Feature Focus
by Kathi Pines
Coping with Food Allergies:
Organic eating may be the key
F
Four out of every one hundred While no cause for the reasons driving the allowed to inject their cows with hormones
children now suffer from a food or increase have been identified, a doubling in which made the animals produce more milk.
digestive allergy according to a 2007 peanut allergies is one factor many experts “In 1996, after genetically engineering
Centers for Disease Control study. have cited. Also, children seem to be taking milk, U.S. corporations began to genetically
The study revealed that between 1997 and longer to outgrow milk and egg allergies than engineer soy so that plants in the field could
2007, food allergies increased by 18 percent they did in decades past. withstand doses of chemical pesticides.
in children. Among these, 0-5 year olds have Another factor figuring into the equation is As scientists engineered soy, again they
the highest food allergy rate, evenly dispersed parents and doctors who are more likely to introduced new proteins and new allergens
between boys and girls. consider food as the trigger for symptoms like that had never been tested,” said O’Brien.
vomiting, skin rashes and breathing problems. “And then the same thing happened
“A couple of decades ago, it was not with corn. Around 2000, they introduced
uncommon to have kids sick all the time and genetically engineered corn – and this one
we just said ‘They have a weak stomach’ or is pretty darn scary! They took an insecticide
‘They’re sickly,”’ said Anne Munoz-Furlong, chief and engineered it into the cell of the corn
executive of the Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis seed, so as the corn plant grows, it releases
Network, based out of Fairfax, Virginia. that insecticide, “she said.
“Today, parents are quicker to take their According to AllergyKids’ research, today,
kids to specialists to check out the possibility 91 percent of soy and at least 60 percent
of food allergies”, said Munoz-Furlong. of all corn produced in the US has been
AllergyKids Foundation, a non- genetically modified with these toxins.
profit research group dedicated As a result, 75 percent of all processed
to finding a cure for child food foods in the country now contain unlabeled
allergies, contends that there may genetically engineered foods that have
be yet another reason. toxins which have never been proven safe
Robyn O’Brien, founder of for consumption by children.
AllergyKids points out that it O’Brien recommends limiting the amount
may not be a coincidence that of processed foods that your children eat and
the increase in allergies started to replacing them with as much organic and
occur in the late 1990’s when chemical free foods as possible to decrease
genetically modified foods with the child’s chances to develop food allergies.
certain chemical toxins were “There are a lot of hidden allergens in
introduced into the US food supply. processed foods,” says O’Brien, “and so
“Because of the growing concern over reducing a child’s exposure to processed
the spraying of industrial pesticides, foods goes a long way to help strengthen his
scientists looked for other ways to or her immune system, “ she said.
efficiently satisfy demand.” “There are a whole host of reasons
In 1994, US dairy farmers were first for parents to avoid giving their children
July/August Thrivehr.com 7
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