The terms GMO (genetically modified organism) and GEO (genetically engineered organism) are used to describe an organism whose genetic material has been altered using genetic engineering. These techniques use DNA molecules from different sources to help create a new set of genes. Sometimes, the DNA originates from a different species.

I’m sure you wonder why, as a horse owner, this has anything to do with you.

Most of us feed our horses alfalfa, at least a little bit along with other grasses and grains. I found out that the U.S. Department of Agriculture has approved GMO alfalfa for use.

I wondered why a friend of mine, Pam, said something about the herbicide "Roundup" in her e-mail to me regarding alfalfa.

Pam had sent me some information that piqued my interest on the subject so I began to look into it. In her e-mail, she wrote, “I don't want my food, or the food that I feed my dogs, cats or horses or the livestock we raise for food, to ingest anything that has been sprayed with Roundup or any pesticide for that matter. Not to mention that GMO foods have not been thoroughly tested to see if they are even safe!”

Alfalfa is not sprayed with a herbicide at this time. But an article in Rodale Daily News states that genetically engineered (GE) alfalfa is made “Roundup ready” by changing the DNA in the seeds. That suggests that alfalfa has been altered so farmers can spray fields of it with Roundup, a herbicide marketed as "safe" but which is still being researched for possible effects on humans. This is to rid fields of weeds and not kill the alfalfa plants.

I also found out from my research that there was no environmental impact statement done by the USDA before it approved the GE alfalfa for planting and being sprayed. A federal court rescinded the USDA approval of the GE alfalfa and banned further planting of it. Then the Supreme Court lifted the lower court ban on planting, but it did not reinstate the approval of the GE seeds for planting. This effectively halted the practice of planting GMO alfalfa. The environmental impact statement now completed by the USDA found GE alfalfa safe.

Now, there appears to be political pressure by this administration to resume planting.

One of my first readings on the subject was the Rodale Daily News and the title was “USDA to OK Genetically Modified Alfalfa; Good-Bye Organic Dairy, Honey, and Grass-Fed Beef?” It had the subtitle, “Approval of GE alfalfa will likely lead to more spraying of pesticides, more genetically modified food, and contamination of organic crops.”

This headline scared me. As I read more about the subject from many different sources, I found out that portions of these crops: corn (which is in many grain mixes produced for animal food and other uses), soybean, zucchini, Hawaiian papaya, sugar beet (is this possibly the beet pulp used for horses?), cotton for cotton seed oil and rapeseed for canola oil, are already being produced as GMO foods in the USA and other countries. GE tomatoes, alfalfa, sugar cane, rice and sweet peppers have been removed from the market or are not ready to plant but are expected to be planted (rice in 2012) sometime in the future.

I wonder if these GMO foods or parts thereof will then get into more of the feed I use for my horses. Sugar cane is used to make molasses which is an ingredient in many horse feeds and grain mixtures. Will that affect my horse?

You may be feeding GMO alfalfa to your horses some day, and you may not even know it. My research has uncovered no studies to see what happens over time to animals fed this genetically altered food. I’m smart enough to know that messing with DNA may not necessarily be a good thing.

Every report and website I reviewed stated that despite efforts to prevent contamination or cross-pollination of crops, there was no guarantee that the GMO crops would not affect other plants. That begs the question, would this cross-pollination then create some other form (mutation) of the seeds that will be the future crops? Will all crops then become GMO simply by being cross-pollinated? Unfortunately I don’t have the answers. No one does, or really can at this point. My friend Pam also said, “I find it interesting the Europeans have been fighting GMO foods for quite a while now and are winning.”

I do not want to feed my horse GMO alfalfa and I certainly don’t want to feed her alfalfa that’s been sprayed with Roundup or some sort of pesticide! I don’t know what effects GMO alfalfa may have on her and I am not willing to risk her health or life to find out. I already know what Roundup does to plants and have no intention of feeding it to my horse. I know they do not and cannot wash alfalfa crops to remove the residue.

I will be watching this topic carefully. You may want to do a little research. I don't intend to tell you what to think; I simply want to give you information plus my opinion and you can take it for what it’s worth. Here are a few websites with articles to get you started, so you can form your own opinion:

Center for Food Safety

Food Democracy Now 

Food Safety News 

Washington State University