Genetically Engineered Foods

I got my PCC newsletter yesterday and I finally sat down to read it tonight. I couldn't even finish it because I'm so upset about the state of our food in this country. We are so money driven and greedy, that in order to make an extra buck, our government has okayed the use of genetically engineered crops as a way to increased production on corn, soy, cotton, and now beets and alfalfa. Here are the numbers: According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, 93% of U.S. soy, 93% of U.S. cotton, 95% of U. S. sugar beets (2010 harvest), and 86% of U.S. corn grown is GMO. It’s estimated that as much as 90% of U.S. canola is GMO.
(http://www.pccnaturalmarkets.com/nongmo/foods.html)

Let's outline the dangers of GE crops and exactly what they are. CE crops are foods that have their DNA altered in a lab by a scientist. They do this to create the "perfect food" that has no blemishes, or ripens perfectly, or is resistant to certain types of bugs, etc. This sounds great, right? The problem is the DNA is not natural, as it would occur in our environment. It should also be noted that one of the leading reasons behind having to develop GE crops is that the current crops have become resistant to the pesticides that are being used, and they've only been in existence for about 30 years. So, in another 30 years, we'll have to come up with something else to defeat the new strain of bugs.

The latest controversy is regarding Monsanto, the agricultural giant who is behind wanting to make GE alfalfa and sugar beets commonplace. They have genetically engineered their crops to be "Roundup Ready" which will allow the crops to survive being drenched in the pesticide glyphospate so that they can kill all weeds (and all other green, living organisms in the area) without killing the crops. What's more unbelievable, is that the USDA approved Roundup Ready before they had conducted a full environmental study, as required by law. A government agency that was blinded by cash and side stepped the law...awesome. The USDA was designed initially to protect us. The famous author and activist said this: "The USDA's decision to allow unlimited, nationwide commercial planting of Monsanto's GE Roundup Ready alfalfa without any restrictions flies in the face of the interests of conventional and organic farmers, preservation of the environment, and consumer choice. USDA has become a rogue agency in its regulation of biotech crops and its decision to appease the few companies who seek to benefit from this technology comes despite increasing evidence that GE alfalfa will threaten the rights of American farmers and consumers, as well as damage the environment". 


There have been several concerns raised from many different organizations about the impact these foods will have our on health. When GE soy production was approved in UK, soy allergies jumped 50%. Other issues included IBS, headaches, and chronic fatigue. Several studies have indicated that the presence of the specific pesticide in Roundup increases the risk of non-Hodgkins Lymphoma. Other studies have demonstrated that the presence of this pesticide is present in the blood of people who consume the products sprayed. If you read the labels, you will realize that soy and corn are in just about every processed food. And most animals, unless organic grass fed, are eating foods that contain GE crops. Another GE crop is the sugar beet, so unless you are eating cane sugar, you are getting a nice dose of GE crops as well. Non-organic canola oils are also GE. 


So my take home message is this: read your labels. The more organic foods you eat and the less processed foods you eat, the more likely you are to stay away from these foods. PCC is the only company (that I'm aware of ) that has required it's food producers to verify on a regular basis that they are indeed non-GMO producers. We live in a world that experiencing an Autism epidemic, staggering increases in cancer and other deadly diseases, as well as increasing hyperactivity in children. There are likely many causes, but one of the things that corresponds to these increases in disease, is also the increase in poor food choices and options in our grocery stores. There is a reason the saying "you are what you eat" gained such popularity. It is true. Be good to your body and be good to your health. Here's to yummy, healthy foods!