Thread: Should You Have Genetically Modified Corn In Your Diet?

Genetic modification of food began as an attempt to produce crops which were inherently resistant to damage from pesticides. This meant farmers were able to use stronger pesticides on their crops without causing damage to the plants. Therefore the farmers were getting bigger yields and they were happy.

Genetic modification continued to improve on plant characteristics so that the sweet corn now produced in North America produces an insecticide "naturally". This means the farmers do not need to use as many pesticides, possibly non at all. Great for dollar yield as the production cost for a bushel of corn just went down. More happy farmers.

However, what are the consequences of ingesting these genetically modified products? While our governments and regulatory bodies have decleared these foods safe for consumption, there are some interesting pieces of information to consider.

Firstly, experiments conducted on rats eating genetically modified food have shown changes to their intestines. Rats are generally used for these experiments as they are biochemically similar to people. This means that effects observed in rats can be forecast to occur in humans too. The changes that were observed in the rats were not in the generation that ate the modified foods, but were found in their offspring who suffered swollen intestines and had a 55% mortality rate.

Secondly, there seems to be an increase in the number of people who are having gastro-intestinal problems such as digestive upset, cramping and even irritable bowel syndrome. Maybe you have experienced this yourself after eating a meal that you don't normally enjoy. I know it has happened to me on a few occasions and each time I put it down to the spices used or the amount of processed food in the meal. However, now I'm beginning to rethink the causes.

While all of this is circumstantial, I know what modifications I have made to my diet over the last few years.

Should corn in its various forms be a part of your diet? For more information read the article: The Truth About Corn,

I don't think I would want to try that at all. Still, nothing beats natural foods. If you can afford organic food, it's better because it doesn't use pesticides and insecticides while it is being grown so it's safe to our health and good for the body.

Me either... just the thought of it being genetically modified doesn't sound good. The question is, how do we know the difference? For all we know it may already be available in the market already and we don't know it

I heard on the news that most of the processed foods in the US that are found in the groceries have genetically modified ingredients and people don't know it. I think when a food contains an ingredient that is genetically modified, they should specify it on the label because some may not want to eat these kind of foods. It's the people's right to know if what they are eating are natural or not

I agree dazzler, when it comes to the food, most of the people like the natural ones, and there will be a lot of debate on this going on for the genetically modified food. They are not natural and also cant provide the nutrition which we can get from the natural food.

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Clenbuterol

I think they can't provide the same nutrition as the natural foods but on the articles I've read, it says it's as nutritious. They have to genetically modify it to make good use of it or for it to become healthy. I think for me that's still artificial and may have some side effects. However, I am no expert on this subject so I can be wrong. Just my opinion...