GMO – GE food – GM food – what are they; why they’re dangerous; how you can protect yourself

The horror that is taking place with our food in today’s world reads like science fiction. I guess that’s why many (if not most) people dismiss anything against any new technology as fanaticism.  If however, we want to live our lives to the full and in the best health possible we need to take note of what’s going on and what we can do to help and protect ourselves.

Big agri-business has a lot going for them that has allowed them to literally offer food that would do us harm rather than sustain us — as food is intended to do.

For one thing, our society as a whole has gotten far away from real food.  I think the majority of people know very little about food or cooking in general — much less what’s going on in the food industry.  Eating processed food and eating in fast food places is a way of life to many.  It’s quick and easy and most don’t see a need to take the time to eat properly or even know what “eating properly” is.

I know many people old enough to know better who are still laboring under the belief that “they wouldn’t put it out there if it were harmful.”

Enter GMOs

In addition to everything else — now there’s the matter of GMOs — genetically modified organisms.  The masses in the United States are being fed GMOs without their knowledge, since there are no requirements for labeling them. And they’re in just about everything unless it’s labeled organic. (I’ll tell you how to find out more in a minute.)

Monsanto and our Government

Much of the rest of the world is regulating strongly against GMOs.  Monsanto (and I would guess Bayer and the other chemical giants) walk hand in hand with our government.  The revolving door between Monsanto and the government agencies who are suppose to be regulating what is done is well documented.

“Feed the World”? —That’s Propaganda

These companies are in no way interested in the public good, although they put out a lot of propaganda about how they’re going to feed the world.  It’s just that:  Propaganda.  The real facts are that these GM crops are causing more problems, greater use of chemicals and they don’t produce anymore than regular crops — if that much.

You might enjoy reading the article by Jeffrey Smith entitled Vilsack Mistakenly Pitched “GMOs-Feed-the-World” to an Audience of Experts–Oops at Huffingtonpost.com.

WHAT are GMOs?

GMOs are not your run-of-the-mill hybridized peppers and tomatoes and other garden veggies that we’ve all come to know. It’s not crossing one natural plant variety with another to get an even better plant.

GM (genetically modified) foods result from injecting one species with the DNA of an entirely different species.  An example to make the point would be a tomato with the DNA of a fish or corn with human DNA. (And yes, that has been done.)

The majority of GM products cross plants with herbicides and/or pesticide components. And we ingest them anytime we eat GM food.

A GMO by Any Other Name is Still a GMO

The process of creating a GMO (genetically modified organism) is called Genetic Engineering (GE) or Genetic Modification (GM).  The GMOs are also called transgenic organisms.

Can you Believe Private Research is Restricted on GMOs?!

Did you know that big companies like Monsanto invoke intellectual property law to restrict independent researchers  from conducting studies of their GMO products?

When scientist do have an opportunity to research and come out with results that help prove the risks involved with GMOs, the “giants” step in to try to destroy and discredit the scientist in various not-so-nice ways.

WHY GMOs are Dangerous

Fortunately in spite of this a lot of studies have been conducted that have brought to light the risks of GMO products. They’ve been linked to all kinds of health problems in animals that consume them including infertility, immune problems, accelerated aging, and changes in major organs and the gastrointestinal system.

And to top if off, the organisms are passed to the humans ingesting those animals that ingested the GMOs. The GMOs can then transfer into the DNA of bacteria living inside of us.

Red Flag?

Interesting to note that the very company selling the GMO seed is the company working the hardest to stop evidence from being gathered and presented to the public.  Wouldn’t you call that a red flag?

How Much Evidence Do You Need?

Some say there is not enough evidence to judge one way or the other whether GMOs are harmful.  How much evidence do they need?  I’ve certainly seen enough to recognize the importance in not ingesting them.

If you haven’t done any research on GMO and want to, here’s a very simple straight-forward article on the Institute for Responsible Technologies’ website to get you started entitled 10 Reasons to Avoid GMOs.

What You Can Do to Protect Yourself from GMOs.

–The two best things you can do to avoid GM food is to

• Grow your own whenever possible.
• Buy only foods marked 100% Organic (Certified Organic Products can not intentionally contain GMO products.)

–When you are buying foods that are not organic

• look for “GM-Free” on the Label.  It might be a variation of “GM-Free” – such as “non-GMO” or “GMO free” or “not made from any GMO product”.

-Avoid all processed foods because more than 70% of processed food on grocery store shelves are made with GMO ingredients. Processed foods often have GM sources that are not obvious.

• Unless they are organic or declared non-GMO you would be amazed at what ingredients can be Genetically Modified (GM).  HERE’s a LIST  that will probably shock you!

-It’s almost impossible to eat out without eating GM foods.  As much as we have loved going to great restaurants when the opportunity presented itself in the past, Bill and I will not eat out at all now. But – if you have to eat out and are willing to make extra effort to avoid GMOs here an article to help you.

–Download this helpful non-GMO shopping Guide by clicking the green bar designated “Download the Shopping Guide”.  (At the bottom of the page you can download the Guide to your iphone.)

•  Although not all inclusive, the guide lists many brands that are safe.

• It breaks products into groups like alternative dairy products, baby food & infant formula, beverages, feed and seed, Pasta, Meat, fish & eggs, herbs, etc. It will be helpful in identifying and avoiding foods that contain GMOs.

Still Want to learn more about GMO? Additional Reading:

As I mentioned earlier http://www.responsibletechnology.org/ website is a good place to start your GMO research. There’s some good basic reading available if you’ll check out their menu bar at the top.  In particular check out the topics under GMO Basics, GMO Dangers, Fraud, and Buy Non-GMO.  The articles are pretty much plain English rather than scientific language and easy to understand.

Final Thoughts

The potential negative impact from GMOs for us and for future generations is huge. Do everything you can to protect yourself.  And teach your kids and grandkids.  The quality of their lives could depend on it.

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Related TMG Posts:

The Basic Knowledge of Feeding Yourself Well

Monsanto Don’t Entrust Your Life to Them

Only a Few Days to Make Your Voice Heard

Heirloom Vegetable Seeds – Flowers Seeds – Two More Good Sources

Maria Rodale’s Open Letter to O’Bama

Monsanto – Goliath challenged by David

How to tell if the Origin of Seed is Seminis/Monsanto – Clarification

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Organic gardening is easy, effective, efficient and — a lot healthier.

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