"History has many records of crimes against humanity, which were also justified by dominant commercial interests and governments of the day. Despite protests from citizens, social justice for the common good was eroded in favour of private profits. Today, patenting of life forms and the genetic engineering which it stimulates, is being justified on the grounds that it will benefit society, especially the poor, by providing better and more food and medicine. But in fact, by monopolising the 'raw' biological materials, the development of other options is deliberately blocked. Farmers therefore, become totally dependent on the corporations for seeds ~ Professor Wangari Mathai.
In the website: Disabled World, Mavis Butcher wrote: It’s virtually impossible to provide a complete list of genetically modified food (GM food) in the United States because there aren’t any laws for genetically modified crops! Some estimates say as many as 30,000 different products on grocery store shelves are "modified."
List of genetically modified foods - watch out and try to avoid them:
1. Soy products - half of North America's soy crop is genetically engineered! Such foods including, soy beverages, tofu, soy oil, soy flour, lecithin. Other products may include breads, pastries, snack foods, baked products, fried products, edible oil products and special purpose foods.
2. Rapeseed in Canada, the crop was renamed "canola" (Canadian oil). Avoid Canola oil! And canola oil may be found in edible oil products, fried foods, and baked products, snack foods.
3. Honey can be produced from GM crops. Some Canadian honey comes from bees collecting nectar from GM canola plants.
4. Cotton. It is also considered a food because the oil can be consumed. Products may include blended vegetable oils, fried foods, baked foods, snack foods, edible oil products, and smallgoods casings.
5. Rice - Genetically modified to contain high amounts of Vitamin A. Rice containing human genes is to be grown in the US.
6. Sugar cane. A large percentage of sweeteners used in processed food actually comes from corn, not sugar cane or beets. Genetically modified sugar cane is regarded so badly by consumers at the present time that it could not be marketed successfully.
7. Tomatoes.
8. Corn and corn products like corn oil, flour, sugar or syrup. May include snack foods, baked goods, fried foods, edible oil products, confectionery, special purpose foods, and soft drinks.
9. Sweet corn. Officials from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have said that thousands of tonnes of genetically engineered sweetcorn have made their way into the human food supply chain, even though the produce has been approved only for use in animal feed. Recently Monsanto, a biotechnology food producer, said that about half of the USA's sweetcorn acreage has been planted with genetically modified seed this year.
10. Potatoes, and may include snack foods, processed potato products and other processed foods containing potatoes.
11. Flax - More and more food products contain flax oil and seed because of their excellent nutritional properties. No genetically modified flax is currently grown. An herbicide-resistant GM flax was introduced in 2001, but was soon taken off the market because European importers refused to buy it.
12. Papaya - The first virus resistant papayas were commercially grown in Hawaii in 1999. Transgenic papayas now cover about one thousand hectares, or three quarters of the total Hawaiian papaya crop. Monsanto, donated technology to Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore, for developing a papaya resistant to the ringspot virus in India.
13. Squash - (yellow crookneck) - Some zucchini and yellow crookneck squash are also GM but they are not popular with farmers.
14. Red-hearted chicory - (radicchio) - Chicory (Cichorium intybus var. foliosum) is popular in some regions as a salad green., Today there is no genetically modified chicory on the market.
15. Tobacco -The company Vector has a GMO tobacco being sold under the brand of Quest® cigarettes in the U.S.
16. Meat and dairy products usually come from animals that have eaten GM feed.
17. Peas.
18. Vegetable Oil - Most generic vegetable oils and margarines used in restaurants and in processed foods in North America are made from soy, corn, canola, or cottonseed. Unless these oils specifically say "Non-GMO" or "Organic," it is probably genetically modified.
19. Sugarbeets - May include any processed foods containing sugar.
20. Dairy Products - about 22 percent of cows in the U.S. are injected with recombinant (genetically modified) bovine growth hormone (rbGH).
21. Vitamin C (ascorbic acid) is often made from corn, vitamin E is usually made from soy. Vitamins A, B2, B6, and B12 may be derived from GMOs as well as vitamin D and vitamin K may have "carriers" derived from GM corn sources, such as starch, glucose, and maltodextrin.
How can the public make informed decisions about genetically modified (GM) foods when there is so little information about its safety?
QUICK DANGER CHECK LIST
Click here to see a detailed list of what crops, foods and food ingredients have been genetically modified. This is a “must visit” website. Don't miss it!
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