The Case of the Poison Lanape
Above is a link to a tale about the Poison Lanape. This was a potato bred through conventional cross breeding and was allowed to be released on the market because there is no restrictions for organic, non-GMO foods to be tested for toxins. Well, the potatoes had an increase in the level of Solanine, found in all plants from the family Solanaceae, which made them toxic to human beings. From the article:
Fred Gould, Entomologist writes:
He used Lenapes as an example of risk and uncertainty. Often, people frame genetically modified plants as this huge open question a giant uncertainty, of the sort we’ve never dealt with before. There’s this idea that GM plants are uniquely at risk of producing unexpected side effects, and that we have no way of knowing what those effects would be until average consumers start getting sick, Gould told me. But neither of those things is really true. Conventional breeding, the simple act of crossing one existing plant with another, can produce all sorts of unexpected and dangerous results.
So, there is a risk no matter what because most plants use toxins as a means of pest resistance, and whether GM or conventional, a possibility exists of increasing these toxins to unsafe levels. As per pesticides, if the US is below the level that science says (Not the EU or the US, nor any other country), then why should we worry about this product which has been used since 1947 with no known cases of illness stemming from these products? Plus, there was a review on these product in 1997 which came back saying:
FDA writes:
EPA said in a statement that its evaluation in 1997 found "reasonable certainty of no harm"
Also, why are you not washing your apples prior to eating them? These products are only able to be harvested once a year in the fall and this means they must store for long periods of time to be available. DPA helps make this possible and washing would remove any residue from the outside of the apple.
I don't think the European model is successful because it places a hamper of timidity on products that, whether organic, GM, or artificial, carry some risk inherently. Even water is toxic in high enough doses. According to the best science at the time, 10 ppm is an acceptable level for this pesticide residue. Should they complete their 15 year review, yes, but that doesn't remove the previous scientific research from the journals. Plus, even the member states of the EU are not happy with the political blockade that has arisen against GM foods and want to make it a country based decision, instead of a Union. And claiming the FDA doesn't require safety testing is incorrect on food additives, otherwise why do additives and preservatives have labels from the FDA such as, "Generally regarded as safe" or "Ban" or "PD(Petition Denied)". I agree our supplement industry operates on a method of harm must come from the products before the government can act (something that should be changed), but food additives do require approval, which has testing that goes along with it.
This reminds me of the argument from Anti-GMO groups that GMOs are not tested for safety. Stating this while there is a regulation process that requires 10 years and 40 million dollars to get a product approved seems incorrect, especially while organics can simply be released and see what happens. Otherwise, how did they set the standard for PPM for DPA use on apples, if there is no regulation and testing?
Group asks U.S. to examine pesticide-coated apples banned in Europe
FDA Food Additives
BTW, I do agree that the FDA needs to be given back some authority that has consistently been stripped from it by Congress (especially in regards to supplements). Without authority, no one is held accountable, but I do think they do their best with the resources they have. Hence why we do not hear of food borne illness outbreaks every day.
Edited by Tempe 12ft Chicken, : No reason given.
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