The Link Between GMOs and Pesticides

One of the reasons I am in favor of GMO labeling is that GMO technology is often used to increase a food product's hardiness to increased pesticide application. In other words, a GM crop can doused in greater amounts of pesticide. Below are some GMO crops that can take increased applications of the pesticide Roundup. Roundup is a particularly worrisome pesticide.

Roundup is the world's most popular herbicide and is sprayed over millions of acres of crops each year.  The active ingredient in Roundup is glysophate. Glysophate residues have been found in food. Recent research has linked the chemical to infertility, cancers, and Parkinson's Disease.

Those residues enhance the damaging effects of other food-borne chemical residues and toxins in the environment to disrupt normal body functions and induce disease, according to the report, authored by Stephanie Seneff, a research scientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Anthony Samsel, a retired science consultant from Arthur D. Little, Inc. Samsel is a former private environmental government contractor as well as a member of the Union of Concerned Scientists.

"Negative impact on the body is insidious and manifests slowly over time as inflammation damages cellular systems throughout the body," the study says.

In 2015, the EPA will determine if the use of glysophate should be limited, after a standard registration review. All pesticides are registered with the EPA.

Do si Don'ts?

There has been a petition circulating around social media for sometime asking the Girls Scout of America to make cookie without genetically modified ingredients (GMOs). The petition was started by 7-year old Alicia Serratos, a Girl Scout herself. 

On their website, the Girl Scouts admit to using GMOs stating: 

At the current time, there are genetically modified agricultural crops (GMOs) in Girl Scout Cookies. Our bakers determine whether to use GMOs in Girl Scout Cookies based on a range of market-related factors and depending on the specific cookie recipe.

Girl Scouts recognizes that many people have concerns regarding GMO ingredients, and we monitor member and consumer opinion on this matter. It is important to note that there is worldwide scientific support for the safety of currently commercialized ingredients derived from genetically modified agricultural crops. The World Health Organization, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, and the American Medical Association all share this assessment. In addition, in the future, GMOs may offer a way to help feed an ever-increasing world population.

The problem with the Girls Scouts' assessment is that most of the positive information that we have received about GMOs has come from the GMO industry, which has a vested interest in making a profit off it its products. Unfortunately, even medical and regulatory agencies can fall prey to industry dollars.

I for one, support this position and the call to label GMOs. Consumers have the right to know and to choose what they want in their diets.

Again, the petition can be found here.