Considering peanuts are among the most pesticide-laden foods one can eat and they're often contaminated with a carcinogenic mold, unfortunately, many people may be fooled by the American Peanut Council's tacit approval to give scientists the go-ahead to "build" a better peanut.
For the longest time, the industry had been against genetic modification, fearing a consumer backlash. As with most all things related to business, however, the fear of losing marketshare and dollars to foreign interests won out at the expense of your health.
Total peanut acreage in the Unites States fell to slightly more than a million acres this year (it's expected to drop even more next year), while soybeans and cotton -- two crops that have benefited greatly from Frankenstein-like tampering -- have increased.
Expect to see that first genetically modified peanut in your corner grocery store within five years, with promises that it will reduce food allergies and have just as many healthy antioxidants as the real thing, if not more... Still, there are far better food-based sources to get the antioxidants your body needs, and some might surprise you. Among them:
- Vegetables: beans and artichokes
- Spices: ground cloves, ground cinnamon and oregano
- Nuts: pecans, walnuts and hazelnuts
- Fruits: cranberries, blueberries and blackberries
Yahoo News December 26, 2006