Effects Of GMOs For You And Your Pet

Posted on June 5th, 2013

This post was originally posted in Nutricula Magazine on June 5th, 2013

A commentary by Al Plechner, DVM and Bob Berger, MS, MVSc, PhD

Dr. Plechner:

This topic appears to have become a political issue as opposed to an issue of safe health for the people and animals of the United States. Our government is “pushing the use of these foods down our throats” while other governments throughout the world have realized the health hazards that accompany the use of genetically modified foods, (GMO foods).

Many of the various governments throughout the world have passed legislation that marks products that come from GMO foods so that their people, unlike ours, can make that choice.

Forgetting our government political policies regarding GMO foods, let’s look at some facts that will cause you to think twice about eating, feeding your family, and feeding your pets foods that come from genetically modified seeds.

Have you been informed about the Russian experiment with the use of soy milk for infants when fed to a family of guinea pigs? If not, the following will provide you with some facts you need to know!

The first generation of guinea pigs showed a definite decline in normal health.

The second generation of guinea pigs experienced 5 times the normal rate for infant mortality.

The third generation of guinea pigs were all born sterile.

This must be a consideration for all of us, including our children, as well as their children, to think about.

Furthermore, scientific studies have linked foods that come from genetically modified seeds to a definite increase in cancer, severe viral infections, and damage to the protective immune system, including many types of allergies, including food sensitivities.

Do you think this should still be a political decision for you, your family and your pets to live and die by?

These GMO seeds are not only depleting our soil of various minerals needed for other healthy plants to survive, but are doing the same to us!

Can you imagine a person or animal that may be suffering from a lack of calcium in their diet and eating foods that come from GM seeds?

According to the Mercola report of April 30, 2013, genetically modified corn contains only 14 parts per million of calcium while non GM corn contains 6,130 ppm of calcium, which is 437 times more calcium.

Non GM corn also contains 56 times the amount of magnesium and 7 times the amount of manganese than GM corn does! The fact is-GM corn also contains toxic chemicals which have been shown to cause people and animals major health problems.

One chemical is glyphosates which you can Google and see the many health problems that they cause.The EPA lists the concentration level for glyphosates at 0.7 ppm or less as non-toxic. Non GM corn contains no glyphosates as opposed to GM corn that contains 2 ppm which is way beyond the limits of safety.

Formaldehydes are quite toxic-yet GM corn containing 200 ppm of formaldehyde is being consumed. Formaldehyde has been scientifically proven to cause major diseases in people and in animals!

The following are recommendations from the Institute for Responsible Technology for commercially produced foods that should be avoided because they may have come from GM seeds; These are soy, corn, sugar from beets, canola oil, cottonseed oil, Hawaiian pineapple, certain varieties of zucchini, and crookneck squash.

For more information on GM foods to avoid, please go to the website for the Institute for Responsible Technology.

For more information on the damage that GM foods are causing, please go to a book called, Against the Odds, Given up for Dead, published 2012, Spangenburg and Plechner, pages 110 to 113.

GM foods have been proven to be very damaging health-wise, so why should this be a political issue? If other governments in the world have already recognized this, then why has our government given the “green light” to the manufacturing of these damaging seeds?

Another issue to consider is this; we need to know, (on top of everything else), if the foods that are derived from cows, pigs, fowl, fish, etc…contain GMO residues…that is, are these animals (which we and are pets are consuming), being fed GMO foods themselves? If they are, and labeling does not indicate so, we may be just killing ourselves, our families, and our pets…even though the government and our politicians seem to “know” that GMO foods are safe for us.

Also…how about the chemicals used in growing many of today’s crops, especially of the GM corn, for instance? If bees are pollinating these crops/plants, that means that these same bees are also being exposed to these chemicals as well as to GMOs. What a bad combination-this is like combining Frankenstein’s monster and the Wolf-Man into one!

These chemicals and GMO residues most certainly undermine the immune system of these insects, which in turn, would make them vulnerable to (many) other diseases. Now-think of all the GM corn-based pet foods out there…on top of everything else…laced with aflatoxins as well. If this can happen to bees it can also happen to human babies.

We have a right to make the decision as to what we eat, what we feed our family, and what we feed our pets!

The time for labeling of foods is here so we can make those decisions ourselves as opposed to our government making those decisions for us!

Other countries have that right…so why don’t we?

Dr. Berger:

As we are referring to both our animal friends as well as our human selves here, we humans need to assume responsibility of all of this since our pets can’t make the decisions on what they are fed, only we humans can. But let’s just forget about ourselves and focus on our animal friends.

The point here is that genetically-modified seeds grow genetically-modified food, and when our pets eat GMO foods, these foods will undoubtedly affect their health status, especially if you believe that we are what we eat. We may not be exactly what we eat, but what we consume daily affects all of the enzyme systems and how our foods/nutrients are utilized in the body-this goes for our pets as well.

Our pets do not live as long as we humans do-this is a given; but most folks don’t ever consider the fact that species with shorter life spans, also, (in many cases), have a much greater risk/susceptibility to significantly faster cellular mutations. The physiological, biological, and biochemical events which occur in our pets do so at a greater pace than they do in humans. We might be able to fend-off potential mutations and diseases that may one day, or even presently, be the result of some of these potentially harmful “Frankenstein-like” modifications in our seeds and foods, but because we live longer and have a longer-adaptation and/or modification time to do so than do our pets, they [our pets] don’t have this kind of time in most cases.

Case-In-Point: There are many reasons why different strains of albino laboratory rats are used in numerous cancer studies on a universal level. It isn’t because they are rats, per se, but it’s because many of their strains are highly susceptible to many forms of cancer, through tumor transplantation, genetic predisposition, immunological deficits, etc. Another reason for this is because they have a short average lifespan of 24-30 months, and results can be obtained fairly rapidly. Our domestic friends also have a truncated lifespan, especially when compared to humans. If you combine or add up the facts, these various strains of albino laboratory rats would be affected by genetic, environmental, and induced actions faster, (in an overall time-line), than humans. The same is true for our pets. Thus, conditions that could alter the health of our pets, whether they be positive or negative, are going to do so faster than what would be normally found in human beings.

The bottom line here is that if these GMO seeds and foods are bad for human health over a long/extended period of time, they are certainly bad for our animal friends whose “long period of time” is really not so long.

The best thing to do to protect our pets is to check labels and use foods that you can be sure are not genetically modified…as well as you can. There is still going to be some overlap anyway, as there are always time issues and financial concerns. You need not worry too much about every little thing, but concentrate on the big things instead when it comes to feeding your pets the foods you know will be safe for them in the long-haul. A lot of this is common sense…if something looks or you feel is “un-natural”, check it out… especially if these are snacks or “goodies” other than the daily diet. Go with brands you trust or that you have been using and are familiar with, and do your homework. Always check your pet’s stools. If constipation or diarrhea are present, or if either lasts too long, this may be a clue to check what may be in the diet, if new things were added.

When you have true questions and concerns, always check with or ask your trusted veterinarian.