FYI: GMO Talk - Summary

From: "CIBA MEMBERS" <donotreply@PROTECTED>

Date: September 25th 2017

CIBA members present at last Monday’s meeting were treated to an informative program by Victoria Combs. Below is my effort at a summary of this fine presentation.

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Presence of GMO Parkers in Honey, Victoria Combs, Butler University

A study was conducted to assess the presence of GMO markers in honey, particularly honey labeled as organic.

Background points:

Honey contains minute amounts of DNA acquired in the collection of nectar and pollen, and its subsequent processing in to honey by honey bees.
GMO (Genetically Modified Organisms) plants have become a significant contributor to worldwide agricultural production, including in the U.S.
Concerns have been raise over the potential health impacts of GMO plants on humans and other animals, including pollinators.
One definition of “Organic” includes the stipulation there be no GMO derived content.

Efforts have been made to include product labeling which would indicate presence of GMO.

Hypothesis:

Using the above definition for organic foods, products labeled “Organic” should contain no markers indicating the presence of GMO origins.

Methods:

Eight honey samples were evaluated for DNA markers that would indicate the honey had been derived from plants with some GMO based genetics.

Most were off the shelf and purported to be “organic”
Some were non-commercial and derived from local beekeepers, therefore there was no labeling.
One was off-the-shelf from Oregon, suggesting that it was “Oregon-local and organic”

Some sleuthing determined it to be imported from Brazil

PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction) techniques were used to amplify traces plant DNA that occur naturally in honey.
These amplified samples were then evaluated for the presence of genetic markers associated with the insertion of genes into a plant’s DNA.

Basic Results: The above hypothesis is not supported

All but one sample indicated presence of some GMO influence
The one that did not was imported from Brazil.

Discussion

Results suggest that GMO influences are ubiquitous in honey produced in the United States, though the extent to which this is true probably varies widely.
Absence of GMO markers from Brazilian honey suggest other contributing factors

No naturally derived nectar was used in producing these samples of Brazilian honey
Ultrafiltration was employed to remove trace pollen, proteins and DNA. - Possibly to obscure the products true national origin.