Conversations w/ Pam RECAPS: About GMOs and "toxic" Toilet Paper
Conversations w/ Pam RECAPS: About GMOs and "toxic" Toilet Paper
A blog written and published by Heidi Plumb, co-author of Conversations with Pam: About the Collapse of American Healthcare and How Informed Consent Can Fix it
Subscribe to the Conversations with Pam RECAPS blog at www.informedchronicles.com where we cover topics ranging from diet and lifestyle to current events; from public policy to clickbait. These live Conversations with Pam sessions take many different turns, and they will even make you laugh out loud from time to time. Who doesn’t like a good bout of LOL’ing?! This blog offers you a chance to get in on the discussion. So, welcome to the conversation, and we hope you enjoy!
Twice a month, for the past almost three decades Dr. Pam Popper, internationally recognized expert on nutrition, medicine and health takes time to answer questions from a live audience of members who belong to her healthcare company Wellness Forum Health. Wellness Forum Health opened in 1996, and has been educating consumers, as well as healthcare providers in Pam’s specialty, INFORMED™ Medical Decision-Making ever since.
Conversations with Pam (CWP) is the name of the bimonthly Q&A, which lasts 90 minutes, is completely unscripted, and consists of questions about general health topics from both the live audience, as well as write-in questions from members who are unable to attend the live session. Within 24 hours, a recording of the session is sent to Pam’s entire membership. This way everyone is invited into the conversation whether they are able to attend the live talk or not.
We’ve provided a condensed and paraphrased recap of the most recent discussion below and have included excerpts from articles written by Wellness Forum Institute’s faculty that are archived in the Health Briefs Library, as well as excerpts from Pam’s educational workshops and course curriculum that are scheduled throughout the year and have covered several topics ranging from water fasting and root canals to Time Management, Cancer 101 and IBS. Throughout the years Pam, along with a few members of her faculty have written thousands of very well-referenced articles that are available to her members and searchable in her Health Briefs Library. Please feel welcome to contact us if you would like to find out how to participate in the conversation, or gain access to this treasure trove of health information.
As far as CWP sessions, Pam always has a delightful and organized way of running the show. Her warm greeting and friendly reminder about maintaining the boundaries set within the discussion creates a comfortable atmosphere for Wellness Forum members. CWP is more of an informal educational discussion with friends and colleagues at a local coffee shop, than a lecture hall-style discourse. It's relaxing, there's humor involved and sometimes even a quick visit from Sir Winston, Pam's jet-black Maine Coon cat (who is a celebrity in his own right). Throughout the conversation, Pam alternates back and forth between live questions from the group, and questions from the write-in that are emailed to her in advance. After a brief intro, it's time to jump in. Let’s go!
Pam: Welcome everybody!
Members: Hi Pam!
Pam: Hello! It’s nice to see all of you! We have a lot of questions from the write-ins today, so let’s kick things off with a question from the live group.
Member: Pam! Can I go first? I have a question about GMOs.
Pam: Yeah! Go on ahead. You’ve got the floor.
TOPIC 1: Genetically Modified Organisms – (GMOs)
Member: Thanks, Pam. I recently read the 2018 article in the Health Brief’s Library on GMOs[1], and I was just wondering if there’s been any updates since that was published regarding any harms that are potentially caused by them?
Pam: Well, we just don’t know. I think the strongest argument against them is the lack of research done before implementation. And this is very much the way drugs are approved. What our agencies do is they’ll put it out there and then they place companies in charge of doing follow-up studies to let us know whether it is valuable or harmful. And so, just like the FDA is a business partner of drug companies, the EPA and some other government agencies are business partners with Big Farm, not Big Pharma, but Big Farm with an ‘F.’
On the other side of that, you could argue that the whole program was ill-conceived and not properly tested. But having said that, there isn’t a single case report in all of the medical literature that has ever reported a person showing up in a physician’s office or a nurse practitioner’s office with a condition caused by glyphosate or genetically modified foods, or anything like that. And you have to imagine the incentive there would be to come up with such a thing because look at all the activism that’s been organized against the use of GMOs.
