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Genetically Engineered Foods: Science and Nature Don't Necessarily Mix;



jim wrote:

> Genetically Engineered Foods: Science and Nature Don't
> Necessarily Mix; May Issue of Journal of the American
> Chiropractic Association Explores Health Hazards of
> Genetically Altered Foods, Chiropractic and Occupational
> Health And The Frustration of Fibromy
>
> May 9, 2000
>
> ARLINGTON, Va., May 8 /PRNewswire/ via NewsEdge
> Corporation -
>
> Many genetically-engineered (GE) foods are released onto
> the market before adequate studies are done to test their
> risks to humans, according to the May 2000 issue of the
> Journal of the American Chiropractic Association (JACA).
> Alarmingly, scientists warn that the long-term health
> impacts of the novel genes introduced into these foods
> are impossible to predict, because they contain blueprints
> for proteins never previously consumed by humans in the
> quantities produced in GE crops, according to the article.
>
> "According to most estimates, 60 to 70 percent of all
> processed foods contain genetically modified ingredients,
> including proteins previously absent from human diets,"
> write Shirley Watson, DC, director of education for the
> American Chiropractic Association's (ACA) Council on
> Nutrition, and Barbara Keeler, a journalist and health and
> nutrition expert, in the JACA article. "Some hazards from
> the GE process could directly impact patients who ingest
> the food. Other hazards are indirect, operating through
> pollution of other food species or through unintended
> effects on local and global ecosystems."
>
> Genetically engineered foods were quietly introduced into
> the marketplace in 1996. In the past four years, they
> have spread rapidly. Three varieties of soy, ten varieties
> of corn, papaya, yellow neck squash, canola, potatoes,
> tomatoes, dairy and animal products are already on the
> tables of most consumers -- with more than a hundred
> expected soon.
>
> Among the hazards of genetically engineered foods
> revealed in the article:
>
> * Toxin producers: The article quotes FDA documents that
> state, "Corn
>
> and potatoes engineered to produce toxins that kill
> insects are now
>
> classified by the Environmental Protection Agency as
> pesticides,
>
> rather than vegetables." These vegetables produce toxins
> designed
>
> to kill harmful insects, but "non-target" insects and
> mammals have
>
> also been affected.
>
> * Herbicide-resistant genes: Seventy-one percent of last
> year's
>
> genetically altered crops carried genes designed to
> tolerate a
>
> specific herbicide made by the company engineering the
> seed. This
>
> guarantees that humans who ingest the foods will be
> exposed to
>
> herbicides "with a litany of adverse health effects," the
> article
>
> explains.
>
> * Allergens: "Genetic engineering may transfer new and
> unidentified
>
> proteins from one food into another, triggering allergic
> reactions.
>
> Millions of Americans who are sensitive to allergens will
> have no
>
> way of identifying or protecting themselves from offending
> foods,"
>
> according to FDA documents quoted in the JACA article.
>
> * A Host of Unintended Side Effects: Impaired sense of
> smell and
>
> shortened lifespan in bees consuming pollen from GE
> plants; changed
>
> hormone levels and altered milk content in cows eating GE
> soybeans;
>
> sickness in cattle given bovine growth hormone; and
> toxicity moving
>
> up the food chain, causing death or impaired health in
> non-target
>
> species consuming insects that fed on crops with bacillicus
>
> thuringiensis (Bt) toxins.
>
> Getting Workers Back on the Job: Chiropractic and
> Occupational Health
>
> Each year, approximately 13.2 million workers sustain
> non-fatal injuries, such as low-back pain and fracture,
> according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and 862,000
> suffer from work-related illnesses -- at a cost of $171
> billion. Industry leaders are beginning to look for
> alternative methods to stem these rising health costs and
> deal with a rapidly changing workplace. The May 2000
> JACA takes a look at occupational health and how
> chiropractic is a natural solution to these
> industrial-strength woes.
>
> "About 70 percent of all workplace injuries and disorders
> involve the neuromusculoskeletal system," says Joseph
> Sweere, DC, chairman of the Department of Occupational
> Health at Northwestern Health Sciences University. "That's
> precisely the area of expertise for chiropractors. We have
> more technical skills and training than any other
> professional to prepare us for this role."
>
> The article reports on the successes experienced by
> companies with on-site chiropractors who can educate
> employees on occupational health issues and help
> prevent work-related injuries before they occur. Also
> featured are factors that traditionally have not been taken
> into consideration when dealing with occupational health
> issues -- factors that doctors of chiropractic are just now
> beginning to address -- such as the use of
> anthropometrics, or measurement of body parts, to
> increase the understanding of how the human framework
> dictates the body's ability to efficiently exert force and
> leverage.
>
> Since World War II, women have been steadily entering
> the job market and now constitute half the workforce. In
> addition, the workplace is made up increasingly of Asian
> and Hispanic workers, and employees are working long
> past the traditional age of retirement. In spite of these
> demographic changes, workstations and task assignments
> often remain as they have been for years -- designed for
> the six-foot, 180-pound male.
>
> Fibromyalgia: Still No Silver Bullet
>
> There is still no simple cure for fibromyalgia, a rheumatic
> syndrome that causes pain in certain tender points in the
> body. However, the health care community is finally
> beginning to recognize that this frustrating and painful
> condition is very real, and doctors of chiropractic have
> been successful at helping many patients find relief,
> according to an article in the May issue of JACA.
>
> In most cases, fibromyalgia symptoms interfere with
> normal daily activities, while some patients actually find
> themselves disabled by it. Patients can't know ahead of
> time how debilitating their illness will become. But much of
> what happens after fibromyalgia is diagnosed will depend
> on how willing patients are to work with their health care
> practitioners. For best results, they may have to make
> changes in how they move, eat, sleep and think.
>
> "I've had patients who don't want to comply with an
> exercise program. They'd rather search for something that
> will make their condition just go away," says Urscia
> Mahring, DC, an ACA member who practices in Alexandria,
> VA. "I understand how they feel, but I have not come
> across any such 'silver bullets' for fibromyalgia."
>
> The JACA article discusses how to spot fibromyalgia, as
> well as chiropractic's natural approach to this condition.
>
> For a copy of the May issue of JACA, call the American
> Chiropractic Association at 800-986-4636.
>
> SOURCE American Chiropractic Association
>
> CONTACT: Teri Howell or Felicity Feather of American
> Chiropractic Association, 800-986-4636
>
> Web site: http://www.amerchiro.org
>
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