As we continue our series on the state of GMO foods in America, we’ll focus on the latest research, and what our trusted officials in government are doing (or not doing) to keep our food system safe and sustainable. But first, I wanted to share with you some new research that I stumbled upon, as I find it particularly disturbing.
Eating Genetically Modified Food Will Make You Fat
In addition to being suspected of causing large tumors and severe stomach inflammation, it’s now thought that GMO foods could have an impact on our waistlines.
Scientists in Norway have discovered that eating GMO corn and soy fosters and maintains obesity. They conducted long-term, 10-year experimental feeding studies that suggest a positive link between eating GMO corn—which contained toxic proteins from the Bt bacteria—and obesity. GMO corn-fed animals got fatter quicker and retained the weight compared to animals fed a GMO-free diet. They performed the same type of studies on rats, mice, pigs and salmon and saw similar results.
The Norwegian researchers also discovered that rats fed a diet of fish that were raised on GMO grain got fatter faster than control rats fed non-GMO-fed fish. Collectively, these studies suggests that if you consume fish or meat from an animal which was fed GMO grains or consume products made from GMO corn or soy, you could get fatter faster and retain the weight.
This study was the work of a multi-national collaboration with researchers from Austria, Hungary, Ireland, Turkey and Australia. Lead professor, Åshild Krogdahl, noted that
“A frequent claim has been that new genes introduced in GM food are harmless since all genes are broken up in the intestines. But our findings show that genes can be transferred through the intestinal wall into the blood; they have been found in blood, muscle tissue and liver in sufficiently large segments to be identified ….. The biological impact of this gene transfer is unknown.”
Researchers found distinct changes to the intestines of animals fed GMOs compared to those fed non-GMOs, confirming other studies done by U.S. researchers. Significant changes were found in the digestive systems of the test animals’ major organs, including the liver, kidneys, pancreas and genitals.
Krogdahl also noted that “The [animals] who had fed on GM corn were slightly larger, they ate slightly more, their intestines had a different micro-structure, they were less able to digest proteins, and there were some changes to their immune system.”
This is what is particularly alarming: The fact that ‘they were less able to digest proteins’ has huge implications in the biochemistry of amino acids necessary for all life processes. As we all know, proteins are the building blocks of life. Compromising how the body digests proteins may not only relate to a rise in obesity, but to increases in many modern diseases.
A number of researchers suspect that GMO food could also be a significant cause of the relatively recent historic increase in U.S. rates of obesity. The FDA admits that GMOs have been in the U.S. food supply for about the last 20 years. During the same time obesity rates have skyrocketed.
So who’s sounding the alarm? You’d think the American Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (AND) would have a response to the abundance of such disturbing data, but thanks to a laundry list of industry ties, they’ve been silent, with the exception of one statement.