GMO Crops, Safe or Evil?

GMO Crops, Safe or Evil?

gmo cropsIf you haven’t heard of GMO, I really encourage you to just stop what you are doing and google GMO because if you haven’t noticed it’s kind of a problem.  It is a world-wide issue that has caused a lot of up-roar, controversy and frustration between the government and big corporations and the people and little guys who are just trying to do the right thing.

GMO= are genetically modified organisms that have been created using new techniques of recombinant DNA technology.  GMO are viewed with concern because of public debate over the safety of the products and the fear that GMO foods represent a type of “biological” pollution. The battle has been particularly intense in Europe, where GMO have been banned since 1998. 

The next name I’m going to drop that will be very important for the understanding of this blog is, Monsanto.  (shreek).  Yup, the guys who went from creating and making explosives to creating and making the most of our mainstream food today.  Does that not sound odd to you? Basically, Monsanto has taken over the the agriculture industry and operates wherever they please, and let me be clear, with only their best intentions in mind.  Not only are they the number one producers of genetically engineered foods but they also own the rights to any farmland that a seeds just happens to land on.  They team up with big corporations such as Wal-Mart and take over whatever farmland they can become king of.  A lot of small farmers are pushed out of well-being and have found themselves left bankrupt and legally defeated.   Let’s not sugar coat it, Monsanto and all of their counter-parts are huge ass-holes and all they care about is money and yield, money and yield.

YIELD=  refers to both the measure of the yield of a crop per unit area of land cultivation, and the seed generation of the plant itself.  In other terms their number one priority is to grow as much of one crop in as small of a size of area as possible to make more money.   And they do this without properly rotating the crops to save more time causing them to use more harmful chemicals, and in turn make more money.

IMG_2756Pictures from the GMO Rally in Vancouver. It was an awesome turnout!   The crowd on the left, my sister and I in the middle, an amazing speaker on the right (I wish I could remember his name), and me again in the last one.

GMO crops that exist today and are being produced include: soy, corn, sugar beet, cotton seed, papaya, sugar.

GE that are in the works: jatropha (inedible plant that makes biofuel), castor beans, cassava, yeast, flood-resistant rice, golden rice.

Also beware that any dairy products or animal products you consume have usually have consumed a diet of GMO crops, therefore you will be ingesting GMO in your own bodies just from eating these products.

The most common ones are soy and corn.  It is basically impossible to find food with these ingredients that aren’t GMO and they are in most processed foods because of Monsanto.  The company saw a huge opportunity in making lot’s and lot’s of soy and corn for fillers in all processed foods.  Just be sure to read the ingredient list on each and every package and look it up if you are unsure.

Not only is it terrible for the environment, nature, and farmers; it is also terrible for our bodies.  The tests that have been done on mice and rats have shocking and flat out disgusting results. They get fed large doses but within two months they are cancerous and have numerous other problems.   If that can happen to a mice in two months, I wonder what happens inside our bodies over years and years?  GMO foods can be linked to cancer, nervous system issues and many other diseases.

So what now?  All we can do at this point is be an aware, conscious shopper and just don’t buy GMO foods.  If we don’t buy them, then there will be no demand for them. We need to start demanding labeling for GMO foods.  Even though it seems like a never ending battle and it could be years and years before we see this in effect, try anyways.  Every little bit you contribute and try does make a difference.   You can pretty much assume that if the product is not labelled “NON-GMO Project” or “Non-GMO” and it has any of the products listed above, then it’s GMO.  Check out this website for more info: http://www.nongmoproject.org/ Keep your head up and make smart decisions.  Care about yourself because these big corporations sure do not care about us!

Vancouver Health Coach