What's In It For You?

I carp constantly about genetically modified foods (GMO's) and our right to know whether they are in the foods we eat. I favor - as 93% of Americans do - the labeling of foods to accurately indicate whether they contain GMO's. I urge you do do the same, but what's in it for you?

First, it's clear that there are enough allergens in our environment already. We hardly need to add new ones. These GMO's have never been tested before their entry into the food supply. The bulk of the information we have on them comes from the patent information they provided to get their patents on the seeds.

At a bare minimum we are exposed to much more herbicide and pesticide than we are through even non-GMO factory farming, and significantly more than organic products. Those ARE ALLERGENS. Not everyone is going to have a bad reaction, but it would be nice to know that every time little Jimmy eats GMO corn he breaks out in hives while he seems fine eating other corn. Without labeling we can't know why Jimmy is sick.

Second, the modification that turns bacteria cells into pesticide creators is scary beyond words, but I will bore you with some of mine anyway. Our human digestive systems depend on our bacteria cells in our system to properly break down foods so that we can be nourished. They are already compromised from the overabundance of antibiotics in the environment and the foods we eat. They hardy need another battle to fight.

The last thing we need is our bacteria creating pesticides in our gut. Look at the rise in colitis, irritable bowel syndrome, and crones disease over the last 10 -20 years. That follows pretty well with the rise of GMO foods in the food supply. Could it be that people more susceptible to the modification are being pesticide poisoned and obstructing the proper working order of their guts? I don't have that answer, but it sure seems like a strange coincidence.

Lastly, the way these foods are grown is an attack on the environment. Their original goal was supposed to be less chemical use, but the result has been ever increasing use of more and harsher chemicals. This has resulted in a polluted water supply, the death of microorganisms that keep soil alive and working and, inevitably, the death of the soil itself.

Mono-farming - the practice of planting crops in huge amounts in one place - allows insects to specialize and thrive on their chosen food source. Insects live very short lives compared to us and adapt quickly because of that. They will never stay ahead of the specialization of insects because of that. The right answer is to return to a system of rotating and smaller, more diverse plantings. Ooops, that's how it was done for years and years before we got so smart.

So you get to decide whether you are a big risk taker or not if you back the people fighting for the right to know what's in our food. Sign a petition near you. You can find one at your local farmer's market.

Be well and more soon....