Dear Editor,
The argument on the safety of genetically modified organisms (GMO) is intensifying as the correlation between Celiac disease (and other maladies such as Autism and thyroid issues) and glyphosate, the key ingredient in a pesticide used to make Roundup (a brand name pesticide) is under more scrutiny. GMO agricultural giants (such as Dow ConAgro), along with the companies that make the pesticides (Monsanto, for an example) to keep the production of GMO yields high, have created a system that needs to have some form of regulation. Accurate and truthful national GMO labeling is currently the best way to for both opponents and proponents of GMOs to compromise on the issue.
There is much debate over the safety of glyphosate, and while Monsanto states on their website that is completely safe to humans, studies suggest otherwise. MIT Senior Research Scientist Stephanie Seneff and co-author Anthony Samsel state in their paper, Glyphosate: Pathways to Modern Diseases II: Celiac sprue and gluten intolerance, that there is a correlation between glyphosate and Celiac disease and use data from the USDA and the CDC to show it.
Seneff also states on her website, that while there has indeed been studies where isolated glyphosate seems to be somewhat safe to human, when glyphosate is combined with an oxalate the toxicity is 1,000 times more dangerous. This is an alarming number and if continuing current studies prove the same results, GMOs should, at the very least, be labeled.
Hospital discharge diagnosis (any) of celiac disease ICD-9 579 and glyphosate applications to wheat (R=0.9759, p≤1.862e-06). Sources: USDA:NASS; CDC. (Figure courtesy of Nancy Swanson)
Vermont, one of the smallest states in the United States, scored a major victory in implementing July 1, 2016 labeling laws when the U.S. Senate voted March 16, 2016. That Senate vote rejected a bill 49-48, which would have blocked states from having their own GMO labeling laws. This vote will have a direct impact on Connecticut and Maine, as those states have passed GMO labeling laws but are waiting on their neighboring states to put their own laws into effect.
Companies like Nestle, Campbell’s, and General Mills have already begun the process of labeling their products nationwide-as has already been done in 64 other countries-in a preemptive attempt to avoid penalties that will be imposed if the laws are not followed. General Mills and other companies are holding out that the opponents to the laws will find a way change the decision (Nestle and Campbell’s support the mandatory informed disclosure of GMOs.)
The question that needs to be asked: If GMOs are completely non-toxic and safe for humans to eat, why are companies like Monsanto and Dow ConAgra spending millions to block GMO labeling? I, in addition to the majority of the American consumers that participated in a December 2015 Associated Press poll, feel that if there is nothing to hide, label the GMO products and let we the people decide what we want to put in our bodies.
Sincerely,
Lisa Barry
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