. I think it's best to just buy organic and local when we can and leave it at that. Do our best.
Personally I prefer local over organic. I think a big part of that is simply supporting local businesses- those people work so hard and really scrape by. And I like knowing that my food didn't have to come from super far away to reach me (especially because other things I eat, like bananas and PB2 haha, DO come from so far away!).
I'll echo lots of the opinions expressed here: namely that GM foods are scary, but you can't let it drive you nuts, because there's only so much you can do about it.
As far as gardening goes: I've just started to make baby steps into gardening for the first time ever. I like mint, cause it's tasty, and I can't kill it.
I've also taken to eating dandelion greens. As long as I'm not spraying my yard with pesticides, dandelion greens must be safe.
They're an acquired taste, though. Cooking makes them less bitter, and cooking them with naturally salty and spicy foods helps too.
I don't know much about GM foods, but I DO know that Monsanto's practices (suing farmers when their crop becomes contaminated by Monsanto seed, resulting in court orders for farmers to burn their whole stock of seed….) are downright terrifying.
I eat like crap. Honestly. I am a fast food addict. Just this week I ate at McDonald's, Burger King and KFC. So I really really can't say that it upsets me all that much cause when I have a craving… you could probably tell me the grossest thing about such a place and I will still eat it. BUT, when I consciously think about it, it really scares me. It scares me to think companies control the patent on SEEDS. The building blocks of foods. That our most basic survival is dependent on THEM. That they can SUE people for cross polination, wind, bees, mother earth… that somehow they own that. I am scared that we are killing ourselves even though we live in such abundance (overeating, poor eating habits, pesticides, GM foods, adult onset diabetes, prescription drugs in water, ED, depleting our top soil with these GM foods, contaminating water supplies, farmers in India comitting suicide). We depend on GROCERY STORES and RESTAURANTS to feed us. We don't know what it really takes to grow our own food in a sustainable way. That is scary. I get so overwhelmed by how huge this is and I feel so little control over how I can help make things better.
Unfortunately I'm a poor graduate student, so what I eat is more determined by budget than health/nutrition. I do what I can, but … Sigh.
I apsire to be good enough, not perfect. If we ate/did/whatevered everything we were told might be harmful, we would starve to death in a pale, cold room rather quickly (and even then, the inactivity might get us).
I would say come down, pick the evil you feel is the lesser, and stop stressin'.
FYI, I too tried a grapple out of sheer bugeyed curiousity, and while they smelled divine, I wasn't a huge fan.
It's definitely a confusing and scary subject… because it's very hard to find information that's not skewed somehow. As was mentioned above, research done by the companies that will be profiting hardly seems objective. I don't take at face value anything about GMOs, but then I also don't believe in our FDA's ability to "protect" us. Frankly I don't trust anybody else to do that for me, especially when the people in charge of protection then go on to work for the companies whom they were previously policing. But that's me.
I can't let myself get nuts about it though, as there's only a certain amount one can do. I do stay away from Corn and Soy though, but funnily enough that's for separate health reasons than them being GMO foods, so just a coincidence.
Montsano itself, though, is scary. For all the reasons mentioned already.
Charlotte, like you, I tend to worry too much but I just try to compartmentalize what I worry a lot about & not. I try to do my best with food but I also know I can't buy all organic & can't buy all the things I prefer to buy. Saying that, I do think I have the right to know if my food is GM so I can make the decision on it.
I'm not sure how I feel about GM foods. On one hand, I don't mind eating them and it seems like a cutting down on water waste and starving children is a good thing.
On the other hand…what if this results in zombies?
And I don't think I trust any of the government's guidelines anyway. I mean seriously…milk? Why would they insist that we nurse from cows? I just do what feels okay to me and figure that some of the healthy habits I've adopted will cancel out some of the bad things that we aren't sure are bad yet.
Oh, Charlotte. You know we love you anyway notwithstanding your neuroses. That's why they don't label it: unlabeled means unthought of. Or perhaps because they'd have to label everything. Yes, the inevitability should make you worry less. That old saw about worry being like a rocking chair is so true: you rock, and rock, and rock, wasting all your energy, but you never do get anywhere.
I thought I'd brighten your day a bit with a link to http://www.squarefootgardening.com
I've gone back to organic because this really does make gardening so much easier. So now you can listen to that prophet guy and plant a garden! And have peace in His grand design even if your organic home garden has some GMO in it. Just add a little GOD and you'll be fine!
I think you shouldn't freak about GMs; pesticides are worst in my opinion and I haven't even switched to all organic yet. I think the best you can do to avoid them is to buy your stuff from small local farmers, because GM seeds are very expensive and small businesses usually don't have them.
We have a lot of Farmer's Markets in my area so I'm naturally more inclined to buying locally and from small businesses than going organic. Anyway most small farmers don't use pesticides, even if they aren't accredited as 'organic', which can be pretty rough to get.
I don't know about the US, but my parents tried to get accredited in Canada (we are beekeepers) and it was insanely difficult to get. We would have to get our fields under supervision for the next 7 years, to make sure we don't use pesticides on the flowers for the next years. We would have to own the land surrounding ours (without putting extra bees on it) and have them accredited also (or get our neighbours to get accredited), because bees can travel a few kilometres to get to the flowers (witch usually falls within our land anyways), and we can't prove the lands around are pesticide-free. All this while paying each year for certificates and taxes and fees and stuff. We are a small family business folks! The money we make from the honey barely covers our living so forget the extra fees. So our honey is pesticide-free, and everyone around knows it (we are in the middle of nowhere in the forest – not like if we were in the middle of big company crops) but we can't prove a thing. Sucks.
So that's my two cents : GM = maybe bad, pesticides everyday = a lot worst!
For mind it is a legitimate horror. I've heard too many bad stories.
I haven't seen that movie yet, but I went to see Food, Inc the weekend it came out.
It was definitely an eye opener.
http://www.thedcwriteup.com/2009/06/food-ick/