GMO Free: Exposing the Hazards of

Biotechnology to Ensure the Integrity

of Our Food Supply
Book Report
Giulia Costantini
Geography 20FH

Double Entry Journals

GMO Free: Exposing the Hazards of

Biotechnology to Ensure the Integrity of
Our Food Supply

The FAO also estimated that organic

agriculture is likely to emit less nitrous
oxide (N2O) [133], another important
greenhouse gas and also a cause of
stratospheric ozone depletion. This is due
to lower N inputs; less N from organic
manure due to lower livestock densities;
higher C/N ratios of applied organic
manure and less available mineral N in the
soil as a source of denitrification; and
efficient uptake of mobile N in soils due to

This is just the title of the book, because I

connected to the book in general. This is a
really interesting book for me to read,
because my mom is really into this stuff.
She believes GMOs are bad and so does
the rest of my family. I connected through
this, and for me it was really interesting to
learn more about GMOs and whats really
going on. I also think this book is a really
good read for people to educate
themselves on genetically modified foods
because its really important to know what
were eating and what the food industry is
doing for us. The book also really reminds
me of Food Inc and I can make lots of
connections to the film as well.
We learned about nitrous oxide,
greenhouse gases, ozone, and
denitrification in our grade 10 science class
this year. So I was able to relate to this and
completely understand what they were
saying, considering this book is very
complicated and sometimes hard to
understand. Stratospheric ozone depletion
is a serious issue, and if organic
agriculture is emitting less greenhouse
gasses that deplete it, we should really

cover crops. (Page 91)

Organic farmers in Saskatchewan have
also started legal proceedings against
Monsanto and Aventis for contaminating
their crops and ruining their organic
status. (Page 12)

"The negative effects of pesticides on

health include neurotoxicity, disruption of
the endocrine system, carcinogenicity and
immune system suppression. (Page 101)

Transgenic DNA is known to survive

digestion in the gut and to jump into the
genome of mammalian cells, raising the
possibility for triggering cancer. (Page 54)

A previously neglected source of hazard in

GM crops - though not in gene therapy
where it is recognized as something to
avoid - is the DNA from bacteria and their

consider more organic agriculture.

One thing I connected to here was
Monsanto. My family believes that
Monsanto is evil because of the food it is
creating. Their genetically modified food
isnt necessarily healthier or safer for that
matter, and organic farmers agree with
this. Another thing that I connected to
throughout this book was organic. My
family eats organic food because we
believe it is healthier and safer, and
organic farms dont treat animals
unethically (unlike some of the farms in
Food Inc.) So we like to support these
small organic farms, because theyre doing
something good for our food industry.
I can connect with pesticides because this
is another reason my family eats organic.
Pesticides and herbicides have so many
health issues, and many people can get
sick from eating so much food with
pesticides on it. I dont think enough
people realize the negative effects, and
this is something that should be
addressed.
I connect to this quote because Im really
interested in this type of science. Learning
about how DNA and genetics work and
how they can possibly modify DNA. Its
really fascinating to me and this is
something I want to learn more about.
Also, this quote talks about triggering
cancer. This is a serious issue, and could
be the cause of cases of cancer around
the world, especially for people eating food
with transgenic DNA.
I wonder how many people actually know
about stuff like this. The amount of health
risks they're taking just by eating food.
Corn is a hugely genetically modified food,

viruses, which have a high frequency of

the CpG dinucleotide. These CpG motifs
are immunogenic and can cause
inflammation, septic arthritis, and
promotion of B cell lymphoma and
autoimmune disease. (Page 26)
At the same time, gene products
introduced into food and other crops as
biopesticides, accounting for 25% of all
GM crops worldwide, are now found to be
strong immunogens and allergens, and
dangerous pharmaceuticals and vaccines
are being introduced into food crops in
open field trials. (Page 53)

"Transgenic DNA is different from natural

DNA in many respects, all of which
contribute to its increased propensity for
horizontal transfer into genomes of
unrelated organisms, where it may also
recombine with new genes. (Page 39)

Glyphosate is the most frequent cause of

complaints and poisoning in the UK.
Suicide attempts have been successful
with as little as 100 millilitres of a 10 to
20% solution. Widespread disturbances of
many body systems have been reported
after exposures at normal use levels.
(Page 31)

and people eat corn in so many different

foods. They could possibly be risking their
lives. I wonder how high the chances are,
of contracting one of these health issues
but it is still good to be cautious.
Why are they putting dangerous
pharmaceuticals and vaccines in crops
anyways? Vaccines are also known to
cause major health issues. It doesnt make
any sense to me that theyre poisoning
people through their food. This is
something I would like to look into,
because I dont fully understand their
reasoning or what it does for the food.I
wish everyone knew just how bad GM food
is because it could be saving a lot of lives.
Not assuming that the rates of health
issues are high because of GM food but
still.
How do they actually create Transgenic
DNA? It seems almost like some sort of
witchcraft. GMOs actually scare me with
the way they can form them, and what they
can do. I want to look into this more too,
because its fascinating to understand. The
technology in science right now is
amazing. I think someday I would like to do
something involving food sciences or
chemistry.
I wonder what is in glyphosate that makes
it so toxic. I also wonder if people who eat
GM crops with glyphosate are aware of the
fact that it is on their food. And do workers
who work with glyphosate have safe
protection from the poison or do they
contract health issues from it? Considering
that suicide has been successful with this
herbicide, I really dont think its safe to put

