The Dangers of Genetically-Modified
Foods 
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How to Avoid GM Food Joanna Blythman ISBN: 1 84115 117 4 4th Estate £4.99 165pp |
Here is a horrifying list. It comes from a slim volume of information about the sort of genetically-modified foods likely to be found in UK supermarkets, and all of them are in the category author Joanna Blythman describes as "Red Brands", namely those where
- "The
company sees some potential benefits in GM food and is prepared to
use GM ingredients and derivatives. Its foods are more likely to
contain GM ingredients and derivatives."
But before Stateside consumers start thinking this doesn't concern them, here's the really bad news: it would be impossible to compile such a list in USA, since GM labelling is not required by the law.
Indeed, Blythman makes the same point
several times, identifying US-derived products as potential sources
of GM foods in UK supermarkets. For instance: "US milk is
widely produced by injecting cows with the GM growth hormone,
rBST." So, she argues, steer clear of "US 'premium' ice
creams" (apart from Ben & Jerry's, which is on her green
list of firms which "never knowingly source genetically
modified ingredients or derivatives".
[skip table]
Though rBST is "not approved for use in the EU", milk or milk products which may have been produced in the US with the aid of rBST may be imported, and European food manufacturers are likely to be using US-produced skimmed milk powder, milk fat, whey powder, milk protein or lactose, in such products as cakes, which don't need to be labelled as GM-derived.
This isn't the end of the bad news. Vegetarians proud of their healthy eating habits will be dismayed to learn that, with a few exceptions (Soya Health Foods Limited and Soya Kass products), veggie foods are "extremely likely to come from GM soya, especially if they are bought from a supermarket rather than a wholefood shop".She says:
- "The margarine/spread, the
peanut butter, the cannelloni and salad bowl are likely to contain
oils, thickeners and emulsifiers from GM soya or maize. The cheese
is made with chymosin, the GM substitute for rennet. The yeast
extract is derived from brewer's yeast, which can legally be made using a GM process."
Convenience foods and children's favourites, like tinned soups or fish fingers, are all likely to contain soya in various forms. "As prime consumers of heavily processed junk food," she says, "children are in the front line for GM food. Eating a typical 'childfren's food' repertoire . . . they would be likely to swallow a cocktail of food ingredients from GM crops."
Does it matter? Well, Monsanto would no doubt say no. The point is, though, that we have a right to know what we are eating. And even though US labelling regulations lag behind Europe's, the UK's laws are far from adequate.
Present regulations permit the following products not to be labelled as containing GM or GM-derived ingredients:
- Foods containing a 'derivative' of a GM crop where no DNA or protein from that crop can be detected (such as oil from GM soya or modified starch from GM maize). Such derivatives turn up in between 60 and 80 per cent of processed foods;
- Foods containing a GM food additive (such as the emulsifier E322 soya lecithin). The term 'additive' is used to cover all flavourings, preservatives, colours, emulsifiers, acids, acidity regulators, anticaking agents, anti-foaming agents, antioxidants, firming agents, flavour enhancers, flour treatment agents, foam stabilisers, gelling agents, glazing agents, humectants, modified starches, stabilisers, sweeteners, thickeners and yeast nutrients;
- Foods which use genetic-modification processes or methods at some point in their production (such as enzymes in breadmaking or hormones to produce milk);
- Foods containing detectable DNA or protein from a GM crop but at a level that is below a certain 'de minimis' threshold or tolerance. The regulations do not state what this threshold is. Food manufacturers are interpreting this as permitting DNA or protein levels representing anything between 3 and 10 per cent of the total product.
All this is cause for concern, even if one accepts New Labour reassurances that GM foods are harmless (even as the last Government assured us that BSE meat constituted no danger).
Joanna Blythman - and her publishers - have rendered valuable public service in identifying the weakness of current labelling legislation, and the way that even effective labelling cannot protect us from the use of antibiotic-resistant marker genes which can be passed into the human gut, with potentially catastrophic results.
She also provides a directory of useful addresses (Greenpeace, etc), plus the head offices of the major supermarket chains. Write to them now, demanding that all products containing any GM derivative be clearly labelled, in large letters, "Contains GM products". At present, the warning is likely to be in tiny, 6pt type, often merely marked with an asterisk referring you to an equally small fotenote in the ingredients list. Most supermarkets have responded to consumer pressure regarding GM foods, and people like Marks & Spencer and Tesco are moving to banning all GM foods. Requiring large-type labelling would not remove all the danger, but it would make consumers a damn-sight better informed than they are now.
Note:Joanna Blythman is also the author of another useful book from 4th Estate this month: The Food Our Children eat - how to get our children to like good food. £8.99. Order online from Amazon: [UK] [US]