Hidden Costs of GMO Foods

"Organic foods, by definition, can't contain genetically modified organisms, known as GMOs. But genetically modified corn, soy and other crops have become such common ingredients in processed foods that even one of the nation's top organic food retailers says it's been unable to avoid stocking some products that contain them."

The verdict is still out on whether or not foods containing GMOs are harmful. What can be know for sure is that all GMO containing foods are grown from seeds produced by some of the largest agri-businesses in the world. At first glance, the crops produced from these seeds boast some amazing benefits including shortened growth periods, increased resistance to drought, and many such as Monsanto's famous varieties contain their own herbicide's and pesticides. These same seeds and the companies that produce them are also regarded as potentially ushers of widespread and largely irreversible environmental havoc. These seeds and the genetically modified elements within them enter the environment and move through it just as any other seeds do. They are dispersed by animals, water and wind. Already, they have spread far away from the initial farms where they were first planted. As it stands, in the United States, there is no mandatory labeling for foods containing GMOs. It seems that both the EPA (responsible for pesticide monitoring) and the FDA (responsible for food monitoring) see these foods as a gray area -- and also the other's responsibility.

There is something that often slips under the radar while everyone is scuffling about and arguing for and against GMOs based on what seem to be very valid health and environmental concerns. That is the financial impact on small farmers. As intellectual property ownership of these seeds are licensed to farmers. As in the case of "teminator-seed" technology, these same farmers no longer have the right to save and replant their own seeds. Herbicide and pesticide containing seeds create the same feedback loop as conventional weed and bug killing measures -- resistance. Weeds and bugs evolve and, requiring other measures for pest control. Each link in this chain makes farmers more and more dependent on the handful of agribusiness that produce these seeds. If the farmers are dependent on them then the consumers are also dependent on them.