I totally agree with the dangers of modified foods. My problem is; what is the solution?
How are we suppose to know which foods are safe and which are not? It seems as though the modified food chain has infiltrated our foods in every way.

Karen, you are right that GMO has filled our grocery store shelves! Our choices are few in the standard market. Read last week's post regarding produce labels to know what you are buying. Briefly, on 5 digit stickers the first number is 8 for GMO and the first number is 9 for organic. Four digit numbers are crops raised otherwise. Also, I now raise some of my own with the easy, clean (no dirt or weeds) aeroponic Tower Garden (www.VitalLives.TowerGarden.com). I also get organic fruits, vegetables, and berries via Juice Plus+ capsules, whole food nutrition with scientifically proven health benefits (www.VitalLivesJuicePlus.com

Has anyone found any actual proof of damage caused by GMO foods? The claim is stated that 'it has not been proven safe, through independent testing, for long-term health effects', but has it been proven to be unsafe through independent testing, for long-term health effects?

I don't buy this scare over GMO, longevity continues to increase in the world wide, people are healthier, and all of this while consuming GMO.

Many GM crops are banned or controversial throughout Europe. France has strict regulations of GM crops, while GMOs are completely banned in Germany, Greece, Austria, Luxembourg, Hungary, and the UK over health concerns. GM crops are altered to be resistant to pesticides, a development which has caused an increase in the use of chemicals that have been linked to cancer and birth defects.
And the response from Monsanto? Director of corporate communications for Monsanto, Phil Angell, summed up his company’s take on the issue in a report by food author Michael Pollan for New York Times Magazine in 1998: "Monsanto should not have to vouch for the safety of biotech food. Our interest is in selling as much of it as possible. Assuring its safety is the FDA's job."

"technology is potentially dangerous to humans" Not as much as ignorance. "Big AgriBusiness" developed this technology after meeting with environmentalists who pleaded them to develop products that would withstand the elements and pests. This was to save on watering and pesticides. It also created higher yields making farmland more productive and preserving land for natural uses. Want to know why I believe they are safe? The scientists and evil corporate villains who developed GMOs eat them themselves, feed them to their kids, and feel they have contributed to the betterment of society. GMOs are banned in Europe and other nations to protect their own economic interests by keeping heartier and more plentiful, hence, lower priced goods from outselling their farmers. It is as simple as that.

60% to 70% of processed foods on U.S. grocery shelves have genetically modified ingredients in them already. Without GMO the world starves and that includes you.

Correct AWD. Not only that, many of the poor in the world would not be able to afford even the most basic food products. The benevolent UN denied a huge shipment of rice, to be used for hunger relief, to enter Zimbabwe because it was GMO. So, the people starved so the UN and the EU could make a point. Great humanitarians.

I am glad my post stirred so much discussion on this topic. My intention is not to demonize these companies, but to encourage consumers to be vigilant in monitoring what goes into their bodies. LR, I agree that we consumers should not be left in ignorance. I believe that GMO products should be independently researched, so that science can prove or disprove their safety. Only then can we make intelligent decisions. It's evident that we can't rely on corporations to make decisions in our best interest. Thalidomide, the anti-nausea remedy given to pregnant women in the 1960s, was touted as safe but resulted in severe birth defects. I don't believe Monsanto has anyone's interest in mind but their own bottom line. I want the science to back up their claims that GMO is safe, so we are not left in ignorance!

CD, independent research has not been done. That is the problem.

The FDA has researched GMO on human and animal organisms to the Nth degree. They have not allowed EPA environmental impact on soils pertaining to the seeds only. So, the FDA has not found any evidence that GMOs have any known side effects with the exception of some allergens. Since some people are allergic to specific organisms such as peanuts and some are not. It may not be safe for some people but is for most.

