what is gmo?
DESCRIPTION
This is the presentation prepared and given by Dr. Nina Galang, Chair of Consumer Rights for Safe Food.TRANSCRIPT
Consumer Rights for Safe Food
Food must be -
• Safe
• Nutritious
• Affordable
• Available
• Sustainable
What is more healthy?
• boiled banana Chippy
• kalamansi juice Coke / Coke Lite
• gatas ng kalabaw Birch Tree / Nesvita
• kaldereta hot dog
They are organisms, e.g., crops, which are altered by changing its gene sequence in order to induce a certain desired trait.
What are genetically modified organisms (GMOs)?
How GMOs are created
• The DNA is made up of genes. A gene from another individual or species is inserted in the DNA of the host organism. E.g., the gene of bacteria is inserted into the DNA of corn.
•
Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) corn, soya, canola
And now -
BT talong
Golden rice
Why are GMOs created?• to kill a crop’s pest, e.g.‘corn borer’ :
e.g., Bt corn • to make the crop herbicide-resistant: e.g.,Round-up ready corn• to kill the virus attacking the crop: e.g., Bt papaya• to add nutrients:
e.g., Golden rice • for bigger and faster growth:
e.g., salmon
Are GMOs safe to eat?
• No one knows for sure.
• No long term studies on safety of any GMO crop as human food has ever been done.
But there is growing evidence that GMOs are hazardous
From
-human epidemics
-animal nexperiments
- observations
Adverse effects of GMOs seen
in humans
• L-tryptophan epidemic• Starlink Corn epidemic• Bt pollen -allergies in Mindanao farms• Aspartame linked to MS Symptoms• GM Soya baby food -Infant deaths• GM insulin -- extreme fatigue and myalgia• GM hepatitis B vaccine - chronic fatigue and myalgia.• BT cotton - extreme allergies• 50% increase in soya allergies
Modern diseases linked to GMOs
• Cancer – Americans have a 41% chance of developing cancer. American Cancer Society
• Diabetes - There are 25.8 million people in the United States, or 8.3% of the population, who have diabetes. American Diabetes Association
• Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder ADHD - Approximately 9.5% or 5.4 million children 4-17 years of age have ever been diagnosed with ADHD, as of 2007. American Psychiatric Association
Laboratory animals have shown growth, organ and immunity defects
Wildlife has been affected
• K ills also non-target species, e.g. monarch butterfly. Pollinators are affected.T he food chain / web is affected.
Tumors
How do GMOs get into our food supply?
• Processed food – Use flour, sugar and oil from Bt corn, soya, canola
• Seeds for planting
• Chickens, pigs and cows are fed GMOs
Countries which plant the most GMOs
U.S. – 55 million hectares
Soya - 91%
Maize – 73%
Cotton – 87%
Argentina- 18
Brazil - 12
Canada - 6
Consumers in countries or provinces that have rejected planting of GM crops
England Negros
Germany Bohol
Italy Mindoro
Leichenstein Ifugao
Austria
Japan
Peru
And many more…
MORAL ISSUES
• Because of Intellectual Property Rights agreements, only a handful of multinational companies will control the food of the world:
Monsanto
Bayer
Syngenta
Du Pont
Government denial
The Food and Drug Administration has announced that GMOs are safe. What is its basis?
Government supports GMO agriculture rather than organic farming, has resisted GMO labeling
• Consumers of the Philippines, of the world! –
UNITE!
What can we do as consumers?1. Avoid food with GMOs
• Guideline: foods with corn and soya derivatives, high fructose
2. Patronize organic food.3. Eat / buy local, unprocessed, organic4. Fight for our right to safe food5. Ask your congressmen to support the labeling
bill. 6. Campaign against the planting of GMOs on
Philippine soil
Let us all all work for Safe food, safe planet.