HOTB 254: is GMO food ever a good thing? Part 3

Healing Outside The Box

In part 3 of this 3-part series, I humbly attempt to put this GMO controversy into some perspective with two stories about the unintended consequences of manipulating genes in a plant seed.

The first story, from Roundup to dicamba, describes the ability of weeds to become resistant to one weedkiller (roundup) and then the following weedkiller (dicamba). The resulting superweeds are more difficult to kill even with higher and higher doses of these herbicides. The answer was to bring back the active ingredient in Agent Orange, a deadly herbicide used to clear the jungles of Vietnam during the war. The NIH article I discussed can be found here.

The second story involves what old-timers call the BT corn controversy. BT stands for a bacteria in the Bacillus family that naturally carries an insect-killing gene that produces a deadly protein (for beetles, anyway). But what about honeybees and Monarch butterflies? There is a publication that talks about the indirect consequences of trying to kill one animal without harming another animal. Hint: it didn't work. And then they created resistant "superbugs". That publication can be found here.

As always, If you have any questions about this or other nutrition-related information, feel free to contact me on my website contact page: Healing Outside the Box. I love hearing from you!

I offer one-on-one nutrition counseling online for anyone who is looking for some self-care and would like some support to eat healthier and reduce stress. You can reach me on my Wellness coaching page at Healing outside the box.