Ask me anything, I have nothing to hide. I am one of those people who just doesn’t have any secrets and tends to divulge personal details to anyone who asks. Hey, I have a blog called, “I Just Gotta Share!” So when I hear that some companies do not feel it is necessary to tell us what is in their product – my first response is – what are they hiding? It can’t be good.
What I am talking about is labeling food that contain GMOs – or Genetically Engineered Foods. So what are GMOs? Basically, they are “Organisms in which the genetic material (DNA) has been altered in a way that does not occur naturally.” -World Health Organization.
For some reason the producers and distributors of products that contain GMO ingredients do not want us to know that GMOs are in our food. Why? We are not saying that the foods cannot contain GMO ingredients; we just want to know, so we can make the decision for ourselves. When we shop for our families, many of us look at the labels to determine if we want to buy the product. Some people don’t care; they make their purchases based on other factors, and that is okay too.
Look for the label when shopping
For me personally, I like to stick with unprocessed foods. And the fact that the genetic material of the food I may eat has been genetically altered, sounds absolutely wrong – but that’s me. Plus, how can we possibly know all the pitfalls of messing with genetic material, we are after all simply human. Just think about this, it is a relatively new science, which allows DNA from one species to be transferred into another species, creating transgenic organisms with combinations of genes from plants, animals, bacteria, and even viral gene pools. The mixing of genes from different species that have never shared genes in the past is what makes GMOs and GE crops so unique. It is impossible to create such transgenic organisms through natural crossbreeding methods.
So why are GMOs such a big deal? In the USA, 165 million acres of GMO crops are currently being cultivated. This is a 7 million acre increase from just two years ago. Plus, 93 percent of all soy, 86 percent of corn, and 93 percent of canola seeds are now genetically modified. Organic foods cannot be certified if they contain GMO ingredients. Well, as long as the producer does not add any ingredients that are known to be GMO. But since there can be GMO products in amino acids, aspartame, ascorbic acid, sodium ascorbate, vitamin C, citric acid, sodium citrate, ethanol, flavorings (“natural” and “artificial”), high-fructose corn syrup, hydrolyzed vegetable protein, lactic acid, maltodextrins, molasses, monosodium glutamate, sucrose, textured vegetable protein (TVP), xanthan gum, vitamins, yeast products, it is so hard to be absolutely sure if your product is GMO-free unless it is labeled and then you need to cross your fingers. Even Whole Foods claims that they can’t ensure that all their processed foods they carry are not genetically modified to some degree. However, the Whole Foods brand is GMO free. But, since so many processed foods contain GMOs, it’s becoming hard to know.
More than 40 countries, including Australia, Brazil, China, India, Russia, Japan, Spain and the UK, require GMOs to be labeled. The United States is one of the only developed nations that does not require food producers to make consumers aware of genetically modified food. Why? What are we afraid of? California has Proposition 37 on their ballot for November. They are just asking for the right to know if GMOs are in their food. Not too much to ask, or is it? I guess we will find out next month. Over 1.2 million have contacted the FDA, requesting them to “Just Label it.” Do you think it is important? Please let the FDA hear from you.