Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Are GMOs Responsible for the Increasing Food Allergies?
When loving mother Robyn O'Brien gave a talk at TEDx-Austin
she told a story of how one of her children developed a severe
allergic reaction to a normal breakfast of waffles, yogurt, and
eggs. Told these were some of the top foods known to cause
food allergies, she thought back to her childhood, when food
allergies did not seem to exist. After doing some research,
she found that cases of food allergies have exploded in recent
decades, with the rate of hospitalizations due to food allergens
rising by 265 percent between 1997 and 2002. Could GMOs be
responsible? That was certainly O'Brien's claim.
Before a company can market a new GM seed, it is required
by government regulation (using the consultation process men-
tioned earlier) to demonstrate it will not increase the rate of food
allergies. The process for doing so is scientific, well established,
and we believe, effective. All (known) food allergens are pro-
teins, and the vast majority of them are found in peanuts, milk,
eggs, soybeans, tree nuts, fish, crustacea, and wheat. The poten-
tial for allergens is assessed by comparing each novel protein
that is created by the GM plant (and not present in its non-GM
counterpart) to about five hundred known allergens. If a poten-
tial exists, further tests must be conducted to ensure safety.
Otherwise, it is considered no more risky than non-GM food.
To illustrate, consider a GM soybean seed that produces a
particular protein needed by livestock (2S albumin), a protein
that is lacking in non-GM livestock feed. Scientists identified
the gene that produces this same protein in Brazil nuts, and
introduced it into a soybean seed's DNA, thus creating a more
nutritious feed for animals. However, Brazil nuts are known to
cause allergic reactions in some people, so the company worked
with university scientists to use skin pricks to see if people
were allergic to the new GM seed. Some people were indeed
allergic, and so development of this particular soybean variety
was halted and all plant material and seeds were destroyed.
Another example is the GM corn variety called StarLink,
which did not pass the allergen test, meaning regulators feared it
