Ah yes, the old Genetically Modified Organisms / Genetically Modified Ingredients (GMO / GMI) debate again.

Some people really aren’t all that fussed about what they wolf down, whilst others treat their bodies like a temple and meticulously monitor anything that heads down to the gut region.

Namaste to you, friends.

Over the weekend a reader, clearly aggrieved to learn that Woolies uses GMOs, sent in these pictures.

Those smoked cheese chicken viennas are good, I’ll give them that, but they don’t exactly scream health. Also, there’s the whole listeriosis freak-out, but we’ll leave that aside for now.

As you can see from the second picture, just under the ingredients, there’s a little asterisk that states “*May be Genetically Modified (GM)”.

Via the product page, that asterisk clearly applies to the “Smoke Flavour”.

Without knocking the reader who sent this in, it’s pretty common knowledge that many of our supermarkets make such disclaimers.

Woolies itself has come under fire in the past, leading to them issuing a ‘Frequently Asked Questions‘ section devoted entirely to the subject.

Here are some of the questions and answers featured:

What is the official Woolies position on GMO?

We are committed to empowering our customers to choose for themselves by providing accurate and informative labelling. Our preference is to avoid the use of GMO in Woolies food. Where we cannot, we label products that might contain GMO. This has been our policy since 1999.

Why does Woolies stock products that contain GMO ingredients at all?

We offer a lot of choice, particularly to those who prefer to avoid GM food… only 5.3% of Woolworths private label food products contain ingredients from potential GM sources. Our wide organic offering also does not allow GMOs, while no fruit and veg grown commercially in SA contain GMOs.

There are arguments for and against GMO and we believe our customers should be empowered to make their own decisions.

 But didn’t you make a commitment to remove all GMO from your food? 

Our preference is to avoid GMO in our food OR clearly label products that may contain GM ingredients. This way our customers can decide for themselves, based on their own feelings around the GMO debate. We are committed to reducing the number of products that contain ingredients from GM crop sources.

What must I do if I’m South African and I really want to avoid all GMO?

Read ingredient labels carefully, and choose organic products whenever possible. Remember fruit and vegetable are not GM. Be aware of the fact that the genetically modified crops grown in South Africa are pre-dominantly white maize, yellow maize, cotton and soya.

I’ve heard there was a study saying Woolworths white bread is 85% GMO. Is that true?

Absolutely not. A recent study of a loaf of our white bread found that the soy flour component (which makes up significantly less than 1% of the whole loaf) contained 85% GMO… not the whole loaf itself.

We found that study over on Faithful to Nature, and whilst it does state that the GM content is in “soya flour” it’s easy to see why Woolies would be bombarded with that question:

It’s quite interesting to note that Woolies also have a page dedicated to discussing GMOs in general, with an “arguments against” and “arguments for” section.

You can read that here, but one of the oft-used claims against GMOs is that they cause cancer.

One has to be careful about which studies to believe, as their findings often depend largely on who has funded the research, but let’s hear what the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center [sic], “one of the original three comprehensive cancer centers in the United States”, has to say about the link:

Many people believe that altering the DNA of a plant or animal has a significant effect on a person’s chances of developing cancer. But the current research on the health risks of GMOs is inconclusive. In other words, researchers cannot confirm whether or not GMOs increase cancer risks…

Our experts agree – sticking with a diet rich in fruits, vegetables and whole grains outweighs any GMO health concerns when it comes to cancer risks.

There you have it.

Continue to eat your smoky viennas as you see fit, but also make sure you’re munching on those greens along the way.

We won’t get started on your alcohol intake, because it’s a Monday morning and we are all battling our own demons.

[sources:woolies&woolies&mdanderson]