A GMO Apple a Day Keeps the Doctor… Say What?
Back in December 2013, I wrote an article titled, “Things that make you go hmmm”. The last hmmm was:
“A small BC company called Okanagan Specialty Fruits [OSF] has developed a genetically modified apple that will not turn brown when it is cut.”
Fast forward to today where The Guardian newspaper reports:
“The US Department of Agriculture’s animal and plant health authority, Aphis, approved two genetically engineered apple varieties designed to resist browning that have been developed by the Canadian company Okanagan Specialty Fruits [OSF].
Okanagan plans to market the apples as Arctic Granny and Arctic Golden, and says the apples are identical to their conventional counterparts except the flesh of the fruit will retain a fresh appearance after it is sliced or bruised.”
An historical moment — Frankenfood comes to fruits!
You can understand the logic for the development of an apple that doesn’t turn brown. It is a boon for restaurants, airlines, grocery stores — reducing spoilage in shipping & storage and overall costs. Mom can cut up apples and if the kids come in late from playing, the slices won’t have turned brown.
Imagine the delight of never finding out you just bought a fruit plate that is 6 weeks old!
Like all GMO products, the Arctic apple has not been tested for its long-term effects on humans. It is not known what the nutritional differences will be between a GMO and non-GMO apple.
This creates a dilemma for you, the consumer. Presently, products containing GMO ingredients need not be labelled as such by food producers. Anyone wanting to avoid GMO products will no longer know if what they are buying is non-GMO. Apple juice, apple pie, apple cider vinegar, apples sauce. The list goes on — do they contain GMO apples or not?
And it’s not going to stop here. On OSF’s website, they announce they are pursuing GMO versions of peaches, cherries, and pears.
Where are we heading with biotech food? This is the tip of the iceberg. We are going to see a massive increase in the amount of foods created by science. After all, how else will we ever be able to feed an exploding world population?
The only weapon we have as consumers is disclosure. We need clear labelling of all foods containing GMO ingredients so we can decide for ourselves what goes into our bodies. We, the consumers, can lobby hard for this. But know that millions of dollars from Big Food and Big Chem are lobbying hard to keep you from ever knowing.
For now, I assume any product contains GMO ingredients unless officially labelled otherwise. Sad but the only strategy that will keep these unproven foods out of my body.
Leave a comment with your take on GMO foods. Good for society or bad? Am I a paranoid conspiracy theorist, or do you share my concern?
I believe this nasty new food will take some time to do its irreversible damage to our cells – I’m thinking of ‘ thalydimide’ , a safe drug used during pregnancy so they told unsuspecting mothers!
Kay, that’s a big fear of mine, too. It’s amazing that the FDA and USDA don’t consider the long term effects of GMOs on humans at the cellular level before unleashing them on an unsuspecting and uninformed public. Funny how how so many other countries around the world, including most of Europe, have banned GMOs. Makes you realise just how powerful the industry lobby groups are in the U.S.