NEW SCARY GM CORN SAFETY DEBATE

GM CORN SAFETY CONTROVERSY SEPT. 2012

The Russians are not coming. That is, not coming to get American corn products. Now would be about the right time to seriously think about switching to coconut oil for your main cooking oil.

According to numerous news reports, Rospotrebandzor, Russia’s consumer protection agency, recently suspended importation of American corn while their scientists examine and validate a French study linking genetically modified (GM) corn products to cancer.  Apparently other European agencies are also reviewing the study.

If you are concerned about your cooking oil, there are alternative products.

ALTERNATIVE COOKING OILS

1. Coconut oil for high temperature frying, sautéing and baking
2. Olive oil for sautéing
3. Palm oil for baking and stir frying
4. Sesame seed oil for sautéing
5. Butter for baking and sautéing (note, many cows are fed GM corn)
6. Lard for baking and high temperature cooking (note, most hogs are fed GM corn)

Literally billions of people in the world safely use one or another of the above oils.  All of these cooking oils have an history of human use going back at least 2 millennia.

They are all yummy-tasting too.

Recent News Reports about Corn products

In September 2012 numerous news outlets reported that a French university study linked genetically modified corn to tumors and cancer in rats.  Virtually all corn grown in the United States is genetically modified or GM. The study results and methodology have been contested by American agroindustrial giant Monsanto.

American farmers are the most productive in the world.  I do not believe that American farmers and agribusiness industry would knowingly produce and distribute a harmful food commodity.

This is not a scientific blog and I am not an agriculture expert, but from what I’ve read, consuming corn and corn products, GM or NON-GM, can have unintended consequences on human health.

That said, remember that native Mesoamerican farmers and homemakers were the first culture to successfully select corn varieties and modify finished grain with lime to make the grain suitable for human consumption.

News Source: Daily Mail Sept, 25,2012, online:  Russia Suspends Import and Use of American GM Corn

Pat Thomas for THE COCONUT LOVERS MOJO until next time…