Your Opinion: Pork producer responds on GMO claims

Dear Editor:

I think I understand Mr. Allen's problem, either he doesn't pay attention or he is confused.

First, it's scheulen not Schuellen.

Second, we could fill up the pages if this news paper with my studies and documentation and his studies and documentation and still get nowhere in this debate.

Third, I offered my experiences as a pork producer of nearly 40 years as a real world response to his claims.

His claims, infertility, allergic reactions, accelerated aging, immune problems and changes in major organs in the gastrointestinal system(in all animals) have been "documented" in a study (that has been disproved.)

He now claims that the life of a young hog may not show any visual effects. Well if they are not having allergic reactions or immune problems by the time they hit the truck at six to seven months, there's probably not a problem.

Our hog operation is farrowto-finish and a sideline of our enterprise is a small custom exempt processing plant. I see lots of viscera and I do know what to look for in the way of abnormalities.

From almost 40 years of breeding hogs, cattle and horses (they also get GMO corn and bean in their grain) I have not experienced any fertility problems.

My sows and boars are typically five to seven years old and still going strong. Our cows calve regularly into their teens and even 20's and my mares foal into their 20's.

Fertility problems, accelerated aging, immune problems, allergy and faulty insulin regulation should surely have shown up by now, but none of it has. Of course, this is not a lab where nice are force fed high concentrations. It's only the real world.

Mr. Allen, you've kind of mixed up your BT corn and Roundup. BT corn produces an insecticide within its DNA that allows it to be resistant to the European corn borer. It does not produce glyphosate (not glysophate) which is the active ingredient in Roundup and is a herbicide. You do know the difference, don't you.

People always seem to be scared of something new that they do not understand. Agriculture is an evolutionary science that is always exploring new ways to produce more food for an ever expanding population and genetic modification is the edge of a new frontier.

Should we ignore it when it has such great possibilities and return to the "Dark Ages" of farming or go forward and feed the world?

I understand Mr. Allen's concern and he says he only wants foods labeled so that he can make a choice, I expect there is more to it than that.