Secret 29: Go Organic and Avoid "Frankenfoods"

Beare's 29th secret can be divided into two topics: 'good soil/organic farming' and 'the dangers of GM foods'.  Let me examine these in turn:

1. Soil

Soil is a mix of organic (dead animal or plant material) and mineral constituents and is a primary nutrient base for plants. The home to a large variety of organisms including single-celled organisms ‘archaea’, invertebrates, bacteria, fungi, algae and insects, it is an incredibly diverse habitat. Three main nutrients provided to plants by soil are: nitrogen (promotes growth of leaves and stem), phosphorus (aids root growth and flowering), and potassium (plant health). Healthy soil has a specific pH and texture.  Many, but not all, plants prefer a slightly acidic soil (pH 6.2 to 6.8). The ideal soil texture allows movement of water, air and room for roots to grow while providing support. Healthy soil supplies plants with water and nutrients which in turn supply us with important nutrients.

You are what you eat and the plants you consume reflect the soil in which they grow caption

According to Beare, pesticides and artificial fertilizers are not an adequate substitute for manure and compost and use of these synthetic fertilizers and pesticides have led to an increase in cancer among children. Illegal immigrants working in agriculture in California and Florida have been poisoned by concentrated pesticides. What does this say about consuming foods treated with such chemicals? A study on breast milk in Hong Kong has shown the presence of pesticides. This breast milk, in turn, is fed straight into the bodies of growing infants. Pesticides are a two-edged sword and if the dose is high enough, are not just dangerous for insects. The long-lived, healthy populations that Beare studied do not use synthetic fertilizers and pesticides. They are masters in organic farming.

So whenever possible, choose foods that have been grown organically as these have higher levels of nutrients and lower levels of toxins.

2. GM foods

If you live in the U.S. and eat any of the following: corn (corn syrup, cereals, corn oil, high fructose corn syrup, corn starch and other corn derivatives), soybean (soy flour, soy lecithin, cereals, soybean oil, soy derivatives), sugar beet (sugar in processed food most likely is GM beet sugar), canola (canola oil; a major supplier of GM canola is Canada), Hawaiian papaya, dairy products from cows injected with rbGH (a GM hormone) and some types of squash, chances are that you are consuming GM foods. 

Yumm!

While 55% of the world’s acreage in GM foods is grown in the U.S, less than 1% is grown in Europe. In fact, the biggest growers of GM crop are the U.S., Brazil and Argentina. Over 90% of all U.S. soybean acreage is planted with GMO seed. Canola and corn make up over 80% in the U.S. Even if you live in a country that does not allow the production of GM foods such as New Zealand, you may still be eating GM foods. New Zealand allows the import of GM foods. The strictest GMO regulations world-wide are found in the European Union. As of 2010, the only GM food that may be grown in the EU is a specific type of maize (not surprisingly developed by the reviled company Monsanto. It is known as MON810 or 'YieldGuard'). In Europe, Spain is the largest producer of GMO foods (the afore-mentioned MON810). Pressure exerted by the WTO and the U.S. led to the EU removing its moratorium on the approval of new genetically modified crops and food. In 2006 the WTO had the audacity to make banning GM crops an illegal trade barrier!

In Europe food that contains more than 0.9% of approved GMOs has to be labeled. It is a disservice to consumers in the U.S. that the U.S. does not require GM foods to be labeled. Most processed foods contain several of the GM foods mentioned above, so you can safely assume that the majority of processed food in the U.S. contains GM ingredients. 

We do not yet fully understand the negative ramifications of consuming GM foods. Studies have been limited to 90-day trials and are not adequate for gaining an in-depth, comprehensive understanding of the multi-generational effects of GM foods on health and fertility. According to an article published in Environmental Sciences Europe (Springer Verlag) by Gilles-Eric Séralin, “no minimal length for the tests is yet obligatory for any of the GMOs cultivated on a large scale, and this is socially unacceptable in terms of consumer health protection.” Various multi-generational scientific studies on rats and hamsters in countries such as Austria, Italy, Russia and the U.S have shown a drop of fertility in third-and fourth-generation animals that have been raised on a GM diet. If indeed the consumption of GM foods has a negative effect on long-term fertility in a species, might this be our solution to overpopulation?

Is the consumption of GM foods linked in any way to a decline in fertility and/or an increase in pancreatic cancer, allergies, autism and ADHD?  Will future generations be shocked by our ignorance?

