Food Allergies and GMO foods.

When I first heard of genetically modified foods I was in college and more concerned with keeping my GPA up than I was of watching the world political landscape change.  I did of course hear about genetically modified foods and also some of the problems that eating these foods might create.  Over time the GMO question ebbed and flowed as many of these topics do when displaced by world changing events like the wars we found ourselves engaged in.

Apparently while our collective attention was focused on issues abroad, GMO food items quietly gained prominence at the American dinner table.  We of course did not notice this change because none of these foods are labeled as GMO..like they are in Europe. So while GMO products gained a foothold in the American market Europe began banning GMO items by creating GMO free zones. What do they know that we have yet to learn?

 The United States are virtually devoid of these zones.  They do exist but they are few and far between.  One would think that here in California, the bread basket of the world, there would be vast expanses of land allocated for GMO free crops. The agriculture industry is the largest industry in California and the vast majority of farm land is corporate owned.  It is the one major industry that cannot afford to leave California. The San Joaquin valley is the richest farm land in the western hemisphere in which everything you can imagine is grown.  Most of it genetically modified to make it pest resistant, weed resistant, drought resistant and possibly nutrient resistant as well.

 Ever notice how many people there are who simply cannot eat certain foods?  Have you noticed how that number seems to have increased in recent years?  I have noticed a huge spike in this number in the past decade alone.  Our national obesity epidemic, how much of this health problem can be attributed to genetically altered foods?  Is it possible that by altering the DNA of these seeds, that we have created a source of nutrition that the body finds toxic or simply can no longer digest and so converts it to fat because it has no place else to go? 

It has been in the past ten years that these genetically modified foods have gained position in the market place and have begun to displace naturally occurring or conventionally bred crops. It has also been in the past decade that obesity and other health concerns have risen to prominence in America. Is there a correlation or is it just dumb luck that we have become the fattest and most lethargic population on the planet?

We are the only species on earth that has the intellectual capacity to understand DNA manipulation and yet we are too stupid to leave well enough alone.  I is the same with nuclear weapons we know how to blow up our enemies...but we do not think about the consequences until we find ourselves on the brink of absolute destruction before we consider...hey maybe mutually assured destruction isn't such a good idea.  Ya think?!!

What harm are these GMO products doing to us?  How many diseases are we now suffering from as a result of poor nutrition because our bodies cannot digest these new bug, weed and drought resistant foods?  We need to each take a stand and tell these well intended yet short sighted buffoons to leave our food alone.

 Dr. B