To put this into perspective, consider the vast majority of genetically modified foods. They are corn and soy. And then let’s look at the average adult eating a literal ton of food over the span of a year. How much GMO corn and soy would one have to consume in order for it to have an impact in relationship to that ton of food consumed within those 365 days? I can’t say I know anybody who eats that much corn or soy. You’d have to live on edamame and corn, right?
Member: What about GMO wheat?
Pam: There is no genetically modified wheat. The false claim that wheat is genetically modified just won’t go away. But, just to set the record straight, there is no such thing as GMO wheat. The reason there is no GMO wheat is because when Monsanto was going to roll out the GMO program for wheat, US farmers refused to follow through with implementation. What happened was the European Union and their member countries got involved and said that they would no longer purchase wheat from the United States if it were genetically modified. Farmers in the United States couldn’t afford to lose those European accounts so, they refused to move forward with implementing GMO wheat, but that doesn’t prevent false claims from being spread by people who don’t read or bother to do any research. And then the person who doesn’t read sends it to another person that doesn’t read, and then they send it to 14 more people who don’t read. The next thing you know, you have a million non-readers repeating false claims across the globe. I even receive hate mail from some of them when I say there is no proof of harm from GMOs accusing me of not caring about peoples’ health and telling me that people are dying from glyphosate. Many of them are just repeating the health claims that have not been proven. I always ask them to send me a case report of somebody who has died from glyphosate and then I never hear from them again. So, that’s my story on GMOs. That’s my very long answer to your simple question. (laughter)
Members:(laughter)
Member: Well, thank you! I appreciate your long answer.
Pam: You’re welcome! Does anyone have a follow-up on this topic before we move on?
Member: I do, Pam!
Pam: Okay! Go on ahead.
Member: You mentioned wheat not being treated with glyphosate. Did I mishear that, or is that true? Because I thought they were making heartier wheat by genetically modifying it?
Pam: Well, yeah. That’s hybridization. And I’m glad you asked for clarification on this. Hybridization is distinctly different than genetic modification, and has been going on since the very first time humans planted seeds in the ground. Hybridization allows farmers to do things like seed-sharing and cross-pollination. The reason I actually know a lot about this is because my dad earned the equivalent of a Master’s degree in horticulture at Ohio State by taking classes and working in the experimental garden there. He’d bring all kinds of stuff home. One of the vegetables they perfected was the Mortgage Lifter Tomato, which this farmer who was going bankrupt originally started selling in order to keep himself out of bankruptcy. Well, then OSU did some research on it. The goal was to grow a tomato big enough to cover an entire piece of bread for a sandwich so that pieces of tomato wouldn’t fall out of the sandwich when taking a bite. I think we can all agree that’s a desirable tomato. People like Mortgage Lifters. I’ve seen them in stores and farmers’ markets, too. My dad was also involved in the hybridization of some type of white sweet potato. And we got to eat the stuff he would bring home from the garden! He’d come home with bushels of stuff and drop it off at my house. He’d say, “oh, we’re playing around with potatoes this week.”
So, anyway – that’s hybridization. And farmers used to cooperate with one another in communities to do this. It’s a healthy thing to do and leads to sturdier plants. And it produces things like the Mortgage Lifter Tomato!
Excerpt from the Health Briefs Library:
“What are, and why are there, Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs)?
The article this member was referring to when asking the question was written by Wellness Forum Institute faculty member, Don Rothenstein who did a deep dive into GMOs, and ended up writing a piece entitled, “What are, and why are there, Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs)?” All references used in this section are from Don’s original paper. An interesting factor which led him to do this research was that he went into this project with the intention to prove GMOs were hazardous to human health, as well as the environment that surrounds us. He was unable make any conclusive statements that would suggest that there is a direct, cause and effect relationship leading GMOs to cause human health to decline.
Here are a few ‘take-homes’ from his very extensive and well-researched piece:
GMOs by definition are any living thing (plant or animal) that has had its DNA (genetic structure) artificially manipulated in some human-generated fashion, either by addition, substitution, removal or mutation. This process is known as genetic engineering.
