The GMO current situation may be one of the biggest challenges of our time and we are being called to become aware, to educate, and to act in what each of us consider a mindful way navigating this GMO roulette.
Today we are going to explore what is currently happening and what YOU (and I) can do to take action, protect and be wise navigating around this potential health disaster.
Stay tuned, as this information is critical to share! Also, to give you a little hand holding, we created a guide to the grocery store, our handy grocery store tips to avoid/bring awareness to GMO free food. Hungry for Change ~ NON-GMO shopping guide
What is a GMO?
GMO foods are the product of a high tech cell invasion that uses bacteria and viruses to forcefully break a cell's natural defenses to allow genetic material to enter and create the genetically modified food. Genetic mutations can permanently turn genes “on” or “off”.Virtually all commercial GMO foods are engineered to withstand direct application of herbicide and/or to produce an insecticide. Despite biotech industry promises, none of the GMO traits currently on the market offer increased yield, drought tolerance, enhanced nutrition, or any other consumer benefit. Meanwhile, a growing body of evidence connects GMOs with health problems, environmental damage and violation of farmers’ and consumers’ rights.
What are the impacts of GMOs on the environment?
Over 80% of all GMOs grown worldwide are engineered for herbicide tolerance. As a result, use of toxic herbicides like Roundup has increased 15 times since GMOs were introduced. GMO crops are also responsible for the emergence of “super weeds” and “super bugs" which can only be killed with ever more toxic poisons like 2-4-D (a major ingredient in Agent Orange). GMOs are a direct extension of chemical agriculture, and are developed and sold by the world’s biggest chemical companies. The long-term impacts of GMOs are unknown, and once released into the environment these novel organisms cannot be recalled.
How do GMOs affect farmers?
Because GMOs are novel life forms, biotechnology companies have been able to obtain patents with which to restrict their use. As a result, the companies that make GMOs now have the power to sue farmers whose fields are contaminated with GMOs, even when it is the result of inevitable drift from neighboring fields. GMOs therefore pose a serious threat to farmer sovereignty and to the national food security of any country where they are grown, including the United States.
Who is MONSANTO?
Monsanto is a global agricultural biotech company – mostly know for genetically engineered seeds. Monsanto has become the center stage for the destruction of our seeds, our diversity, our food and our freedom. Upheld by the supreme crt, Monsanto protection act making it immune from protecting diversity and contamination.
The only way consumers are going to win this crisis is if the mainstream demands to know what is in our food. Labeling is important!! That is the main goal of the march against Monsanto.
The non-GMO project
Thanks to the non-GMO project we are still (but maybe not for long) able to see which products are non-GMO. The GMO free verification seal indicates that the product bearing the seal has gone through a strict verification process. The verification is an assurance that a product has been produced according to consensus-based best practices for GMO avoidance.
Hungry for Change ~ NON-GMO shopping guide
This is critical information of our time! It is important to act, not just upon our health, but also upon our freedom. Our freedom to choose is something we often take for granted, and in the Monsanto Protection Act and the GMO movement in general, we are seeing this right slip away. Making small changes in how you shop, what you eat, and where your dollars go is a great place to start.