Why do I get sick when I eat GMOs?

Expert response from Community Manager

Moderator for GMOAnswers.com

Saturday, 15/02/2014 18:06

Jennifer Schmidt, Maryland farmer and registered dietician, recently answered a question about feeling “sluggish” after eating GMOs. You might find her response interesting; an excerpt is below:

“…As a farmer, a mom, a consumer of food and a Registered Dietitian who also eats intuitively, I’ve never experienced any ‘sluggish feeling’ related to consumption of genetically engineered foods. We grow both ‘GMO’ and ‘non-GMO’ crops. Our family eats what we grow, lives on our farm and has the utmost respect for the stewardship of the land and the resources we have so that the farm can be passed to the next generation to continue the family business.

“But I have to ask more questions in order to answer your question ­- which specific foods containing GMO give you this sluggish feeling? Is it physical or cognitive sluggishness? Is there a specific body system, such as your GI tract, that feels more sluggish over another? There are many health reasons that can cause sluggishness, such as anemia, hypoglycemia, hypothyroidism or depression, not related to foods, GMO or otherwise.

“Since the proteins that are in ‘GMO’ foods are not ‘novel’ proteins, we would experience this ‘sluggish’ effect with foods produced from all types of farming systems: regular foods, organic foods, or biotech foods. The best example of this would be Bt, which is a bacterium found in soil that contains proteins that are toxic to specific insects. Its insecticidal properties have been known and used in organic agriculture for 100+ years. It is also used by conventional farmers and is the protein that is used to protect corn and cotton from European corn borer, rootworm and boll weevil. It is well established that Bt is nontoxic to mammal and has no way of surviving the digestion process. Since it used as a spray in both organic and conventional agriculture and is ubiquitous in soil, it is, as you say, ‘in relationship to life’ and therefore our bodies…”

Her full response is available here: http://gmoanswers.com/ask/after-eliminating-gmos-my-diet-i-intuitively-can-tell-when-i-accidently-eat-gmos-i-get-specific. If you have any additional questions, please ask.