There are many reasons why GMOs were created in the first place. Among those reasons are to make the GMO: grow faster; grow with more desirable characteristics such as taste, smell, looks and enhanced nutritional profile; to become more resistant to some pathogen, pest, disease or environmental hardship; or to take on the role of the “factory” for a drug that otherwise would be challenging to produce affordably and, in enough quantity, to meet demand.[2]
Examples of reasons why the use of GMOs is positive:
We rely on E. coli bacteria for most of the world’s production of insulin for diabetics.[3]
Factor VIII, a protein that promotes blood clotting, but is in short supply in hemophiliacs used to come from donated blood. Sometimes it also contained the AIDS virus, which led to catastrophic results. Today it is available through genetic engineering, thus totally eliminating the possibility of receiving blood contaminated with the AIDS virus.[4]
Severe Combined Immune Deficiency Syndrome can be cured by transferring genes from one human to another, make us in effect, the GMO is this case.[5]
Finally, genetic engineering saves money, and can be environmentally friendly. Two economists from England performed an analysis on the environmental, and ensuring economic impact of GMO crops between 1996 and 2016.[6] Pesticide use had been reduced by 8.2%, along with the side benefit that the strength of the pesticides, which were used was lowered. There were also greenhouse gas reductions due to reduced fuel use and other farming-related activities. In 2016 alone they quote the impact was equivalent to removing 16.7 million cars from the road.
4. On the question of whether GMOs cause health issues, there was little to no evidence to support this claim.
Dr. Roger Clemens from the USC Department of Pharmacology made the statement with regards to GMO safety, “They’re tested and evaluated in voluminous documentation that would fill this backyard. We don’t know of any health risk at this particular time. But Rothenstein then points out that Dr. Clemens has also is known to defend food additives, sugar and processed foods, which he acknowledges kind of sums up the whole GMO topic: There is a great deal known, but there is also a great deal not known.
What is known about GMOs reinforces the “no problem found, or to be found” conclusion, making what is unknown the possible risk factor if there is one.
5. Research-to-date approached from a reductionist viewpoint – meaning we have a large number if studies that have focused on isolated, solitary examples of GMO-containing foods and substances, and all of them have concluded that there is nothing to worry about. For example:
An herbicide-tolerant soybean (MST-FGØ72-2) was made so via GMO manipulation of one of its enzymes (a 4-hydroxyphenylpyruvate dioxygenase protein). The paper found no “adverse metabolic effects” on the soybean, however the study was performed by Bayer CropScience, a division of a large chemical-producing conglomerate. Objectivity may not have been high on their list of focus items.[7]
The most “popular” herbicide on the market today, glyphosate (the main active ingredient in Monsanto’s Round-up), and a critical component in the GMO approach to increased product yields, was tested by the independent, non-profit cooperative of scientists known as the Ramazzini Institute. They found the chemical was excreted virtually intact and equal to the amount ingested indicating it was not metabolized or absorbed by the body. On the surface this is certainly an endorsement of the safety related to its use. There were however a couple of concerns with the conclusions: The test duration was for only 13 weeks, and was performed on rats, a species with a well-documented high tolerance for ingesting some pretty evil stuff and being none the worse for wear. The promising news is these were just the preliminary results of what was set up as a 5-year study.[8]
Corn (maize), being a popular livestock feed item, has willingly or unwillingly jumped on the GMO bandwagon. A study out of China (a key concern right there!) concluded GMO maize (DAS-40278-9) consumption did not confer any health concerns. There were the familiar questions with the viability of the analysis: Short-term (90 days) and performed on “non-interested parties” (rats in this case).[9]
Although, according to research, the GMO story appears to be one of, “so far, so good,” the question remains: Have we looked everywhere, and have we looked long enough? As reassuring as the research results look, it might not hurt to keep the file open until all potential concerns are put to rest.
