Christie Brinkley on GMOS: ‘We’re Guinea Pigs’
She’s graced the cover of more than 500 magazines, and now, 40 years later, supermodel Christie Brinkley is back in the spotlight with a new book called “Timeless Beauty.”
Brinkley wrote the lifestyle book to share her beauty secrets on looking good at the age of 61 and also to inspire people to get healthier, especially with the foods they eat.
“I think there are so many issues with our food industry that are blatantly disrespectful to our planet and us as individuals,” Brinkley tells FOXBusiness.com.
She says the most alarming part is the fact that genetically modified crops are affecting our insect population.
“The bees are suffering right now and without the bees—well, Einstein said when the bees go, the next thing that goes are people,” she says. “What I don’t like about GMOs is that we’re the guinea pigs. The testing—if there’s testing—we’re the ones doing the testing and that is not fair and furthermore it’s not labelled so we don’t know if we’re the ones eating them.”
According to the National Agricultural Statistics Service, the peak of honeybee colonies was 5.6 million in 1950. Last year the number of honey producing colonies was 2.7 million.
"What I don’t like about GMOs is that we’re the guinea pigs."
Scientists have dubbed the phenomenon Colony Collapse Disorder or CCD, and have been searching frantically for a cause. A study done in 2014 from the non-profit, The Company of Biologists showed that glyphosate, the active ingredient in Monsanto’s (NYSE:MON) Roundup herbicide, can disrupt learning behaviors in honeybees and severely impair long-term colony performance.
“All the time we’re finding various links and I want my food pure and it can be done. Monsanto and these giant companies are just taking over and their disrespect for our health and our rights is really maddening,” says Brinkley.
FOXBusiness.com reached out to Monsanto and received this statement, "We were surprised to hear Ms. Brinkley’s comments. Honeybees are essential in agriculture. Monsanto’s own fruit, vegetable, canola and alfalfa seed businesses depend on healthy pollinators to be successful. We have made significant investments in collaborations and research for the betterment of honey bee health. All GMO crops are tested for potential impact on honey bees, as was glyphosate herbicide. These products, when used as intended, do not impact honey bee health."
According to Justlabelit.org, sixty-four nations already require GMO labeling, while major corporations have been lobbying to stop mandatory labelling in the United States.
“We have the right to know what we’re putting into our bodies [and] without food being properly labelled today, we have no way of knowing,” she adds.
Brinkley, who is a life-long vegetarian says she’s a big proponent of eating organically but knows that it can be challenging for people because of the cost.
“The more we all join in and demand organic foods, the better off that we’re going to be because every day they’re linking the chemicals, insecticides, pesticides, and herbicides to men becoming sterile and with women it could be linked to the breast cancer epidemic that we’re seeing,” she says.
And, she urges everyone to get involved and join the fight in getting our foods labelled properly.
“Start signing online petitions and weighing in on this topic and make yourself heard so we can clean up the food industry and know what we’re eating,” she says.