You could be eating gene-altered food every day and not know it.
A Kelowna nutritionist has formed a group to help educate the public about a matter that affects every Canadian, that is the amount of genetically altered food we consume every day.
Heidi Osterman is the president and founder of the True Food Foundation (TFF), and her aim is to let people know what they are eating.
“There are five major food crops currently in commercial production that have been genetically manipulated: canola, corn, soy, sugar beet and cottonseed. All are used to make vegetable oil, soy and corn by-products and are used in most processed foods and grown for animal feed. Without our knowledge--we are consuming products containing GMOs. We should demand that GMO content in food be identified so that we can decide whether to eat GMO-containing foods or not. Such products should not be forced upon us without our knowledge,” says Osterman.
She says some 70% of boxed foods at supermarkets have GMOs.
“There is no labelling required for it, so people can't easily make an informed decision not to eat them. Part of the focus of TFF is to gather signatures in support of Bill C-4747, which will be voted on by Parliament in September. It will require a moratorium on GMOs until more study and independent research can be done.”
Osterman says the only testing currently being done on GMOs is by the companies which create them.
“That's a little like allowing Charles Manson to perform his own psychiatric exam. The government just takes their word that the food is safe and there are no long term effects. We need independent studies, studies on how eating GMOs can affect humans over the long run. Right now, there are a few animal studies, done in other countries, which shows the health effects on third generation rodents (three generations eating only GMOs). The rodents have been shown to have developed fertility issues, cancerous lesions, in some cases, even hair in their mouths. Can we really expect results to be different for humans?”
She says even a small tipping point can help put pressure on the companies and government to change their approach to GMOs.
“Even a change of 10% at the supermarket level can have a huge impact. If people refuse to buy GMOs, policy will be changed.”
Osterman says the first step is for people to inform themselves about the issue.
“There is info on our website, as well as a free movie called 'The Future of Food,' which is fantastic. We also set up an info booth at farmer's markets across the Okanagan. Once people have the info, we encourage them to sign our petition and write a letter to their MP.”
She says they are working on making the petition sign-able through the TFF website, but for now, it can also be signed at Nature's Fare markets in Kamloops and Kelowna.
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