Health & Fitness
The Top 7 Genetically Modified Crops
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There are not any laws requiring the mandatory labeling of genetically modified food. A GMO is plant or animal product that has had their DNA altered in a laboratory by genes from other plants, animals, viruses or bacteria.
For example, genetically engineered corn contains a pesticide that cannot be washed off. Most GE food grown in the U.S. is “Roundup Ready,” meaning it can withstand spraying of Monsanto’s Roundup pesticide and live, while weeds around the crop dies. Since Roundup has been used for this purpose, superweeds have emerged that are Roundup resistant. It now takes more Roundup to kill those weeds. Roundup was recently declared a probable carcinogen by the World health Organization (WHO).
Research links GMOs to allergies, organ toxicity and many other health issues. Neither the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) or the U.S.
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Department of Agriculture (USDA) do not require safety testing for GMOs.
Market watchers estimate that upwards of 70% of processed foods in your local supermarket contain genetically modified ingredients.
There is no way to be sure of the percentage because no labels are required to inform consumers about the presence of GMOs in food.
The top three GMO crops grown in the U.S. are soy, corn and cotton, according to the USDA.
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Here are the Top 7 Genetically Modified Crops:
1. Corn is the No. 1 crop grown in the U.S. and 88% of it is genetically modified. In addition to being added to countless processed foods, genetically modified corn makes up a large percentage of animal feed. We then eat the meat from an animal that was fed exclusively GMOs.
2. Soy is another staple of processed foods under various names including hydrogenated oils, lecithin, emulsifiers, tocopherol (a vitamin E supplement) and proteins. 93% of the soy is GMO. Soy is also an estrogen mimicker, which can cause a hormone imbalance in whoever consumes soy.
3. Cottonseed is 94% GMO. Cottonseeds are used for vegetable oil, margarine or shortening production. Cottonseed is also used for frying foods, such as potato chips.
4. Alfalfa is fed to dairy cows. Alfalfa is another GMO crop. Unless s dairy product is organic, the cows that produced the milk were probably fed GMOs. Alfalfa is the fourth largest crop grown in the U.S., behind corn, soybeans, and wheat. There is no genetically engineered wheat currently on the market.
5. Papaya - 75% of the Hawaiian papaya crop is genetically modified to withstand the papaya ringspot virus.
6. Canola - About 90% of the U.S. canola crop is genetically modified. Canola oil is used in cooking, as well as in biofuels.
7. Sugar Beets -54% of the sugar sold in America comes from sugar beets. Genetically modified sugar beets account for 90%. That means that 48.6% sugar in America is GMO.