Judge Revokes Modified Sugar Beets

Linda — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 23:55:02 +0000

Even though Monsanto has never been stopped for long, GMO foods finally are asked to provide some data. This is a huge victory even if it later gets overturned. Finally one judge realized that they have not produced the data to permit them to take over the entire sugar market in this country, which means everyone will be getting the possibility of Bacillus theringensis and more leaky gut leading to more food sensitivities.

Garry F. Gordon MD,DO,MD(H)
President, Gordon Research Institute
www.gordonresearch.com

Full article: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/14/business/14sugar.html?_r=4

Excerpt:

The New York Times
August 13, 2010
Judge Revokes Approval of Modified Sugar Beets
By ANDREW POLLACK

A federal district court judge revoked the government’s approval of genetically engineered sugar beets Friday, saying that the Agriculture Department had not adequately assessed the environmental consequences before approving them for commercial cultivation.
The decision, by Judge Jeffrey S. White of Federal District Court in San Francisco, appears to effectively ban the planting of the genetically modified sugar beets, which make up about 95 percent of the crop, until the Agriculture Department prepares an environmental impact statement and approves the crop again, a process that might take a couple of years.

The decision could cause major problems for sugar beet farmers and sugar processors. In the past the sugar industry has warned there might not be enough non-engineered seeds available. However, the judge ruled that crops currently in the ground can be harvested and made into sugar, so the effects will not be felt until next spring’s planting season.
Beets supply about half the nation’s sugar, with the rest coming from sugar cane. Sugar beet growers sold the 2007-8 crop for about $1.335 billion, according to government data.
The decision came in a lawsuit organized by the Center for Food Safety, a Washington advocacy group that opposes biotech crops.

Genetically Modified Ingredients Overview

Linda — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 08:15:32 +0000

Here is a summary of what crops, foods and food ingredients have been genetically modified as of July, 2007:

Currently Commercialized GM Crops in the U.S.:
(Number in parentheses represents the estimated percent that is genetically modified.)

Soy (91%)
Cotton (88%)
Canola (80-85%)
Corn (85%)
Hawaiian papaya (more than 50%)
Alfalfa, zucchini and yellow squash (small amount)
Tobacco (Quest® brand)

Other Sources of GMOs:

Dairy products from cows injected with rbGH.
Food additives, enzymes, flavorings, and processing agents, including the sweetener aspartame (NutraSweet®) and rennet used to make hard cheeses
Meat, eggs, and dairy products from animals that have eaten GM feed
Honey and bee pollen that may have GM sources of pollen
Contamination or pollination caused by GM seeds or pollen

Some of the Ingredients That May Be Genetically Modified:

Vegetable oil, vegetable fat and margarines (made with soy, corn, cottonseed, and/or canola)

Ingredients derived from soybeans: Soy flour, soy protein, soy isolates, soy isoflavones, soy lecithin, vegetable proteins, textured vegetable protein (TVP), tofu, tamari, tempeh, and soy protein supplements.

Ingredients derived from corn: Corn flour, corn gluten, corn masa, corn starch, corn syrup, cornmeal, and High-Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS).

Some Food Additives May Also Be Derived From GM Sources:

The list may change as we encounter new information: ascorbic acid/ascorbate (Vitamin C), cellulose, citric acid, cobalamin (vitamin B12), cyclodextrin, cystein, dextrin, dextrose, diacetyl, fructose (especially crystalline fructose), glucose, glutamate, glutamic acid, gluten, glycerides (mono- and diglycerides), glycerol, glycerol, glycerine, glycine, hemicellulose, , hydrogenated starch hydrolates, hydrolyzed vegetable protein or starch, inositol, invert sugar or inverse syrup, (also may be listed as inversol or colorose), lactic acid, lactoflavin, lecithin, leucine, lysine, maltose, maltitol, maltodextrin, mannitol, methylcellulose, milo starch, modified food starch, monooleate, mono- and diglycerides, monosodium glutamate (MSG), oleic acid, phenylalanine, phytic acid, riboflavin (Vitamin B2) sorbitol, stearic acid, threonine, tocopherol (Vitamin E), trehalose, xanthan gum, and zein.

