Community members discuss effects of GMOs

SHEPHERDSTOWN – While a national survey shows that most consumers think that genetically modified foods are unsafe, Shepherdstown residents interviewed said they eat modified foods because it is unavoidable.

“GMOs are a very broad category of possibilities,” said Garth Janssen, the owner of Lost Dog Coffee on East German Street. “We’ve always been manipulating our plants and animals from day one. We have corn, we have wheat, and these are all genetic modifications; we wouldn’t have been able to feed anyone if we hadn’t done this.”

Janssen said the use of GMOs will continue to progress. “Right now we are using technology in some directions that are unproven and are perpetrated upon, particularly in this country, with full knowledge and documentation. People are not really allowed to know what it is that their food contains, therefore they can’t really choose what they want to avoid or consume.”

Cassidy Ponton, a Lost Dog employee, said she always checks her food labeling for foods that are GMO free.

“I still eat foods that contain GMOs because it’s inescapable. GMOs are inevitable, they are everywhere from what I understand of it. It’s really easy to eat a non GMO diet but it requires you to let go of all eating habits and getting back to the basics,” she said.

A Feb. 12 Pew Research Center survey showed that a majority of the public believes that GMOs are generally unsafe to eat. Pew also surveyed 3,748 U.S.-based scientists. Of those, 88 percent said genetically modified organisms were generally unsafe to eat and 11 percent said genetically modified organisms were generally safe.

According to Pew, young adults, ages 18 to 29, believe genetically modified foods are generally unsafe to consume in a 57 percent to 39 percent ratio. Survey respondents were asked if they check food labels while shopping in a grocery store. Some 25 percent said they always look for GMO labels on packaging, 25 percent said they sometimes check, 17 percent said they do not check very often and 31 percent said they never look for GMO labeling.

Stephanie Blakley, another Lost Dog employee, said she opposes genetic modifications to food.

“I think people not realizing the health effects of GMOs are mass suicide. I really think that Monsanto is the company that is killing America,” Blakley said. “I try not to eat GMOs as much as possible, they actually mess up my system and they mess up most people’s systems but they don’t really know because they have experience with their diets enough. IBS, or irritable bowel syndrome, is becoming a huge issue right now and the food just keeps getting worse.”

Blakley said when she grocery shops she buys everything strictly organic. “I’ve never been so passionate about something that I felt the need to go against something, but in May I do plan to go to New York City and march against Monsanto.”

Monsanto is a multinational American based agrochemical and agricultural biotechnology corporation.

Ashley Derr, a Shepherdstown resident, said she believes genetically modified organisms are hazardous to human health. “Not only can GMOs provide many health concerns in the future, but also lower expectancy of life for the next generations,” she said.

“Nobody should have chemicals in foods that are not healthy for them,” Derr said. “If scientists understood GMOs, I don’t think they would use them in our food sources. It’s common sense that humans are not meant to consume chemicals. Eating organic foods is not only healthier for you, but it just feels better knowing you are not eating processed food. Even though organic food is a lot more expensive, it’s definitely worth buying in order to stay healthy.”

Janssen, however, defended modified food.

“There really are a lot of positive GMO things going on,” he said. “It’s not just the soy and the corn. Coffee is going through a renaissance of genetic modification using gene-splicing technology, but it is a good application of GMO. It is not a negative thing. I hear people talking all the time and I’ve read enough about this; part of my education is actually anthropology and it had to do with the first civilizations and agriculture.”