“The food you eat can either be the safest & most powerful medicine, or the slowest form of poison”
-Ann Wigmore
Okay, so unless you live under a rock you may have noticed that the buzzword of the moment is GENETICALLY MODIFIED ORGANISM (GMO) and it just so happened that all of this coincided with my course “eco-nutrition” in school, which has focuses on the food industry and touches on things like GMO.
This is meant to be strictly from a nutritional standpoint and attempting to give an easier explanation for what is going on… and a little bit of a personal rant.
A significant amount of the food industry has unfortunately become so sketchy most of it happens behind closed doors and is hushed so the public will never hear about it…. Not sure about you but to me that sounds way more like a mafia than an industry that should be concerning themselves with informing the public and looking out for our best interests (JUST SAYING).
Now, first things first… let’s explain what exactly a genetically modified food is.
(As usual I’m a visual learner and LOVE a good flow chart and am all about informative videos… so let’s kick things off with a few)
click the image to get a more zoomed in version…unless you have superhuman eyesight in which case.. congratulations.
The definition as per the Australian Department of the Environment and Heritage in 2001 is “The manipulation of an organism’s genetic make-up in order to create or enhance desirable characteristics from the same or another species”. Essentially this means that scientists can pick and choose genes from different plants and animals and use them to render them resistant to bugs, weather… the zombie apocalypse… pretty much everything they want it to do they can. Now to the regular person this sounds pretty swell! Don’t we want plants and crops that are nice and sturdy so that they withstand weather and whatever else? … Well.
Problem A) by genetically altering this plant it’s taking it away from its natural function. Plants and animals aren’t supposed! To be resistant to everything, it’s just the way the world works & contrary to popular belief these days… that matters.
Problem B) genetic modification started behind closed doors and was performed very secretively in laboratories… and the kicker is they were done WITHOUT HUMAN TESTING. When these modifications were made there was no attention paid to how the alterations would impact the humans that would be consuming the food or whether we would even be able to process them at all. Essentially it became a giant experiment and all of us were the lab rats. Some of the combinations will literally boggle your mind (i.e. (from the documentary “Genetic Roulette”) They combined spider genes with goat genes… so that they could milk a goat and get the spider web protein so they could make better bullet proof vests. YOU LITERALLY CAN’T MAKE THIS UP IT’S SO INSANE). It’s a 100% genetic free for all and it’s like a contest to see who can come up with the strangest combinations it’s ridiculous.
SIDE NOTE: Genetic modification should not be confused with natural plant breeding… as in combining a plant gene with another plant gene… (ENTER: GRAPPLE…grape/apple). This is actually a safe practice and has been done since forever.
Problem C) the most major concern to companies producing this “food” that is supposed to nourish humans and make us healthier… is not the food’s nutritional content at all. In fact how the food tastes and whether it’s nutritious isn’t even on the RADAR of the food industry. The only thing that matters is yield (how much they can produce) and profit.
Now, with every controversy there are of course the people who decide to fight the opposite way and say there’s actually no problem with GMO and it’s in fact a good thing but has simply been put in the wrong hands and is being used incorrectly. This (in my opinion) is totally wrong and consistent with the holistic approach that I try to support and exemplify, the world functions best with balance and harmony and maintaining a natural environment as best we can… so genetically altering the fundamental components of something whether that is an animal or a plant is totally unnatural. Just because it CAN be done with science… doesn’t mean it SHOULD be done.
A phenomenal report regarding all of the gmo myths and facts!:
(Source)
(It is over 100 pages so it’s not a sit and read in 5 minutes but I STRONGLY encourage everyone to read it) It’s time we take matters into our own hands… if the people who claim to be looking out for our best health interests aren’t doing their jobs then let’s do ours. We deserve REAL WHOLESOME FOOD… not food-like products. Be an informed buyer, purchase locally and support your local farmers and community, understand what is happening to your food and make your own decision!
This is MY PERSONAL opinion on this subject… I’m not here to force an opinion upon you; it’s up to you to inform yourself!
Some EXCELLENT resources
-Documentaries:
Food Inc.
Food Matters
Genetic Roulette (specifically about GMO food)
-Iphone App (may be on androids too not 100% sure): Buycott – you can scan items in the grocery store and it will tell you where that product is made (by what company) and whether or not that company supports GMO use or not. BE INFORMED.
-Book: The End Of Food: How the food industry is destroying our food supply – and what you can do about it (Thomas F. Pawlick)
These are just a few… there are TONS of resources out there. It is our right to know what is going into and being done with the food we’re feeding ourselves and our families. GET IN THE KNOW!
The Nourishing Noobs 