Some of the Foods That May Contain GM Ingredients:

Infant formula
Salad dressing
Bread
Cereal
Hamburgers and hotdogs
Margarine
Mayonnaise
Crackers
Cookies
Chocolate
Candy
Fried food
Chips
Veggie burgers
Meat substitutes
Ice cream
Frozen yogurt
Tofu
Tamari
Soy sauce
Soy cheese
Tomato sauce
Protein powder
Baking powder (sometimes contains corn starch)
Powdered/Confectioner’s sugar (often contains corn starch)
Confectioner’s glaze
Alcohol
Vanilla
Powdered sugar
Peanut butter
Enriched flour
Vanilla extract (sometimes contains corn syrup)
Pasta
Malt
White vinegar

Non-Food Items That May Contain GM Ingredients:

Cosmetics
Soaps
Detergents
Shampoo
Bubble bath

INVISIBLE GM INGREDIENTS

Processed foods often have hidden GM sources (unless they are organic or declared non-GMO).
The following are ingredients that may be made from GM soy, corn, cotton, or canola.

aspartame	gluten	modified starch
baking powder	glycerides	monosodium glutamate
bee pollen	glycerin	oleic acid
caramel color	glycerol	Phenylalanine
cellulose	glycerol monooleate	phytic acid
citric acid	glycine	sorbitol
cobalamin (Vitamin B12)	hemicellulose	soy flour
corn gluten	high fructose corn syrup (HFCS)	soy isolates
corn masa	hydrogenated starch	soy lecithin
corn oil	hydrolyzed vegetable protein	soy protein
corn syrup	inositol	starch
cornmeal	invert sugar (colorose or inversol)	stearic acid
cornstarch	tamari	inverse syrup
cyclodextrin	isoflavones	tempeh
cystein	lactic acid	threonine
dextrin	lecithin	tocopherols (Vitamin E)
dextrose	leucine	tofu
diacetyl	lysine	trehalose
diglyceride	malitol	triglyceride
fructose	maltodextrin	vegetable fat
fructose (crystalline)	maltose	vegetable oil
glucose	mannitol	Vitamin B12
glutamate	methylcellulose	Vitamin E
glutamic acid	milo starch	xanthan gum

Our understanding is that ascorbic acid (Vitamin C), although usually derived from corn, is probably
not GM because it is not made in North America. Honey and bee pollen may contain GMOs if the
beehives are near GM crops.

This list is continually being updated and refined. For the most recent version, see www.nongmoshoppingguide.com.

Sources for “Genetically Modified Ingredients Overview:

Natural Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), Agricultural Statistics Board, US Department of Agriculture: Acreage. Available at: http://www.thecampaign.org/Acre-06-30-2006.pdf (2006)

Cornell Cooperative Extension, GEO-PIE (Genetically Engineered Organisms Public Issues Education) Project. http://www.geo-pie.cornell.edu/crops/ingredients.html

Ruth Winter , A Consumer’s Dictionary of Food Additives: Descriptions in plain English of more than 12,000 ingredients both harmful and desirable found in foods, 6^th ed. (New York: Three Rivers Press, 2004).

Robert S. Igoe , The Dictionary of Food Ingredients, 2^nd ed. (New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1989).

Research Triangle Institute, “Economic Characterization of the Dietary Supplement Industry” March 1999. Available at: http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~acrobat/ds-econ.pdf

Codex General Standard for Food Additives (GSFA) Online Database of the World Health Organization(WHO) Food and Agriculture Organization(FAO) of the United Nations and the reports of the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA). Available at: http://www.codexalimentarius.net/gsfaonline/additives/index.html

The University of Maryland Medical Center database of supplements by name: http://www.umm.edu/altmed/ConsLookups/Supplements.html

Archives of the Agricultural Research Service of the USDA: http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/AR/archive/

Reports of the European Commission Scientific Committee for Food: http://ec.europa.eu/food/fs/sc/scf/reports_en.html

U.S. National Institute of Health (NIH) PubMed Central (PMC): http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/

Also consulted the following industry sites:

http://www.corn.org/web/bioprod.htm
http://www.confectionerynews.com/news/ng.asp?n=70687-danisco-xylitol-sugar
http://www.grainprocessing.com/food/malinfo.html
http://www.cargillfoods.com/pdfs/sweeteners.pdf/ca198.pdf

Alfalfa – F.I.G.H.T for your health!

Judge Revokes Modified Sugar Beets

Genetically Modified Ingredients Overview