AVOIDING GMOs

The political battle over the labeling of GMO foods continues to gain momentum in 2013. Whether you like politics or not this issue is very important and should of concern for you and your family. You may wonder why the labeling issue is so important and why people are attacking the Monsanto corporation? What link does Monsanto have with all of this?

You see Monsanto has a very dark past. This very powerful company produces chemical pesticides. These pesticides have been directly linked to a host of health problems such as birth defects, cancer, tumors, etc.  For example, back when the Viet Nam war was going on, Monsanto the the front runner in producing agent orange (AO). They assured our government that AO was safe and made a huge profit selling it to our military. If you remember, it was sprayed over the lush jungle to kill the vegetation. Turns out that the vegetation that was not the only thing killed. Thousands of our soldiers were exposed to AO and consequentially developed devastating diseases such as cancer, Parkinson’s, reproductive problems, etc.

Today, Monsanto takes the lead in developing genetically modified foods. This powerful company and is able to control our government decisions on food safety. At the time of this writing they are self-regulating and above governmental scrutiny. Basically, if Monsanto says something is “safe” then no one in our government questions it.

Now back to you...

Whether you realize it or not, you are already consuming GMOs in your food because of companies like Monsanto. The hard truth is that GMOs are not safe to eat!  It has been estimated that at least 85-90% of the foods in the grocery store have been genetically modified. Did you know that since 1996 Americans have been eating genetically modified ingredients in most processed foods. Unfortunately, GMOs are not only found in processed foods anymore. They can also be found in whole foods & produce and are on practically every shelf of the local grocery store. 

So what’s the harm in eating GMOs? Well, would you knowingly eat pesticides? This is where Monsanto comes into the picture. You see, Monsanto discovered that if you take a gene from the soil bacterium called Bt (for Bacillus thuringiensis) and insert it into the plant’s DNA it will secrete an insect-killing toxin in every cell and the plant will be resistant to insects. This built-in pesticide trait has yet to be tested on humans. And of course, Monsanto says everything is fine and there is no cause for concern. 

“No genetically modified crop can grow unless it is attached to some kind of a pesticide…” -Shiv Chopra, Phd., author of Corrupt to the Core

Another reason companies like Monsanto genetically engineer plants is to make them tolerant to herbicides. Monsanto’s four major GM plants, soy, corn, canola, and cotton, can withstand a deadly dose of weed killer. These monster plants and their seeds are now the patent property of Monsanto.

Everything Monsanto does if for profit and not for health. They are in no way concerned about the health impact their pesticides will have on us. Unfortunately, our government is allowing Monsanto to monopolize the food industry and putting the safety of our food into their pesticide-infected hands. Those waging war against Monsanto are trying make sure that consumers know what they are getting by regulating the labeling of foods sold in this country. 

Unfortunately, there is no straight forward way of avoiding GMOs at present time. But there are certain measures you can take which will limit the amount of GMOs you consume. The first thing that you can do is avoid the typical at-risk ingredients (http://www.nongmoshoppingguide.com) unless they are specifically labeled organic or non-GMO. When buying produce always buy organic. Only purchase processed foods that are specifically labeled as non-GMO. 

Are GMOs something that you are concerned about? If so, how do you avoid buying GMO foods?