Any product made with potato will henceforth be subject to added scrutiny before it can receive The Non-GMO Project’s verification stamp.1 The reason? The now widespread prevalence of genetically engineered (GE) potato in the U.S. food supply. The first-generation GE Innate® potato, developed by J.R. Simplot Co. and branded simply as White Russet™, was approved by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) in 2014 and entered the U.S. marketplace the following year.2 Canada approved it in 2016.3 The Innate® potato has been modified using RNA interference (RNAi) technology to inhibit blackspot bruising and browning by reducing levels of asparagine and certain enzymes in the potato. In addition to white russet potatoes, ranger russet, russet Burbank and Atlantic potatoes have also been modified in this way. The Non-GMO Project has also announced4 the marketing of a new high-oleic acid GE soy variety, engineered with TALEN gene editing technology. It too has been added to the Project’s high-risk list and is ineligible for The Non-GMO Project Verification label. According to Megan Westgate, executive director of The Non-GMO Project:5
GMO Potatoes Hide SpoilageJ.R. Simplot claims the nonbrowning potatoes benefit consumers, farmers and the environment by cutting down on food spoilage waste and reducing water use and greenhouse gas emissions.6 Trials have shown the Innate® potatoes result in farmers discarding 15 percent fewer potatoes due to bruising and spotting.7
However, as noted by Westgate,” browning is nature’s most visible way of letting you know a product is rotting. GMOs that use RNAi to mask the signs of bruising could lead consumers to unknowingly ingest an unhealthy, toxic product.” According to Simplot, however, by reducing asparagine, which creates acrylamide, a probable carcinogen, at high temperatures, the Innate® potatoes lower the potential health hazards associated with baked, fried and roasted potatoes.8 Second generation Innate® potatoes are currently under regulatory review. In addition to being nonbrowning, these second generation crops are also engineered to be blight resistant. According to a February 28, 2017, press release:9
Creator of GMO Potatoes Reveals DangerHow can we know Innate® potatoes are a health risk? Because their creator, a genetic engineer named Caius Rommens, former director of researcher and development for the potato program at J.R. Simplot Co. and a former team leader at Monsanto, wrote an entire book about it. In “Pandora’s Potatoes: The Worst GMOs,”10 released October 7, 2018, Rommens reveals these and similar GE potatoes contain “unstable traits, two of which appear to have been lost already (or are in the process of being lost).” He also claims the GE potatoes “suffer a significant yield drag and reduction in size profile, conceal bruises and potentially spread diseases, may be grown and stored in ways that maximize disease and pest pressures … [and] are also likely to contain new toxins. If it were up to me, the creator of these potatoes, I would call them Pandora’s Potatoes. They are the worst GMOs ever commercialized.” Rommens also discusses his concerns in an interview with Sustainable Pulse, in which he says:11
Genetic Engineers Know ‘Just Enough to Be Dangerous’Rommens says he left J.R. Simplot, where he was in charge of up to 50 scientists, once he realized there were significant problems with his creation. “Looking back at myself and my colleagues, I believe now that we were all brainwashed; that we all brainwashed ourselves,” he says.
Indeed, science reveals it simply doesn’t work that way, and that even minor modifications can trigger a cascade of unintended effects. Here’s just one case in point: Researchers decided to search for unintended mutations using research data from a study that used CRISPR-Cas9 to restore sight in blind mice by correcting a genetic mutation.12 They sequenced the entire genome of the CRISPR-edited mice, and in addition to the intended genetic edit they found more than 100 additional deletions and insertions, along with more than 1,500 single-nucleotide mutations.
How GMO Potatoes Stack Up Against Conventional PotatoesAccording to Rommens, his GMO potatoes had a number of problems. Their growth was stunted and the plants frequently died. The tubers were also frequently misshapen, and the leaves pale yellow rather than bright green, a condition known as chlorosis, caused by insufficient production of chlorophyll. Sterility and necrosis, where the plant’s tissues turn brown or black as a result of cell degeneration and death, were other problems noted by Rommens. Necrosis is typically the result of nutrient deficiencies. According to Rommens, one of the reasons his GE potatoes are so inferior has to do with the fact that they’re derived from somatic cells, and somatic cells are only meant to survive for a single season.
Rommins claims he was even wrong about the potatoes’ bruise resistance. The potatoes bruise just as easily as normal potatoes, he claims; you just cannot see the bruises because the discoloration has been deactivated. And this, Rommons says, is actually a significant problem, because the melanin — the compound that causes the dark coloration14 — is actually a protective compound that helps prevent entry by pathogens when the potato is damaged. What’s worse, these now-invisible bruises may actually accumulate toxins. How Does RNAi Gene Silencing Work?RNAi is also known as post transcriptional gene silencing. The two scientists who discovered RNAi — Andrew Fire and Craig Mello — received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2006.15 In a 2015 MIT Technology Review article, Antonio Regalado describes the RNAi gene silencing process thus:16
Aside from potato, another food that employs RNAi gene editing technology to achieve nonbrowning is the Arctic® apple. The Organic Consumers Association wrote about this in 2013, saying:17
There are also indirect consequences. The chemical compound used in the RNA manipulation process is one that also combats plant pests, and if the fruit’s ability to fend off pests is impaired, growers will end up having to use more pesticides. How to Avoid GMO PotatoesBased on Rommens testimony it would seem wise to steer clear of the GE Innate® potato. To avoid them:
One of the easiest ways to avoid GE potatoes is to buy organic varieties. This way, you’ll also avoid synthetic pesticides. If you live in the U.S., the following organizations can help you locate organically grown produce such as potatoes:
from http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2018/11/27/gmo-potatoes.aspx
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