It’s important to remember that GMO usage facilitates the monoculture production model of farming, which has presented some historical hazards, such as the Irish potato famine of 1845-1849 where over a million people died of starvation. We need to keep asking whether or not we may be setting ourselves up for a modern-day Irish potato famine-type event, except instead of potatoes, maybe this time with corn or soybeans. The GMO farming model that makes crop rotation or species variation unnecessary may present a problem down the road. And then again maybe not. We just don’t know.
Pam: Who would like to throw out the next question?
Member: Can I go next, Pam?
Pam: Sure!
Member: Thank you. I was just wondering about toxins in our paper products. I recently saw an actress promoting a toilet paper brand that she says hasn’t been treated with formaldehyde. She says that our toilet paper has been treated with formaldehyde and that we are using toxic toilet paper. So, she is promoting this natural toilet paper, and I was wondering if there is something to this until I saw your video clip on tampons, which pretty much answers my initial concerns.
Pam: Let’s just think about the ramifications to this if that were really true. You’d have to take tour own toilet paper with you everywhere because they’re going to continue to use the cheap stuff in restaurants, gyms, public restrooms, etc. And I have to believe that if I walked into a pretty nice restaurant with a roll of toilet paper and sat down, I might be asked to leave.
It seems like this also comes under the category of distraction from things that really matter. And people can’t pay attention to 9,000 things that could possibly kill them. It’s better to put your energy and focus into a few things that matter. And let’s just go back to food for a moment. An average adult is going to consume a ton of food every year. And by the way, I just had to have one ton of pea gravel delivered to my house, and you can see a picture of that looks like online just to get an idea of what one ton of food looks like. It’s a lot ...
And that represents what an average adult is going to eat, weight wise, in one year’s time. So, that is what really matters, not the toilet paper. I mean, if you’re eating your toilet paper, now that could actually be a problem as I’m thinking about it.
Member: Thanks, Pam! I always appreciate how normal and down to earth you are.
Pam: Well, thank you. I appreciate that. And we have to laugh at all this crazy stuff sometimes or we might go crazy.
Member: That’s for sure!
Pam: This has been fun, guys, but this brings us to the end. But I’ll see you all again in a few weeks! Thank you!
Members: Thanks, Pam!
[1] Rothenstein, D. What are, and why are there, Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs)? Health Briefs Library. 7-15-2018 https://wfhonlinelibrary.com/genetically-modified-organisms-gmos/
[2] IBID
[3] Johnson, G. Essentials of the Living World. St. Louis, Mo: McGraw-Hill; 2006: pg. 226.
[4] IBID - Pg. 230.
[5] IBID - Pg. 226.
[6] Brookes G1, Barfoot P1. Environmental impacts of genetically modified (GM) Crop use 1996-2016: Impacts on pesticide use and carbon emissions. GM Crops Food. 2018 Jun 8:1-69. Doi: 10.1080/21645698.2018.1476792. [Epub ahead of print]
[7] Dreesen R1, Capt A2, Oberdoerfer R3, Coats I4, Pallett KE5. Characterization and safety evaluation of HPPD W336, a modified 4-hydroxyphenylpyruvate dioxygenase protein, and the impact of its expression on plant metabolism in herbicide-tolerant MST-FGØ72-2 soybean. Regul Toxicol Pharmacol. 2018 Jun 9. pii: S0273-2300(18)30158-2. Doi: 10.1016/j.yrtph.2018.06.002. [Epub ahead of print]
[8] Panzacchi S, Mandrioli D, Manservisi F, et al. The Ramazzini Institute 13-week study on glyphosate-based herbicides at human-equivalent dose in Sprague Dawley rats: study design and first in-life endpoints evaluation Environ Health. 2018 May 29; 17(1):52. Doi: 10.1186/s12940-018-0393-y.
[9] Zou S1, Lang T2, Liu X3, Huang K4, He X5. Safety evaluation of genetically modified DAS-40278-9 maize in a subchronic rodent feeding study. Regul Toxicol Pharmacol. 2018 Jul; 96:146-152. Doi: 10.1016/j.yrtph.2018.05.010. Epub 2018 May 17.