GMO is a bad word! Not just a bad word, but a bad thing!
We shop for our groceries and there are few labels regarding foods that are genetically modified, however you are starting to see them more. For those of you who are able to afford to eat an entirely organic diet, you need not worry so much. For the average consumer, conventional produce is part of your daily intake. My Grocery shop includes a combination of conventional, certified organic, greenhouse and locally grown (when available) fruits, vegetables and grains. There are 3 items that I am pretty diligent on keeping organic is soy, corn and wheat. To my knowledge, these are 3 of the most genetically modified foods on the planet. Due to the clever workings of a multibillion dollar American multinational agricultural biotechnology corporation, Monsanto, the market is swamped with Genetically Engineered foods.
I guess I should qualify the acronym GMO. Here is Wikipedia’s http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GMO explanation of what a GMO is: A genetically modified organism (GMO) or genetically engineered organism (GEO) is an organism whose genetic material has been altered using genetic engineering techniques. These techniques, generally known as recombinant DNA technology, use DNA molecules from different sources, which are combined into one molecule to create a new set of genes. This DNA is then transferred into an organism, giving it modified or novel genes. Transgenic organisms, a subset of GMOs, are organisms that have inserted DNA from a different species. GMOs are the constituents of genetically modified foods.
It is said that up to 60-70% of foods in the US are GMOs. As a Canadian I did look for Canadian statistics and could not find. As we rely on the Unites States for a high percentage of our produce and other goods, I would think that the percentage in Canada would be pretty close. If I am wrong, please feel free to email or facebook statistics for our market. Studies have shown that by increasing eating GMO products, we increase toxicity in our bodies, allergens in the body are increased, sterility has occurred in test animals (sorry to have to mention this), negatively affects our digestive system and who knows what else.
Here are a few sites that you can visit for more information:
Not only has genetically modified foods entered our world, but genetically modified seeds are damaging our eco system and some industries. I was horrified one day while listening to a program on CBC Radio, a Canadian National News station regarding the story of Vandana Shiva, a Canadian Educated Scientist whose mother was an Indian Farmer. Ms. Shiva spoke about the plight of the cotton farmers in India and the state of this industry all because of GMO Cotton Seeds. She now heads up Navdanya, an Indian-based non-governmental organization which promotes biodiversity conservation, biodiversity, organic farming, the rights of farmers, and the process of seed saving, taken from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Navdanya.
http://www.navdanya.org/. Even the cotton we wear generally comes from GMO seeds and most of don’t even know it! I was absolutely stunned by this story and thought you might also be interested in doing some of your own reading.
Where I am going with this newsletter is not exactly where I intended to go, but I hope this information is of interest and perhaps of use to many of you.
Have a fantastic Labour Day Weekend everyone, happy cooking!
Laurie and Lyndsay
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