According to a new report made public by the Environmental Working Group, people living in the US gulp down worrying amounts of genetically engineered (GE) foods on a yearly basis. Interestingly enough, studies concerning the effects this habit can have on public health are still lacking.
After looking into this issue, the Environmental Working Group concluded that American citizens eat sufficient GE foods so as to equal – and sometimes even exceed – their body weight.
To cut a long story short: on the one hand, the average American weighs 179 pounds (81.2 kilograms); on the other hand, the average GE foods intake for a period of just twelve months is 193 pounds (87.5 kilograms).
The official website for said green-oriented organization explains that these 193 pounds of “frankenfoods” must be broken down as follows: 68 pounds (30.8 kilograms) of beet sugar, 58 pounds (26.3 kilograms) of corn syrup, 38 pounds (17.2 kilograms) of soybean oil and 29 pounds (13.15 kilograms) of corn-based products.
As well as this, it seems that foods such as canola oil, cottonseed oil, papaya, yellow squash and other soy products (all of which must be linked to genetic engineering) have been excluded from these calculations, which means that the end figures are quite likely to be even more impressive.
Commenting on the findings of this study, the Director of the Environmental Working Group's California officer, Renee Sharp, made a case of how, “What's shocking is that Americans are eating so much genetically engineered food, yet there have been zero long-term studies done by the federal government or industry to determine if its consumption could pose a health risk.”
Furthermore, “If you were planning on eating your body weight of anything in a year or feeding that much food to your family, wouldn't you first want to know if long-term government studies and monitoring have shown it safe?”
In spite of said lack of long-term studies into this matter, the Environmental Working Group wishes to draw attention to the fact that GE crops must be linked to a considerable increase in the use of pesticides in agriculture.
Moreover, some specialists went as far as to argue that “frankenfoods” can cause people to develop allergies and other health conditions.
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