Our 200th Posting

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

Over the weekend I read a little eBook by Brian McGrath and Pandora Poikilos called Genetically Modified Foods vs. Sustainability. Non-fiction books of such a serious matter don't often come your way in the freebie department. Our readers here may know that I have a strong interest in organic matters and all things green due to the experience in my previous life on an Irish organic farm. (In fact, I'm working hard on finishing that book called "I once had a Farm in Ireland".)

In the USA a lot of children think milk comes from the supermarket and peaches from a can, according a recent survey; even the kids in Georgia where most peaches are grown. That shows how far removed from the sources of our food we’ve become. Kids never set foot on a farm.
By the same token, most people think the food in the frozen food isle is actually real food, not realizing it's chock full of unnatural additives; preservatives, colorings, and artificial flavorings. That was one of the reasons we chose to grow our own food/produce already over 20 years ago. We felt that returning to natural eating habits was a must. 
Now more than ever! Healthy Eating Starts with NO GMO (genetically modified organisms)! The problem here in the States is that genetically modified produce need not be labeled. So you don’t know what you are eating. You can assume, however, that you take in 70% genetically modified foods, if you live off the fast food isle. I highly recommend reading two other books by Jeffrey Smith’s: 'Seeds of Deception' and 'Genetic Roulette' for more in-depth information.
Smith documents at least 65 serious health risks from GM products of all kinds, including (and I quote:)
“Male mice fed GM soy have damaged young sperm cells.
The embryo offspring of GM soy-fed mice have altered DNA functioning.
Several US farmers have reported sterility or fertility problems among pigs etc.” 

The list goes on and on. To sum it up: GMO foods can be: • Allergenic • Toxic • Carcinogenic • Anti-nutritional.
How can we avoid GM food? By buying organic. I experienced firsthand how difficult it is to acquire that well-earned label “Organic”. If the idea of eating GM foods bothers you, get the quintessential shopping guide that lists GM foods: http://www.nongmoshoppingguide.com/
Dr. Mae-Wan Ho of the Institute of Science in Society (ISIS) explains why GM foods are so dangerous: Playing with Technology We Don’t Fully Comprehend (read the full article on Mercola Article on GM.
Products to avoid that contain these at-risk ingredients are 1. Soy 2. Corn 3. Cotton 4. Canola. I don’t know how cotton gets into the food chain, but soy and canola oil is prevalent here and hard to circumnavigate.

I watched the first court cases taking place in Ireland against a certain chemical giant that is behind GM food and has the monopoly on seeds. I saw the struggle of our fellow small holding farmers who became surrounded by experimental fields testing the Multinational's seed and growth progress. Here 70 % of foods are genetically modified. In spite of  9 out of 10 Americans according to a 2012 poll are against it. In Europe it only affects 5% of produce. There it's forbidden not to label them as GM. Corn on the cob here is GM- that's a given, also the canola oil made out of it. In Germany and some other European countries it's forbidden. The least one would expect here as well is to have these produce labeled as such so that the informed consumers decide for themselves whether they want to ingest a veggie that has been altered by a bacterium that  makes the plants grow its own resistance against pests. To leave the labeling at the voluntary discretion of the companies involved seems to invite the fox into the hen house.
The American Academy of Environmental Medicine has called for a moratorium on genetically modified foods. Genetically modified foods That’s food for thought, ain’t it? 
Good luck to the authors Brian McGrath and Pandora Poikilos spreading the word! The eBook it's not free anymore although it is worth the investment of $2.99. My review is up on Amazon.

The Ex Farmer's Wife
www.InandoutofIreland.blogspot.com
@Hernibs