In Japan, an innovative organic farmer

has pioneered a rice growing system that
turns weeds and pests into resources for
raising ducks. The ducks eat insect pests
and the golden snail that attack rice plants,
and also eat the seeds and seedlings of
weeds. By using their feet to dig up the
weed seedlings, the ducks aerate the
water and provide mechanical stimulation
to make the rice stalks strong and fertile.
(Page 76-77)
Sustainable agriculture plays a further
important role in conserving natural
biodiversity. Organic farms often exhibit
greater natural biodiversity than
conventional farms, with more trees, a
wider diversity of crops and many different
natural predators, which control pests and
help prevent disease. (Page 80)

More than 600 scientists from 72

countries have called for a moratorium on
the environmental release of genetically
modified organisms. (GMOs). The
evidence they have compiled makes a
compelling case for a worldwide ban on
GMO crops to make way for a
comprehensive shift to sustainable
agriculture and organic farming. (Back of
book)

Ewen and Pusztai measured the part of

the small bowel lining that produces new
cells and found that the length of the new

on food.
Maybe Canada could come up with better
ways for sustainable agriculture? We have
the technology for it and this is a really
smart idea that we should take inspiration
from. We could find a way to make our
crops stronger, help the environment and
probably increase the biodiversity.

I think that conventional farms are starting

to realize that they arent doing so well in
the food industry and this may cause a
problem between organic vs conventional
farms in the future. Organic farms are
doing so much better because they have a
way better biodiversity and better ways to
control pests and their food is grown
naturally without GMOs. Society is slowly
making a switch to organic food and in the
future, conventional farms may be
completely wiped if people start to realize
the negatives of them.
A moratorium is a temporary prohibition of
an activity. People are saying we need to
stop releasing GMOs for use in our crops.
This book provides so much evidence for
why GMOs are bad and hopefully more
people can learn about it. Banning GMO
crops would honestly be such a good thing
for the world, and yes it might be harder to
farm organically, and use different
methods, but its better for humans and
animals and the environment. This really
relates to sustainable development too.
Testing GMOs on animals is really sad,
and we should find a better way to test
them, but it also shows just how dangerous

cel compartment had increased

significantly in GM-fed rats, but not in
control rats fed non-GM potatoes. The
increased production of cells had to be due
to a growth-factor effect induced by the
genetic modification within the potatoes.
(Growth factors are proteins that promote
cell growth and multiplication that, if
uncontrolled, result in cancer.) (Page 23)
More importantly, GM crops are not
wanted, and for good reasons. GM crops
have failed to deliver the promised
benefits, they are causing escalating
problems on the farm, and evidence of the
worst hazards has accumulated despite
the notable lack of research on safety.
(Page 3)

"Sustainable agriculture systems that use

little or no chemical pesticides or
herbicides are clearly a benefit to the
environment. Moreover, conventional
farming systems are often associated with
problems such as nitrate leaching and
groundwater pollution. Application of P
fertilizers in excess of plant needs results
in accumulation of available P in topsoils,
and increased losses of surface water.
(Page 73)

they are. Growth factors which can result in

cancer?!?! How insane is that? The food
industry used to be so natural and organic
and we used to do things without any
advanced modifications or technology and
I think that eventually the food industry
should start rethinking its situation.

I think people are already realizing how

GM crops are a bad investment, and
something not worth wasting time on. All
the negatives are increasing, and
outweighing the positives. Sure the food
tastes better or what not, but is it really
worth it for all the health risks? Farmers
are realizing it too, because the GM crops
are causing problems on farms, which is
an issue for them. Despite the safety they
talk about, there are still many hazards,
and we cant trust GM crops.
Conventional farming systems are starting
to hurt the environment and I dont think
this can continue for a long time or it will
become detrimental. Since the
conventional farms are using so many
pesticides and herbicides, they end up
polluting water and soils and a bunch of
other environmental issues. If more people
realize how bad this could be for our
environment, we could start to make more
of a switch for less pesticides, or no GM
crops so we can take better care of the
earth.

