We've Hit A New Low: FDA Approves Genetically Engineered Potato To Make French Fries Healthier!

I woke up this morning to a world gone mad. On the front page of the NY Times Business Section was the headline, "FDA Approves Modified Potato. Next up: French Fry Fans" which started my blood boiling even before I read the article! http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/08/business/genetically-modified-potato-from-simplot-approved-by-usda.html?_r=0

Maybe I am living in a bubble of some sort, but with all the controversy around GMO's these days I cannot begin to fathom that something like this is even possible! Are there really people in the world who believe it is safer to alter the DNA in potatoes in order to make french fries and potato chips safer for consumers to eat, than to educate those consumers on the health risks of fried and processed food?

 

Where in the world has our common sense gone? According to this article, there is a chemical in potatoes called acrylamide which is released when a potato is fried and MAY cause cancer:

"The chemical causes cancer in rodents and is a suspected human carcinogen, though the National Cancer Institute says that scientists do not know with certainty if the levels of the chemical typically found in food are harmful to human health."

I don't know, call me crazy, but maybe instead of changing the potato, a food source we have all safely eaten for thousands of years, it might make more sense to simply stop frying them...there are other ways to eat a potato!

http://www.buzzfeed.com/peggy/25-baked-alternatives-to-potato-chips-and-french-f

I for one will be taking a stand on this by writing, emailing and calling the FDA to demand a reversal on this decision. Here's a link to their contact info: http://www.fda.gov/AboutFDA/ContactFDA/

I hope you'll join me!