GMOs: The Truth You Need to Know, and the Safety You Can Choose!

In an era where our food has become more complex, Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) have become an undeniable part of the global food system. You may have heard this term, but do you really know what GMOs are and how they affect our health? Today, Farm Daddeaw will take you on a deep dive into the truths and precautions about GMO plants that you should know!

What are GMOs and where do we find them?

GMOs are living things that have been genetically modified by inserting genetic material (DNA) from another organism. Currently, there are about 30 types of GMO plants in the world, but the most common ones, accounting for 99% of all GMOs grown, are soybean, corn, cotton, canola, and alfalfa. The first GMO plants were developed in the late 1990s by the company Monsanto (which is now Bayer).

Why do we have GMOs?

GMOs were developed because farmers turned to monoculture farming to reduce costs and increase planting efficiency. However, this method goes against nature, making it easy for plant diseases and pests to spread.

Scientists at chemical companies like Monsanto therefore invented a way to genetically modify plants to make them more resistant to diseases, pests, and chemicals.

It must be emphasized that the goal was not to develop genetics to make the plants stronger, healthier, or tastier.

Two main traits of GMO plants you should know:

1. Herbicide-Resistant:
   • For example, “Roundup Ready” crops are designed to be resistant to the herbicide glyphosate.
   • Originally, the promise was that this would help reduce the use of herbicides.
   • In reality, it has been found that herbicides are used in even greater quantities than before.
   • When the herbicide is sprayed, the weeds die, but the corn survives. The question is, where does the herbicide go? It remains in the soil and is absorbed into the corn plant.
   • Genetic modification allows the corn plant to survive being sprayed with glyphosate, but the plant still absorbs and accumulates it in the corn cobs.
2. Insect-Resistant (Creates its own pesticide):
   • Uses DNA from the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) to produce a protein that is toxic to insects.
   • When an insect eats the Bt protein, its digestive system is destroyed, and the insect dies within a few hours.

Behind the Creation of GMOs: “Random” Shooting and Endless Unknown Effects

GMO plants are created by taking genetic material (DNA) from another organism and shooting it into the embryonic cells of the target plant using a “Gene Gun.”

• This process has a success rate of only 5-30%.
• Scientists do not know where the injected DNA will insert itself within the plant’s genes. It’s like “shooting a gun randomly.”
• This is a major concern because we do not know how the insertion of this new DNA will affect other parts of the plant’s DNA in the long term.

The Safety of GMOs: A Question Still Without a Clear Answer

This is the most critical point and a concern we want you to pay special attention to:

• Lack of long-term human testing: There have been no controlled clinical trials on humans to assess the safety of GMOs.
• Reliance on the “Substantial Equivalence” principle: The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) states that “if a new food or food component is found to be substantially equivalent to an existing food or food component, it can be treated in the same manner with respect to safety. No further safety concerns would be expected.” This means that if a GMO has a similar nutritional value to a conventional plant, it can be considered safe without needing additional testing.
• Most assessments are from animals: Safety evaluations are often based on studies in animals, such as 90-day toxicity tests in rats or feeding dairy cows a diet of 35% Bt corn for five weeks.
• Health Observations: Questions have been raised about the link between GMOs and the rise of digestive problems, leaky gut, and allergies in humans. “Is there a correlation?” This is a question we must continue to seek an answer for.
• More than half of the countries in the EU have banned the cultivation of GMOs.

What is NOT a GMO:

• Unusually large plants or animals: Over thousands of years of agriculture, humans have continuously selected the largest and best produce. Genes for larger sizes have therefore been passed down, leading to today’s exceptionally large products. This method is not genetic modification.
• Strange or exotic colors: All plants and animals have natural genetic diversity. Special colors or patterns can always occur. When humans like a particular color or pattern, they breed it to pass on that trait.

A Safer Alternative: Why “Organic”?

Choosing “organic” food is one way to ensure that what you’re eating is free from GMOs, pesticides, and herbicides.

The invention of GMOs has made large-scale monoculture farming cheaper and more productive, without considering the long-term health of the environment or the people who consume the food.

At Farm Daddeaw, we believe that knowledge is power, especially when it comes to what we put into our bodies. When we understand that GMO plants like Bt Corn are modified to produce a protein that is toxic to insects, or that most safety assessments come from animal experiments, not human ones, we see the importance of choosing our food with understanding.

We believe good health starts with choosing things that have not been unnecessarily processed or modified. To fulfill this commitment, we are proud to offer products that are cared for at every step.

We raise our chickens meticulously; they have never known hormones or chemicals for a single day. You can be confident in the purity and authentic natural taste delivered directly to your home, all across Thailand.

Contact us via Line: @farmdaddeaw