Saturday, August 4, 2012

GMO Foods to Avoid

The problem is that high-fructose corn syrup, made from the the single most genetically-modified plant on the planet, is an ingredient in almost every kind of processed food. That means ready-to-eat food, from chips to frozen pizza to fast food.  The key to avoiding GMO Frankenfood is to eat fresh, not processed, food. Eat locally-produced food. Eat certified organic food. and grow your own with heirloom (non-modified) seeds (available from seedsavers.org.)
 
Over the weekend Elizabeth Renter of the Natural Society warned us of the top 10 GMO foods to avoid. "Genetically modified foods," she explains, "have been shown to cause harm to humans, animals, and the environmental, and despite growing opposition, more and more foods continue to be genetically altered. It's important to note that steering clear from these foods completely may be difficult, and you should merely try finding other sources than your big chain grocer. If produce is certified USDA-organic, it's non-GMO (or supposed to be!) Also, seek out local farmers and booths at farmer's markets where you can be ensured the crops aren't GMO... With little regulation and safety tests performed by the companies doing the genetic modifications themselves, we have no way of knowing for certain what risks these lab-created foods pose to us outside of what we already know. The best advice: steer clear of them altogether."

Top 10 Worst GMO Foods
1. Corn: This is a no-brainer. If you've watched any food documentary, you know corn is highly modified. "As many as half of all U.S. farms growing corn for Monsanto are using genetically modified corn," and much of it is intended for human consumption. Monsanto's GMO corn has been tied to numerous health issues, including weight gain and organ disruption.

2. Soy: Found in tofu, vegetarian products, soybean oil, soy flour, and numerous other products, soy is also modified to resist herbicides. As of now, biotech giant Monsanto still has a tight grasp on the soybean market, with approximately 90 percent of soy being genetically engineered to resist Monsanto's herbicide Roundup. In one single year, 2006, 96.7 million pounds of glyphosate was sprayed on soybeans alone.

3. Sugar: According to NaturalNews, genetically-modified sugar beets were introduced to the U.S. market in 2009. Like others, they've been modified by Monsanto to resist herbicides. Monsanto has even had USDA and court-related issues with the planting of it's sugarbeets, being ordered to remove seeds from the soil due to illegal approval.

4. Aspartame: Aspartame is a toxic additive used in numerous food products, and should be avoided for numerous reasons, including the fact that it is created with genetically modified bacteria.
Read the whole thing. 

1 comment:

Christine Eubanks said...

""As many as half of all U.S. farms growing corn for Monsanto are using genetically modified corn," and much of it is intended for human consumption."