Are GMOs As Harmful as We Think?

In years past, most people didn’t give thought to how their food was grown and processed. It was a pretty simple process of “from farm to table.” That was the past. Today, it’s a completely different reality.

In recent years, the Internet has exposed many hidden secrets as to the way our foods are processed. A hot topic of discussion, and controversy is GMO foods compared to organic.

GMOs

Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) are organisms that have specific changes made to their DNA using methods of genetic engineering. Foods with these organisms engineered into them are often called “GMO foods” though the proper term is genetically modified foods, or GM foods.

For example, the Flavr Savr tomato was introduced in 1994. This genetically modified tomato was engineered to delay the ripening process to withstand a longer transit time before ripening.

Tomatoes have also been engineered for tougher skin to withstand shipping with less damage.

Most food engineering efforts have been aimed at cash crops like soy beans, corn, canola/rapeseed, and cotton seed. Genetically modified livestock are being experimentally developed. This sounds like science fiction, but it is really happening.

A lot of controversy surrounds the creating and farming of GM foods. Conce
s center on the safety of humans and animals eating these foods and environmental conce
s. Many people are conce
ed that GM seeds and animals may be subject to intellectual property rights owned by multinational corporations. They are worried about the effect of GM foods on our health and environment, as well as the implications of government regulation and control over them.

Much of the conce
is justified. As stated, we are now privy to information because of what’s available on the Internet that in years past, we knew nothing about. Granted, there is a LOT of hype on the Internet, but there are also very reliable sources we can turn to in order to discover the truth.

Organic Foods

Organic foods are grown without using chemical fertilizers and growth agents. Until the twentieth century all food grown worldwide was organic. Our ancestors ate completely organic
diets. Modern farming today uses many chemicals to produce food. These chemicals are absorbed by foods and by soil and water.

“Know your farmer, know your food” became the motto of an initiative instituted by the USDA in September of 2009. The US, Canada, and other countries have developed regulations tornsupport organic farming practices. The US is currently importing large amounts of organic foods from foreign countries to meet the demand of American consumers.

The certified organic food industry in the US is currently a $50 billion industry. Yet, not all is as it seems.

The Washington Post and other news sources have exposed some big food companies in the US that are selling “organic” foods that actually are not. Such articles also warn of other fraud in the industry, some even questioning the reliability of the USDA organic seal.

A $90 billion industry of products sold as “natural,” “all natural,” and “100% natural,” is an even bigger group reported to be perpetrating labeling and marketing fraud. Consumer confidence has been badly undermined by these controversies.

One conce
ed writer mentioned that after reading a May 2017 article in The Washington Post by Peter Whoriskey called “Why Your ‘Organic’ Milk May Not Be Organic,” you might wonder if you are being scammed all the time.

Organic Candy????

It was a real novelty when organic candy arrived at my health food store. We put out a sample basket of wrapped candy drops. Mothers would marvel at organic candies and treats and were much more likely to let their kids have them than other treats. The organic gummy bears were colored with food dyes like beet juice rather than manufactured dyes. The M&M-like candies with organic chocolate and sugar were huge sellers. Customers came in daily for the big organic cookies we carried and an organic sugar-sweetened drink for their breaks.

The organic Oreo-like cookies were hot items for the health food junkies. The debate about whether organic foods are better for us than conventional foods is heated and complex. There are studies that showed there were virtually no differences in the quality of the two types of foods, while other studies showed that organic food is more nutritious.

Documentaries have been produced showing the benefits of organic farming, but others have been produced that exposed farmers who claimed organic practices that were found to be grossly fraudulent.

Some farmers who claimed to raise chickens organically actually raised them in the same horrible conditions in which some conventional farmers do.

The Food Journey
Food goes through a lot to end up on our hometown grocery shelves.

Some travel around the globe to get to us; it wasn’t picked fresh yesterday. Organic foods also make a journey through many hands and vendors to get to market.

How fresh or safe any food really is, is a quandary. There is no way for consumers to know exactly what foods have gone through to reach our grocery stores or what human, rodent, insect, or contaminant might have affected it along the way. Which shopper just fingered the food or sprayed the produce isle with a germ-filled sneeze?

Does this sound like an overwhelming dilemma? In reality, it can be. Yet a simple, and proven, solution is to muscle test your foods.

I know the power of muscle testing. I also know it is likely the best solution to determining which foods are best for each person individually. As I have talked about, been interviewed on and written on for years is this; what might be healthy and good for one person, might not be for another. The best way to find out is with muscle testing.

In The Food Codes, I show you exactly how to do this. Amazingly, for some, organic foods will not test as well as non-organic. This is not to say you shouldn’t strive to eat organic when possible. If anything, you support small business owners (organic farmers) when you do eat organic. But again, your subconscious will let you know what’s best for you.