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A Corporate Mislabel: Hidden GMOs Marcus Morales Araceli Candelaria Gianni Occhiline Jared Mergener Estrella Mountain Community College

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GMO products have been altered on the genetic level to achieve things that were not originally allowable by nature. Livestock are eating corn and our crops are immune to nearly every chemical under the sun, but what is that doing to us when we eat them. Many scientists have come out in recent times to shine a light on what is happening with our food, but without the proper information going out to the people nothing can change. Many products on the market now are enhanced with these modified genes, though only a few are labeled so. GMO products need to be properly labeled with all of the relevant information so the public can make better choices at the grocery store. The average person would be shocked at the potential effects of gene modification, and the secrets being kept from them. Under both federal and state law, it states that its illegal to employ in deceptive marketing. (Simon, 2013) Its a considerable concept and applies to anything that advertises. The idea behind this is that consumers shouldnt be misleading into buying a product. One of the most leading deceptions from the food industry is the natural claims. The Food and Drugs Administrator (FDA) isnt willing to provide practical guidance on the rendition of natural. With that, marketers end up taking advantage of the word. It doesnt even matter that the product is lacking the nutrition it claims it has. Another deception consumers have to look out for is greenwashing. Its when companies purposely give the illusion that the products they are trying to sell are environmentally friendly; which of course is not the truth. However, now companies are trying to change it up and added another deception to the list; its called genewashing. Which is when a company knowingly tries to trick the consumers and tell them that their product is GMO free, when in fact they are not? Since unfortunately the term natural isnt controlled, the companies

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are able to lie and say that their food is all-natural. People of course will more than likely believe these companies and assume there are no GMOs in it. Unfortunately, it has been exposed that about a dozen Whole Foods in Los Angeles has been deceiving their consumers into buying GMO products. They have also been financially supporting a GMO food chain. According to Mike Adams from the website Natural News an employee had stated that, "It's against our policy to carry anything that's grown with GMOs in it." Although according to spies that Natural News had in the store had seen about 20%-30% of Whole Foods products contain GMO. They label their food as natural and advertise that their food has non- GMO, but its actually contaminated with genetically engineered ingredients and pesticides. Health issues today are slowly growing within the public eye and the food we eat could be causing them. GMO food products have been linked to many health issues and if the general public were to be aware of it, they would probably think differently about what they buy. In the article Are GMOs Making You Fat?, some research done on genetically modified food is brought out into the light. (Main, 2012) This research found that our food is becoming less about nutrients and more about bulk yield. Over the last fifty years, the food we grow has lost at least a quarter of the possible nutrients it can contain. Thus making the calories we eat even more impactful on our weight as less of the mass contained within the food is absorbed into our systems. The bits that do get absorbed are a potential nightmare to your health. Depending on the variety consumed, a number of genetically modified food stuffs can cause a variety of health issues. Anything from heart, adrenal and spleen damage is frequently cause by the modified genes but the major concerns are with the detoxification organs. A diet heavy in GMOs can lead to deterioration in both the liver and the kidneys, which will eventually

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develop into cancer. (Vendmois, Roullier, Cellier and Sralini) The labeling of products containing any GMO needs to be mandatory so people know what they are getting themselves into. On top of that GMOs have also been show to slow down the digestive system, making the obesity problem even worse. (Washington, 2012) One topic that isnt quite so out there is the need to take into consideration how not just humans are affected by these circumstances, but how the global ecosystem is going to react. Gene modification on a large scale will slowly destroy this planet as we know it. A pesticide produced by Bayer CropScience called Clothianidin was approved by the EPA back in 2011, a year later it was found to be a deadly toxin to the local bee population in Colorado.(Benson, 2012) Although bees may be small, they make up an important part of our ecosystem; our species would have a tough time existing without them. If we begin to label all GMO products, and really start to get the information out there, the market will begin to shift away from gene modification and adapt to a healthier standard. "From 1997 to 2007, the prevalence of reported food allergy increased 18% among children under age 18 years." (Branum, 2010). The first set of genetically modified foods were released to the public in 1994. During this time period, more and more children are developing food allergies. Most of the new developments of these allergies are shown to have happened during the new experimenting period of genetically modified organisms. There are eight different types of foods that make up the 90 percent of allergic reactions. Those foods include, milk, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, fish, shellfish, soy, and wheat. These are foods that people consume on a daily basis, and these are some of the concrete foods that are the base diets. These foods are being used often, so they are at a high demand, therefore, putting the pressure on companies to produce a large amount of their product. When the companies need to create a