According to Timothy J. LaSalle Ph.D, “Whether genetically modified foods are safe for human consumption will remain a controversial issue. Yet some scientists who have been quieted or marginalized have found serious concerns about the safety of GMOs in laboratory animal studies. In many investigations involving GMO-fed animals, there have been cases of underdeveloped organs, reproductive problems, accelerated aging and even death. As the four As (allergies, asthma, autism, and ADD) rapidly increase in U.S. health statistics, we must consider that GMOsGMO foods because "there is more than a casual association between GM foods and adverse health effects."

Recently I asked my doctor about the possible effects of GM foods on health.  "GM?  What's that?" she asked.  

If you do not want to consume GM foods, choose certified organic when you shop. Fortunately, despite pressure from industry in 1998, the USDA received nearly 300,000 indignant letters from concerned consumers during the public comment period, and decided not to allow GM products to be labeled as organic in the U.S.  So if you want to try to avoid GM foods in the U.S., choose certified organic. For more info on how to buy non GM foods, check out NonGMOShoppingGuide.com or download the ShopNoGMO App on your iPhone. You might also want to check out the FAQ at http://www.responsibletechnology.org if you are interested in what companies such as Monsanto, Aventis and Novartis might not be sharing with  consumers.

The verdict is still out. What effects do GM foods have on our health and the health of future generations? As long as the facts are not in, I prefer to try and avoid these as much is feasibly possible in this GM infested country. Education is key. Ignorance does not protect us.

Afterthought:

The evening after I posted the blog, my husband brought home some frozen "chicken taquitos' from Whole Foods. Having just written a blog about GMO, I put on my GMO detective glasses and had a closer look at the ingredients. These included CORN flour masa, non-hydrogenated CANOLA oil, modified CORN starch, and the whole thing was fried in non-hydrogenated CANOLA oil.  Oh no! I thought. This 'food' is 

i. processed 

ii. does not state that any of the ingredients are organic (and would thus be GMO free) 

iii. is manufactured in the U.S. 

iv. contains corn and canola - two of the most common GM foods in the U.S!  

I immediately called my local Whole Foods store to confirm my suspicions. The assistant manager did some research and called back to state that anything produced under the 'Whole Foods' label falls under the '365' Whole Foods brand and does not contain any GM substances.  

Further research, unfortunately, proved the assistant manager wrong. Chicken taquitos consist of GM ingredients. As stated in the blog, unless the corn and canola were certified organic, they are genetically modified. In fact, in July 2009 Whole Foods teamed up with a 3rd party non-GMO verification system called the 'non-GMO Project' (www.nongmoproject.org) to start labeling foods in terms of GMO content. These foods are called 'verified non GMO'. Note that 'verified' products does NOT mean GM free (but it's better than blindly buying food off the shelves).  In the Project's own words:"The Non-GMO Project standard is a process-based standard that avoids the intentional use of GMO ingredients by providing suppliers with procedures and best practices for minimizing the presence of GMO ingredients." Also, keep in mind that if you live in the U.S.: "Unfortunately, due to cross-contamination and pollen drift, very few products in the U.S. are completely free of GMOs" (from the intro to the Highlands Ranch verified non GMO Whole Foods shopping list).

Look for this label if you would like to reduce the GM content of  your diet

In fact, many Whole Foods stores now offer a list of products that have been verified by this project. To download a list of non GMO products at your local Whole Foods store, go to www.wholefoods.com and search for 'non GMO verified product list' and the name of your store. The list available for the Whole Foods store in Highlands Ranch, CO,  as of Oct. 14, 2011, was seven pages long and contained foods that do not have corn, soy and canola ingredients or derivatives and/or are certified organic. Once again, the chicken taquitos were not on the list. According to Whole Foods: "All of our 365 Everyday Value^® food products are enrolled in the Project".  Note the use of the word 'enrolled', 365 foods are enrolled BUT NOT VERIFIED.  As stated on the  Non-GMO Project website, "'enrolled products that are in the process of being verified, have not yet been deemed fully compliant with the Non-GMO Project'.  So in plain English, Whole Foods is starting to get its brand-name products verified by the Non-GMO Project but this does not mean that the '365' Whole Foods brand does not contain any GM substances as erroneously claimed by the Assistant Manager...


By the way, quite fortuitously, while browsing around www.nongmoproject.org, I discovered that the non-GMO Project has designated October as the GMO awareness month!  
If you would to find out more about GMO foods, check out:

http://www.nongmomonth.org/about/

They even offer a bunch of verified non GMO food and other giveaways!

Eating food prepared outside the home sure takes a lot of trust.....