We need GMO food labels

About 80 percent of processed foods in your local supermarket contain genetically modified ingredients. The most common GM foods are products from corn, soybeans, cotton, rice, potatoes, and sugar beets.

That means many foods made in the United States - such as breakfast cereals, snack foods, soda pop salad dressings, whipped toppings, hydrogenated oils, margarines, vegetable oils, frying foods and chips - likely have GM ingredients.

Natural genetic modification is different from artificial modification. Natural gene transfer is precisely negotiated by the organism as a whole and it takes place at the right place and time without damaging the genetic material. Artificial gene transfer is crude, imprecise, and is forced into cells with no control over where and in what forms the artificial constructs land, with much damage to the genetic material.

Regulation for GM foods falls under three federal agencies: the Food and Drug Administration, Environmental Protection Agency and U.S. Department of Agriculture. But industry experts admit market approval is left mostly to the companies that create the technology. Monsanto Company dominates the industry, accounting for a 90 percent share of GM crops worldwide.

About 85 percent of all genetically engineered plants are designed to tolerate very high levels of herbicide - glyphosate (the active ingredient in Monsanto's herbicide Roundup) in particular. These are the so-called 'Roundup ready crops,” the seeds of which have been referred to as 'terminator seeds.” This is because these crops are sterile.

Some world GMO (genetically modified organism) experts say glyphosate may be more toxic than DDT. Glyphosate is not just an herbicide. It was originally patented as a mineral chelator. It immobilizes nutrients, making them unavailable for your body.

It is also patented as an antibiotic that can devastate human gut bacteria. Your gut flora is critical to the proper function of your immune system, and when this is disrupted, you can develop all sorts of health problems. Studies are showing that ingestion of GM foods have shown tumors, gastric lesions, liver and kidney damage, allergic reactions and antibiotic resistance.

The use of pesticides and herbicides on GM crops has increased dramatically. In 2011, about 250 million pounds of glyphosate were used in the U.S. and 1.3 billion pounds worldwide. The EPA recently doubled the amount of glyphosate allowed in your food.

In the U.S., the tipping point of consumer rejection of GM food is almost here. A clear sign of this occurred in 2012, when the president of Whole Foods confessed that when a product becomes verified as non-GMO or GMO-free, sales leap by 15 percent to 30 percent.

Among all the categories of health and wellness claims, such as 'gluten free,” the 'GMO-free” products have the most rapid growth in sales. Target has announced that its own store brand will be non-GMO in 2014. Chipotle's restaurants are creating a non-GMO menu, and already voluntarily label.

Unless a food is certified organic, you can assume it contains GMO ingredients if it contains sugar from sugar beets, soy, corn or any of their derivatives. USDA 100 percent certified organic foods do not permit GMOs.

You can print out and use the 'Non-GMO Shopping Guide,” created by the Institute for Responsible Technology. (Go to http://tinyurl.com/btzodvv).

Vermont just passed a first-of-its-kind, GMO labeling bill on April 23, which will be law in July of 2016. Legislation may not be necessary if more companies and individuals purchase non-GMO foods.

l JJ Meyer, a Cedar Rapids chiropractor with 37 years experience, is one of two certified GAPS (Gut and Psychology Syndrome)-certified practitioners in Iowa. Comments: jjmeyerdc@gmail.com