You may have been hearing a lot about Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) lately. If you haven’t heard by now, consumers are demanding that the government respect their right to know what’s in their food by labeling GMOs. I am one of those consumers, and I hope you are too. You have the right to know what’s in your food, especially because not knowing will dramatically damage your health. If you’re new to all of this, I will explain what GMOs are and how they’re destroying your family’s health.
What Are GMOs?
Genetically modified organisms are plants or animals created through the gene splicing techniques of biotechnology (also called genetic engineering, or GE). This experimental technology merges DNA from different species, creating unstable combinations of plant, animal, bacterial and viral genes that cannot occur in nature or in traditional crossbreeding. Monsanto (the company responsible) uses poisonous pesticides and herbicides so the plants are protected from the insects that might damage them. So basically what happens is that we eat the GMO food, which in turn mutates our cells and furthers the development of malignant tumors and other forms of cancer. You may ask why Monsanto would do such a thing if it’s so dangerous to our health? Unfortunately, Monsanto (and also the FDA or they would stop this) is driven by money instead of the health of consumers.
Health Problems That May Be Related to Eating GMO Food:
- Cancer
- Infertility
- Birth Defects
- Food Allergies
- Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease
- Ulcerative Colitis
- Asthma
- And much more since we are the guinea pigs and we don’t know all the long term effects this can have on our families
- These once healthy rats were fed Genetically Modified Food as part of a study & ended up with these tumors. The GMOs caused cancer, liver, & kidney problems in these rats.
Some doctors will prescribe non GMO diets, and their patients will get better from a variety of diseases. The same problems they get better from are found in laboratory animals that are fed GMOs.
The 9 GE Crops on the Market in the U.S.:
- Corn
- Soybeans
- Cotton
- Canola
- Sugar Beets
- Alfalfa
- Hawaiian Papaya
- Zucchini
- Yellow Crookneck Squash
- **A GE salmon is waiting FDA approval
What Can You Do?
Make sure you don’t buy any foods that contain GM seeds. An easy way of doing this is by buying certified organic foods and/or by buying local from farmers who don’t use GM seeds. Use your wallets to make your opinions known. Another option you have is to buy foods that are “Non-GMO Verified.”
If more of us speak out about why we care about the food we put in our own bodies and in our children’s bodies, then we can convince the FDA to change its policy. In November, we need Prop 37 to pass in California, which would require the labeling of GM foods. “Prop 37 gives us the right to know if our food has been genetically engineered. It helps us make the right food choices for our families by putting a simple label on the groceries we buy and telling us if our food has been genetically engineered.” If it passes in California, then there is hope for GMO food labeling for the rest of the country.
If you want to learn more about GMO food labeling: