I rely on Canada to be our better, smarter neighbors to the north. They have some of the same problems as the U.S. - they are no Norway or Denmark - but they can occasionally be counted upon to say no to bad ideas when the U.S. says yes. Not in this case. Canada has approved high oleic acid GM soybeans. Here's what the article says, then I'll tell you why this is a bad idea:
The high oleic trait, developed by DuPont's Pioneer Hi-Bred unit, means the resultant soybean oil consists of 80 percent oleic acid, more than three times the amount present in ordinary soybean oil. High levels of oleic acid have been shown to remove the need for hydrogenation, a process that increases stability and shelf life, but results in the creation of harmful trans fats.
Pioneer president and DuPont vice president and general manager Paul Schickler said: "This is a significant milestone in our effort to bring the high oleic soybean trait to market. We're seeing strong results in field testing of soybeans with the high oleic trait and strong interest from food companies looking for a new oil product with improved nutritional qualities and performance characteristics."
In the US, the trait is still being reviewed by the US Department of Agriculture but the variety will be field tested in Canada this year, with the potential for products containing the soybean oil to be released on the market from next year.
What's oleic acid? It's an omega-9 essential fatty acid (EFA). Unlike omega-3 and omega-6 EFA's, we can actually make oleic acid ourselves. But it's not really a good thing. We get sick when we are deprived of omega-3 and omega-6s, and that's when our bodies make omega-9s. And even though our bodies are making oleic acid, they still don't really do the trick. Which isn't to say that they are bad for us - I don't know - they just aren't a substitute for omega-3's or 6's.
Soybean oil, pre-genetic modification, has about 7 times as much omega-6 EFAs as omega-3 EFAs. This ratio is important. As I wrote about recently, the omega-6:omega-3 ratio in our bodies shows links to heart disease and other health issues. Western diets contain too much omega-6's in relation to omega-3's. One of the reason why we've reduced omega-3's is because they go rancid quickly and we like our foods to have long shelflives. The optimal ratio is somewhere between two to four times as much omega-6 compared to omega-3, from what I've read and heard.
So how about this soy? It's more of the same - another move in the wrong direction. Sure they reduce the need to partially hydrogenate the soybeans (i.e. create trans fats and simultaneously remove omega-3s while leaving omega-6s intact), but the article says that the soy has a longer shelf-life than unmodified soy. Translation: Less omega-3s. They are taking out the omega-3s and replacing them with omega-9s. That's a dumb idea. |
