GMO

I don't recall any research that definitely links it. But both my mind and my heart tell me it's part of the cause.

[i]It's not nice to fool with Mother Nature![/i]

Edited due to poor spelling. [img]http://uumor.pair.com/nutalle2/peanutallergy/redface.gif[/img]

[This message has been edited by AnnaMarie (edited March 01, 2007).]

I have always, too, in my heart of hearts felt that this has been a HUGE factor in the expolsion of food allergies over recent years.

well , I dont think it really has had that much impact.
our diets and homes have changed a great deal over the last 100 yrs or so. Esp children.

sarah

I'm with Sarah... there are much larger changes than GMO foods.

Human beings have been "engineering" foods by selective breeding for thousands of years-- just look at the cereal crops for example. Don't much resemble the genetic make-up of wild grasses or spelt anymore, do they?

[i]Human beings[/i] certainly haven't changed that much in that same amount of time...

All that has changed, really, is the mode of "modification."

Frankly, the fact that "GMO" foods must undergo rather rigorous testing is [i]comforting[/i] from an atopic standpoint. It's the stuff that [i]doesn't[/i] get regulated like that which worries [i]me.[/i] [img]http://uumor.pair.com/nutalle2/peanutallergy/smile.gif[/img]

Pesticide use, on the other hand... non-seasonal eating patterns.... rapid movement of people (and a major infectious disease vector to boot)...

Just remember-- risk-benefit perception theory predicts that we percieve things as "more risky" if: a) it is an 'unfamiliar' technology, b) we feel that the risk is not one we have 'chosen' for ourselves, and c) it is 'novel.'

For most people, therefore, GMO foods hit all three. Therefore, the risk is [i]likely[/i] to be percieved as disproportionately large.

I wouldn't believe any article on GMO foods and allergies are linked.

Jason

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[b]* Beyond Obsessed * [/b]

Quote:Originally posted by jtolpin:
[b]I wouldn't believe any article on GMO foods and allergies are linked.

Jason

Can you elaborate?

[/b]

I'm aware of issues early on with GMing of plants where scientists inserted genes coding for allergenic proteins (macadamia) into vegetables. Obviously, that's an issue.

However, I haven't seen any credible research saying that modifications in peanuts, or milk, or soy, have resulted in changes in proteins that, in turn, have resulted in food allergies. Are you saying this is the case?

I love wild theories, but I'm not afraid of GMO foods and I don't think they're responsible for food allergies.

There are some references to problems with genetically engineered food here:

[url="http://www.allergicliving.com/node/571"]http://www.allergicliving.com/node/571]

I'm kind of skeptical of anything that is marketed by Monsanto. *Interestingly* one of the articles in _Allergy_ which attempts to allay fears about genetically modified foods was authored by someone who is in the pay of Monsanto. Not to say that there isn't any independent research out there. . . I wouldn't know not knowing a whole lot about this issue.

If I had the choice (i.e. if GMO food were labelled), I'd avoid it.

I doubt that it is entirely *responsible* for the rise of allergies, but I wouldn't discount it as a factor.

It seems to me that the allergenicity of various foods can be affected by so many factors. i.e. I think I read somewhere that plants are more allergenic when they produce more chemicals meant to fight off pests (which they naturally produce anyway.) Also, ripening bananas with ethylene gas increases the concentration of allergenic proteins. None of this has anything to do with the issue of GMO food . . .I'm just saying that you can easily increase the allergenicity of food through slight changes in environment. I'm not convinced that we know enough about GMO food to conclude that it *isn't* likely to result in more people becoming allergic.

That article in the Toronto Star alluded to in the link above (unfortunately the whole article is no longer available online) is of interest here.

[This message has been edited by LisaM (edited March 01, 2007).]

Did a quick internet search on that study that I alluded to above.

Here is the abstract:
[url="http://pubs.acs.org/cgi-bin/abstract.cgi/jafcau/2005/53/i23/abs/jf050594v.html"]http://pubs.acs.org/cgi-bin/abstract.cgi/jafcau/2005/53/i23/abs/jf050594v.html[/url]

Here is another website where this study is discussed:

[url="http://www.ucsusa.org/food_and_environment/feed/feed-december-2005.html"]http://www.ucsusa.org/food_and_environment/feed/feed-december-2005.html[/url]

Elaborate? Sure.

I dont see a connection.

How dat? [img]http://uumor.pair.com/nutalle2/peanutallergy/smile.gif[/img]

Jason

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[b]* Beyond Obsessed * [/b]