Your claim that science has given us remedies that later are proven to have bad side effects is an impossible standard to live up to. Science will always discover things that were assumed safe or unsafe in the past. Since you aren't using any empirical evidence to support your claims, allow me one. I would guess that for every 100 examples of "GMO Bad" over the past 200 years, 1 has actually been as bad as they say. No facts to prove this, just giving you an example of your own argument.

"From what I have been learning, I feel very strongly that GMO foods pose a serious health risk. Many of my associates agree."

But you admittedly offer nothing but blind speculation as the basis for your conclusion.

If Underwriters Laboratory put their seal of approval on GMO foods, would you change your mind about them?

The first GMOs started being sold in 1994. If they're as bad as you're assuming they are, don't you think that we would have seen some proof positive negative results after nearly 20 years of integration in our society?

Hoffa questions how you are able to use the internet, as the electromagnetic radiation emitted from electronic devices, such as computers, has never been fully independently tested for long term adversarial health effects on humans.

You must not use cell phones, or even land-line phones, either, right?

Or is this really just a blind hatred towards a very profitable corporation?

Wow. I am impressed with how much this post stirred up controversy. Thank you, Patch, for this forum! Some of you obviously feel very strongly on the subject. Thank you for your contributions to the discussion of GMO. I think we have reached an impasse, though, similar to what I see happening in the Presidential election, where voters are so convinced they're the only ones who have the right answer they're unable to consider the opposition's point of view. I'm not trying to convince anyone else of my point of view, merely bringing it up as food (the non-GMO kind!) for thought.

Pesticides, hydraulic fracking, GMO what’s next on the Progressive hit parade? The Progressives get on their high horse and proclaim that we Conservatives are ‘anti-science’ when we dispute the findings of a radical progressive Scientist of college Professor. Yet in turn the Progressives eagerly accept whatever science reveals to be the ultimate truth. I find these Progressive movements entertaining, they expose their hypocrisy. P.S. GMO food is 100% safe.

Cross-breeding took a long time, and was developed over many generations. Our bodies had time to adjust. Now GMOs are produced so quickly and pumped into our food so fast it will be generations before we realize how it affects us. And we're not talking cross-breeding here (we mash this wheat seed with that wheat seed so it grows with a longer stalk), we're talking about chemically re-engineering our food (we make this wheat seed resistant to pesticides so we can spray the field as much as we want; we make this corn resistant to it's predator bug, killing a species). We're moving too fast to truly understand how all this affects our bodies and our environment. I'm from Texas, all I have to do is look out the window to see how GMOs are killing us - the obesity and processed foods is outstanding. Some interesting books/movies for further research (for those of you who are interested): Food, Inc. (addresses Monsanto, and how their seeds are affecting farmers and the environment); Pollan's "Omnivore's Dilemna" & "In Defense of Food"; Fast Food Nation, Knives over Forks; Fat, Sick, & Nearly Dead.

Hi Lots of wrong information on both sides of the debate.

Europe does eat lots of GMO food forced on it by USA and world food agreements.

Yields from conventional development led to huge increases in yield.

GMO have not increased the natural rate of development.

Soaking GMO food in organophosphates (OP) that kill every other plant just means we eat OP soaked food and the predicted effect was shown by Professor Seralini recently.

Hi Lots of wrong information on both sides of the debate.(None as bad as yours)

Europe does eat lots of GMO food forced on it by USA and world food agreements. (Funny, what treaty or trade agreement forces a population to eat something against their will?)

Yields from conventional development led to huge increases in yield. (These let to exponential increases in GMO yields)

GMO have not increased the natural rate of development. (Natural rate of development of what? Do you mean yields? What are you talking about?)

Soaking GMO food in organophosphates (OP) that kill every other plant just means we eat OP soaked food and the predicted effect was shown by Professor Seralini recently. (The study, conducted by a prominent opponent of genetically engineered crops, was immediately criticized by some other scientists, who said the methods were flawed and that other research had not found similar problems.-NY Time. Sounds like another silicone breast implant witch hunt.)