Rise in Pesticide Use in GE Food Must Not Be Ignored
The risks of increasing levels of pesticides in imported food produced with genetic engineering (GE) technology cannot be ignored, after one study found pesticide use had trebled since 2005.
The report from Brazil [1] signals that people and animals eating these foods could be exposed to a higher level of pesticides and to new cocktails of chemicals. These toxins have the potential to significantly impact human and animal health.
By contrast, there is evidence of improvements in disease when GE foods are excluded from the human diet. Yet there are no diagnostic tools for doctors and other health service professionals to monitor the impact of imported GE food in the diet.
A recent report in Vitality Magazine [2] details examples of dramatic health improvements in patients who were asked by their doctors to change their diets and avoid genetically engineered foods. The most dramatic health improvement came in people with digestive problems like irritable bowel, colitis, rectal fissures, and with migraines, asthma or immune system problems.
�The health system is struggling with a significant rise in irritable bowel syndrome, digestive aliments, new and unknown 'viruses' and unexplained illnesses. There is potential that a change to a GE-free diet can help reduce illness,� said Claire Bleakley, president of GE-Free NZ (in food and environment).
"Consumers that are suffering from allergy type symptoms or recurring immune system problems should stick to a healthy diet free of GE-ingredients, and foods that are grown in New Zealand.
In New Zealand most processed foods with imported ingredients contain sugars, diabetic sugars, enzymes, soy corn and cotton oils and, derivatives of high fructose corn that are genetically engineered and do not need to be labelled.
The Food Standards Australia New Zealand has all the genetically engineered foods they have approved on their website.
The approval of imported foods made with 2,4-D -resistant crops able to withstand multiple toxic chemicals, adds to the list of GE-foods that go unmonitored but could be undermining public health.
[1] http://www.gmwatch.org/latest-listing/1-news-items/14110-pesticide-use-rises-in-brazil-as-gm-crop-plantings-increase
[2] http://vitalitymagazine.com/article/dramatic-health-recoveries-reported/
[3]http://www.foodstandards.gov.au/consumerinformation/gmfoods/gmcurrentapplication1030.cfm
ENDS:
Claire Bleakley 027 348 6731 / 06 3089842
Jon Carapiet 0210507681 |
