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Supermodel Christie Brinkley Should Stick To Beauty Tips, Her Diet Advice Is Rotten

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“Supermodel Christie Brinkley has been on fire lately, with a new book called Timeless Beauty and a brand new skincare line,” opens a news clip on FOXBusiness.com. “But it’s not all beauty tips,” reporter Jade Scipioni continues. “She’s also on a mission to change how we eat.”

The blond bombshell and mom of three, who looks decades younger than her 61 years and has graced more than 500 magazine covers, explains in the video that she’s “a big proponent of eating organic foods.”

“Brinkley says what she finds most alarming about our food today are the amount of genetically modified organisms that we eat,” the reporter explains.

Why does the former CoverGirl model find this alarming? “What I don’t like about GMOs is that we’re the guinea pigs,” laments the former swimsuit model and actress, who has admitted that she owes her looks largely to hereditary good luck. "The testing—if there’s testing—we’re the ones doing the testing and that is not fair."

It’s only understandable that Brinkley parrots the common misconception that genetically engineered foods haven’t been tested long term. Despite a number of long term studies in animals ranging from quails to cows, several of which span multiple generations, the “I am not a science experiment” fallacy is hard to shake, due in large part to organic industry messaging. Agricultural biotechnology, which has been in use for over twenty years, has caused zero health problems in humans; nary a sick stomach or a sniffle, and poses no unique threat to the environment, all facts confirmed by more than 2,000 studies, many of which are independently funded.

“Furthermore it’s not labeled, so we don’t know when we’re the ones eating them,” Brinkley continues. “We have the right to know what we’re putting into our bodies.” Notably, the supermodel has spoken openly about a previous mishap with Botox, the brand name commercial formulation of the naturally occurring botulinum toxin, which left her face temporarily disfigured. Nevertheless, Brinkley continues to use Botox injections on her neck despite her bad experience and known adverse reactions, including respiratory failure and death. Right to know what we're putting in our bodies? That's rich.

To be clear, there is nothing wrong with Botox treatments, which millions of people receive each year. Nevertheless, the cosmetic injections, which Brinkley uses to beautify her décolletage, seem like Russian Roulette compared to genetically engineered foods, which she advises her fans to avoid.

When it comes to genetically engineered foods, the “right to know” argument, another popular fallacy, holds no water. Food labeling is necessary to protect consumers and help us nourish our bodies with varied, balanced, and healthy diets, but only when this labeling is relevant. Vitamin, mineral and fiber content are labeled to help shoppers consume adequate amounts of essential nutrients. Quantities of fats, sodium, and sugar, which should be consumed sparingly, are listed on food packaging to help encourage moderation. Common allergens, like milk, eggs, peanuts, and shellfish, are also relevant. After all, anaphylaxis, a severe allergic reaction, often to common allergens in food, can be life threatening.

Genetic engineering, on the other hand, is a process and not a product that can be scooped into a bowl. Like so-called “non-GMO” breeding methods, including mutation breeding, in which plants are exposed to chemicals or radiation to induce mutations, and wide cross hybridization, which “forces” organisms of different species or genera to produce offspring, molecular genetic engineering is simply another set of breeding techniques, resulting in organisms popularly known as “GMOs”, an unscientific and arbitrary term because the vast majority of our food has been genetically altered by humans, including almost all organic varieties.

Crucially, agricultural genetic engineering has the potential to give us benefits ranging from gluten free wheat for those with Celiac disease, to nutrient fortification for populations suffering from micronutrient deficiencies.

But these benefits, most of which haven't seen a dinner plate due in large part to anti-GMO lobbying, don't seem to register on Brinkley's radar. “I want my food pure. It can be done but, like, Monsanto and these giant companies are just taking over and their disrespect for our health and our rights is really maddening.”

What’s maddening is Brinkley’s lack of due diligence regarding agricultural biotechnology. “Google Monsanto, Google, and read about what’s going on,” the author advises, rather vaguely. We can take her beauty and youthfulness, aided by modern technologies, at face value. But her so-called Google research on GMOs isn’t as pretty.

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Kavin Senapathy’s book “The Fear Babe:  Shattering Vani Hari’s Glass House,” with co-authors Marc Draco and Mark Alsip, is available now. Follow her on Facebook and Twitter.