Vocabulary

Moratorium a temporary prohibition of an activity; a legal authorization to

debtors to postpone payment
Transgene a gene that is transferred from an organism of one species to an
organism of another species by genetic engineering
Monoculture - the cultivation of a single crop in a given area
Herbicide a substance that is toxic to plants and is used to destroy unwanted
vegetation
Glyphosate a synthetic compound that is a nonselective systemic herbicide,
particularly effective against perennial weeds
Polyculture the simultaneous cultivation or exploitation of several crops or kinds
of animals
Agro ecology the study of ecological processes that operate in agricultural
production systems
Agrobacterium tumefaciens a bacteria that produce crown gall disease in plants
Para retrovirus DNA viruses that produce reverse transcriptase to RNA
Transposons a chromosomal segment that can undergo transposition
Hematology The branch of medicine that deals with the diagnosis and
treatment of diseases of the blood and bone marrow
Glufosinate Ammonium a highly affective herbicide that is used to control
weeds
Macroeconomics the part of economics concerned with large-scale or general
economic factors, such as interest rates and national productivity
Parasitoids an insect whose larvae live as parasites that eventually kill their

hosts (typically other insects)

Research Essay
Have there been any GM crops with serious safety
concerns?
Genetically modified crops have been a controversial topic for
decades. Many safety concerns have arisen over the side effects and
long term repercussions for the environment and consumers.
Through the years there have been many GM crops created and
some have caused illnesses in consumers, and created huge
problems. One major crop that has done this is StarLink corn.
StarLink corn is a type of Bt corn (Bacillus Thuringiensis),
created by Aventis Crop Science, that was genetically modified to
produce insecticide within the corn itself and to reduce the amount of
pesticides being sprayed in the fields. Bt corn made in 1999 and 2000
produced a protein called Cry1A(b), but StarLink created a slightly
modified version of it, called Cry9C. When the government tested the
protein to approve growing of the crop, they found out that the Cry9C
protein was harder for the digestive system to break down. Because
of this, the Environmental Protection Agency had suspicions that it
might be an allergen and did not approve the crop for human
consumption. In 1998, the EPA granted permission to grow the crop
for other uses such as animal feed and the production of fuel alcohol.
The only issue with banning the corn from human consumption would
be that they could not guarantee that. When corn is processed in
factories, sometimes they end up getting mixed together, for example

the corn that goes in tacos, animal feed, and automobile tanks. Grain
dealers dont separate the human and animal feed corn. Corn pollen
often blows into other fields, where it can pollinate other corn. In
2000, reports revealed that StarLink corn was found in Taco Bell
brand taco shells, and then the Centre for Disease Control received
around 37 reports about food poisoning and reactions to the taco
shells. Other corn products like chips and tortillas were also using the
corn. In the end, about 300 products were recalled. Tx0his was the
first time genetically modified food was recalled in the United States,
which became a big deal. There was a threat to the U.S economy,
because many foreign buyers could not import transgenic food. The
buyers then turned to countries like China, Argentina and Brazil for
corn that was free of StarLink. Many states and farmers in the U.S
who found Starling in their crops threatened to sue Aventis, but ended
up negotiating to protect themselves financially. In 2001, Aventis
started a program and bought back all the corn that had been mixed
with StarLink and put it into animal feed and industrial use. After all
the recalls, 51 people reported allergic reactions to the FDA but only
28 of them were possibly related to StarLink, and when they did blood
tests of the 28 who reported, they found that none of the reactions
were associated with the StarLink Corn. In the end, the reason that
StarLink corn made its way into human food was because of a cross
pollination issue where the GM corn and regular corn crops were
planted too close together due to farmers not being aware, or ignoring
the buffer zones. This finding adds to the issues surrounding the
safety of GMO crops. How can we keep these products from
contaminating the food supply?
GM crops are still a controversial topic today and there are still
safety issues. It does not matter if you get the crop tested, because
you can never know for sure if it is safe. Even though StarLink was
tested, and was banned from being used in food products, it still

made its way in somehow. As consumers, we should be more aware

of the GM crops that are being created and put it into our everyday
foods. A situation like StarLink could occur again and we could be the
next ones to get sick. Another way to increase awareness would be to
enforce food labeling of GMO products. In conclusion, we need
educate ourselves about GMOs and keep in mind that we can never
be too cautious.

Works Cited
Troy, Eric. "What Is the StarLink Corn Controversy and How Was
Taco Bell Associated?" CulinaryLore.com. 18 Apr. 2013. Web. 17
June 2015. <http://www.culinarylore.com/food-science:starlink-cornand-taco-bell-shells>.
"StarLink Corn." Transgenic Crops: An Introduction and Resource
Guide. Web. 17 June 2015.
<http://cls.casa.colostate.edu/transgeniccrops/hotstarlink.html>.
"StarLink Corn: What Happened." StarLink Corn: What Happened.
Web. 17 June 2015.
<http://ccr.ucdavis.edu/biot/new/StarLinkCorn_new.html>.