Processed foods and GMO's
What are they and how do they effect us?
How Do Genetically Modified Foods Affect Your Health?
Examples
Genetic engineering
Direct manipulation of an organisms genome (DNA) using biotechnology
Nutrition
The science that interprets the interaction of nutrients and other substances in food (e.g. phytonutrients, anthocyanins, tannins, etc.) in relation to maintenance, growth, reproduction, health and disease of an organism.
How do GMO's affect our health?
They can cause:
Food allergies
Increased toxisity
Decreased nutritional value
Antibiotic resistance
Weight gain
Reduce fertility
How?
Ex: Soy and allergies
Soy is in many foods that we eat, this soy is genetically modified, this soy is then broken down in our bodies, this new form of DNA is foreign to our bodies, therefore our bodies attack it (aka an allergic reaction)
FACTS
- 95 percent of the sugar beets, 93 percent of the soybeans and 88 percent of the corn grown in the U.S. are genetically engineered.
- EWG calculates that the average American eats 193lbs of genetically modified food per year.
- More than 60% of food in supermarkets is genetically modified.
Where?
Local testing facilities for GMO's can be found in Louisiana and Iowa. There they test for genetic modifications in the DNA of organisms. Samples can be sent to these labs to test if the food you've been eating are GMO's.