the REN DAO Wellness Center Blog

Over forty GM plant based food variates have received approval from the USDA and FDA to be grown commercially. Many more have been developed and not commercialized.

Below is a list of some of the GM foods that have come onto the market:

Rapeseed / Canola – Genetically modified to be resistant to herbicides.

Honey – Bees may produce honey from nectar collected from GM corps. Europe has banned Canadian honey because Canadian bees may collect nectar from GM rapeseed flowers.

Cotton - Considered a food because of its edible oil.

Rice - Genetically modified to increase Vitamin A content. A GM rice containing human genes is being grown to harvest proteins to be used to treat infant diarrhea in developing countries.

Soybean

Sugar cane - Made resistant to certain pesticides. Received poor consumer acceptance and may be off the market.

Tomatoes - Made for a longer shelf life and to prevent a substance that causes tomatoes to rot and degrade.

Corn and Sweet Corn

Potatoes - Atlantic, Russett Burbank, Russet Norkatah, and Shepody varieties.

Flax – received poor consumer acceptance and is off the market and possibly no longer grown.

Papaya – Genetically modified to be Ringspot virus resistant.

Squash - Some zucchini and yellow crookneck squash are also GM but are not popular with farmers.

Tobacco -The company Vector has a GM tobacco being sold under the brand name Quest® cigarettes. It is engineered to produce low or no nicotine.

Meat - Meat and dairy products usually come from animals fed GM feed.

Peas - Genetically modified to produce pesticide proteins.

Vegetable Oil - Most generic vegetable oils and margarines used in restaurants and in processed foods are made from GM soy, corn, canola, and cottonseed.

Sugarbeets – Recently lost approval for commercial growing.

Dairy Products - About 22 percent of cows in the U.S. are injected with GM bovine growth hormone (rbGH).

Vitamins - Vitamin C (ascorbic acid) is often made from corn, vitamin E is usually made from soy. Vitamins A, B2, B6, and B12 may be derived from GMOs. Vitamin D and vitamin K may have “carriers” derived from GM corn sources, such as starch, glucose, and maltodextrin.

Genetic Engineering and bio-tech companies are also creating crops that produce harvestable proteins. These proteins would be engineered to make pharmaceuticals, to create human vaccines and industrial enzymes or reagents for chemical and food manufactures. GM bacteria are also being engineered for similar purposes.

Adapted from the following sources:

 http://www.disabled-world.com/fitness/gm-foods.php

http://westernfarmpress.com/news/08-25-rice-nervous-GMO/

http://www.copperwiki.org/index.php/Genetically_Modified_Fruits

http://truefoodnow.org/campaigns/genetically-engineered-foods/ge-crops/pharmaceutical-crops/