Professor Talks Food Dangers at SUNY Purchase

Public reaction to genetically modified foods in other parts of the world has significantly influenced government policy and regulation, according to Lisa Weasel, a biology professor at Portland State University who spoke at Purchase College Tuesday.

But in the United States, where two-thirds of processed supermarket fare contains GM corn, Weasel said: "We don't get our feathers too ruffled up about eating GMOs."

Her lecture, "DNA at the Dinner Table: The Global Politics of Genetically Modified Food," was the first in a fall lecture series hosted by the Purchase College School of Natural and Social Sciences. 

Weasel's talk focused on the scientific development of trangenics and how the possible health and environmental effects of genetically modified organisms have received negative international attention.

The debate over GMOs isn't new though, Weasel explained.

Transgenic plants were first created in the 1970s by taking a desired gene from a particular species and mixing it with the gene of a crop plant, like corn. GMO crops are engineered to be resistant to herbicides and pesticides so the plants can be sprayed with those chemicals.

Weasel said that 85 percent of GMO crops today are designed to be resistant to herbicides sold by the companies Round-Up Ready and LibertyLink.

While proponents of GMO crops say that they could play a role in reducing world hunger, opponents warn against potential harm not only to human health, but to ecosystems as well.

For instance, an insecticidal protein that's used to create GMO corn, called the ET toxin, has raised concern about insects building up resistance to the toxin as well as the possibility of killing off desired species. The ET toxin dissolves the digestive system of insects like caterpillars, which often eat corn crops.

Weasel said that the first GMO food to hit supermarket shelves was the Flavr-Savr tomato, which was engineered to remain firm and ripe long after it was picked from the vine. The USDA approved sale of the Flavr-Savr tomato in 1994.

Since then, millions of acres of GMO crops engineered by companies like Monsanto have been planted in the U.S.

Weasel said that in 2009, 93 percent of all soybean plants in the U.S. were GMO. GMO cotton made up 93 percent of all cotton crops. GMO corn came in at 86 percent of all American corn crops.

"Passive acceptance" of GMOs in the American diet, Weasel said, has led to an imbalance in the public-private interface.

The private sector, she believes, has come to have too much influence on governmental policy, which stands in stark opposition to opinions on GMOs in other parts of the world.

An example of the food industry's influence on government policy is a recent survey of scientists at the USDA and FDA. Nearly half of the scientists polled said that companies and members of Congress had tried to influence how they reported the outcomes of their studies, the Los Angeles Times reported this week.

In the E.U. governmental regulation of GMOs has been much more staunch than in America. All foods containing GMOs must be labelled as such.

In Zambia, Weasel said that U.S. food aid has been rejected because of concerns that eating GMO corn could be detrimental to human health.

In India, Weasel said that the government had approved a GMO eggplant last Februrary, but after mass protests by farmers, consumers and heads of state, the country's environmental minister issued a moratorium on the GMO crop.

Here in the U.S., the debate on GMO crops has received recent attention after the FDA announced earlier this month that it would likely approve GMO salmon engineered by Aqua Bounty Technologies.

Weasel also discussed a federal court ruling last August that banned further planting of GMO sugar beets engineered by Monsanto pending the completion of an Environmental Impact Statement.

The GMO sugar beets make up 95 percent of the American sugar beet crop and were first introduced in 2008.

In terms of public health, Weasel said that it's very difficult for epidemiologists to conduct long-term studies on the effects of consuming GMOs.

"This isn't a controlled situation," she said.

Weasel was hopeful though, that continued food recalls, interest local food sourcing and public discourse on the effects of GMOs on human health and the environment in America could eventually influence public policy.

"If consumers don't want to eat GMOs, it's very difficult to feed people something they don't want to eat."