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large amount of their product in a short amount of time, they turn to the scientists and genetically modified organisms to speed up the natural growing process. When the scientists speed up this natural growing process of the foods, they are tampering with the natural DNA of the food. Scientist will alter the original DNA of the foods and give it foreign qualities that people would never think would be in a certain product. This tampering of the DNA is the main issue when it comes to people's food allergies. (Smith) The failure to label these foods with altered DNA can put many people at risk. Since the beginning of the GMO era, bacteria, viruses, and other genes have been artificially implemented into the DNA of natural foods. This causes people that are susceptible to disease to be very vulnerable. They do not know what the food item that they buy contains. The issue of gene splicing, or altering one foods DNA with another food's DNA, is a huge factor in the consumer's ignorance of what the scientists do to the foods. During the mid 90's, the genes from the Brazil nut were inserted in with the genes of soybeans. This was in attempt to create a healthier soybean that can bring the nutrition of the Brazilian nut. However, this gene splice went for the worse. As people started to consume the soybeans, many of them started having allergic reactions to the food because they were allergic to nuts. The number of people with peanut allergies had doubled in the U.S. from 1997 to 2002, and many signs link that epidemic back to the Genetically Modified soy that was introduced into the food supply in 1996. (Smith) These findings show that the gene splicing to make foods contain a certain behavior is causing many people to be at risk for what can be deadly allergic reactions. This is why the government needs to form a mandatory awareness label law that forces companies to inform the consumer of what is truly in their product. It not only gives the consumer the choice to decide what they eat based on what the food consists of, but it could save many people's lives as well.

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Individuals have the right to know the numerous kinds of harmful materials that could possibly be in their foods. With this position in place consumers will have the chance to be aware of all genetic material products. Say if this proposition was passed, companies for instincts Would only have to label their so called all natural foods with a small label on the products, to allow their customers to be aware of harmful GMOs ("Yes on prop 37," ). Citizens are the ones who are paying for these different types of sustenances, in effect why should they have be blindsided by all the million unknown types of GMOs hiding in their products. There are many risks to eating foods that have GMOs such as possible allergies, and if the amount consumed contained enough it could possibly lead to serious organ damage (Wartman, 2012). Almost 80 percent of processed foods sold in America contain GMOs, such as soybeans, corn and sugar beets (Wartman, 2012). This proposition will help to make the general public more aware of what they are consuming, and gives them a choice towards what they want to eat. If proposition 37, was passed this would create a stepping stone for all people to be aware and concern of the harmful genetic material companies are putting in our food. States around world would introduce this law and have a worldwide effect. This law, could possible lower health problems and become a healthier nation. As well, citizens could create healthier habits and life choices. In conclusion, any and all GMO products need to be labeled properly and the large corporations must stop their war of lies against the world they serve. By getting the information out there and supporting legislation like Prop 37 in California we can win this fight.

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References

Adams, M. (2012, September 26). Whole Foods knowingly engages in massive GMO deception, says undercover video by 'Organic Spies'. NaturalNews. Retrieved October 30, 2013, from http://www.naturalnews.com/037329_whole

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Benson, J. (2012, April 9). Study: EPA-approved GMO insecticide responsible for killing off bees, contaminating entire food chain . NaturalNews,com. Retrieved October 30, 2013, from http://www.naturalnews.com/035511_insecticide_bees_collapse.html Branum, A. (2010, January 19). Food Allergy Among U.S. Children: Trends in Prevalence and Hospitalizations. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved October 28, 2013, from http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db10.htm Donsky, A. (2013, September 2). GMO 'Genewashing': Is the Food Industry Trying to Keep You Unhealthy?. Dr Frank Lipman. Retrieved October 28, 2013, from http://www.drfranklipman.com/gmo-genewashing-is-the-food-industry-trying-to-keep-youunhealthy/ Faiz, S. (2012, Nov. 12). Prop. 37: Genetic food labels defeated. SF.gate. Retrieved October 29, 2013, from http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Prop-37-Genetic-food-labelsdefeated-4014669.php Main, E. (2012, August). GMO foods linked to weight gain. Prevention. Retrieved October 30, 2013, from http://www.prevention.com/food/healthy-eating-tips/gmo-foods-linkedweight-gain Simon, M. (2013, June 3). Fighting Big Foods Deceptive Marketing Campaign.EcoWatch. Retrieved October 16, 2013, from http://ecowatch.com/2013/06/03/bigfoods-deceptive-marketing-campaign/ Smith, J. (n.d.). Institute for Responsible Technology. Institute for Responsible Technology. Retrieved October 28, 2013, from http://www.responsibletechnology.org/gmodangers/health-risks/articles-about-risks-by-jeffrey-smith/Genetically-Engineered-Foods-MayCause-Rising-Food-Allergies-Genetically-Engineered-Soybeans-May-2007

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Vendmois, J., Roullier, F., Cellier, D., & Sralini, G. (n.d.). A comparison of the effects of three GM corn varieties on mammalian health . International Journal of Biological Studies. Retrieved October 30, 2013, from http://www.ijbs.com/v05p0706.htm Washington. (2012, March 20). Does genetically modified food increase the incidence of obesity?. Global Research. Retrieved October 30, 2013, from http://www.globalresearch.ca/doesgenetically-modified-gm-food-increase-the-incidence-of-obesity/29869 Wartman, K. (2012). Prop. 37 fails. Retrieved October 29, 2013, from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kristin-wartman/proposition-37-next-steps_b_2093912.html Yes on prop 37. Rights to Know, Retrieved October 29, 2013, from http://www.carighttoknow.org/facts