9 Ways to Avoid Genetically Modified Food

It is estimated that about 75 percent of processed foods sold in the U.S. contain at least some genetically modified food ingredients. Unlike many other countries, there is no law in the U.S. requiring the labeling of foods that contain GM ingredients, but if you know how to identify which foods are most commonly genetically modified, you can reduce how many GMOs you eat. Following are some tips on how you can avoid them:

1. Buy foods labeled "100% organic." Laws in both the U.S. and Canada do not allow food labels that say "100% organic" to contain any genetically engineered food, including animals that have been fed genetically modified feed. Be aware, however, that if the food is simply labeled "organic" it can still contain genetically modified ingredients up to 30%.

2. Look for the labels "non-GM" or "GMO-free." These can be hard to find, but if you re able to support manufacturers that produce foods that are not genetically engineered you encourage other manufacturers to follow their lead.

3. Buy whole, fresh foods rather than processed ones. Foods that you cook and prepare yourself are almost always healthier than anything you can buy ready-made. And cooking healthy food doesn't have to be difficult or time-consuming. There are many simple but delicious and healthy meals that you can prepare in less than 30 minutes that do not involve any genetically modified food.

4. Know which foods and the products that are made from them are most likely to have been the result of genetic engineering. For example:

• Corn - The ingredient derived from corn that is hardest to avoid is high fructose corn syrup. A huge percentage of processed foods and baked goods contains it, not to mention soda. Any food with a label saying there is corn of any kind in it should be avoided unless it states it is 100% organic. Popcorn is an exception, as there is currently no popcorn on the market that is genetically modified.
• Soybeans - Products made from soybeans include soy flour, soy isolates, soy lecithin, soy protein and isoflavones. Be sure that soy based products such as tofu, soy milk, edamame and such have a label stating it is organic to be sure it isn't genetically modified.
• Canola or Rapeseed - Made from the rapeseed plant, canola oil almost certainly is derived from genetically engineered crops, unless you are located in the EU, where no genetically modified crops of rapeseed are yet grown. You find it used mostly as cooking oil and in margarine, and though it is high in monounsaturated fat, it is not a healthy oil to use regularly due to its high levels of omega-6 fatty acids and because it goes rancid easily when heated. Olive oil is a better choice.
• Cottonseed oil - Cottonseed oil is a primary ingredient in shortening, vegetable oil and margarine, none of which are healthy fats, and many of which contain trans fats. It is also used to a great extent in processed foods like potato chips and other fried snack foods.
• Dairy - Some farmers inject cows with the genetically engineered hormone rBGH or rBST in order to boost milk production. Cows also may be fed genetically modified food in the form of grain and alfalfa unless the milk specifically states that it is organic. Look for products that advertise themselves as rBGH- or rBST-free.
• Sugar beets - There is unfortunately no way of knowing if something labeled as containing "sugar" comes from just sugar cane or if it also includes sugar made from beets, since there is no special labeling required. Beet sugar can be avoided by buying products labeled as being made with evaporated cane sugar, 100% cane sugar or organic sugar.

5. Avoid aspartame as a sweetener. The sweetener used in products such as NutraSweet and Equal, Aspartame is derived from genetically modified microorganisms. Any artificial sweetener is usually worse for your health than sugar, and should be avoided whenever possible.

6. Buy 100% fruit juices. Though most fruit juices are not derived from GM foods, the sweetener used in many of these juices (and sodas as well) is high fructose corn syrup, which is almost certainly from genetically modified corn.

7. Ensure your produce is not genetically modified by reading the number on the sticker.

• A 4-digit number indicates the food was conventionally grown and may or may not be genetically modified.
• A 5-digit number beginning with an 8 is a genetically modified food. However, not all GM foods can be identified because PLU labeling is optional.
• A 5-digit number beginning with a 9 indicates it is organic, and thus a non-GM food.

8. Buy meat that is 100% grass-fed. Most cattle in the U.S. are grass-fed until the last three to four months of their lives. At this point they are usually shipped to feedlots where they may be given GM corn and other genetically modified foods in order to increase the amount of "marbling" in the meat. Meat from these feedlot animals has higher levels of saturated fat and less of the healthy omega 3 fatty acids than grass-fed and grass-finished animals.

To avoid meat that has been fed GMOs, make sure the animal was 100% grass-fed or pasture-fed (sometimes also referred to as grass-finished or pasture-finished). For animals such as pigs and poultry that cannot be 100% grass-fed, it's better to buy meat that is labeled as 100% organic.

Wild caught fish are better than farm raised, as farm raised fish are fed fish meal containing GM grains and sometimes meat and bone meal. Eggs should be labeled 100% organic, as those with only a "free-range," "natural," or "cage-free" label are not necessarily free of GMOs.

9. Buy your meat and produce at local farmers' markets. Most genetically modified food is grown on large industrial farms. The farmers' market allows you to talk directly with the farmer to find out how the food was grown. These markets also usually provide a range of other products, such as organic honey, grains, baked goods, etc. You could also join a local Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farm where you receive a box of fresh, seasonal produce every week during the growing season. Another place to find healthy, non-GMO products is your neighborhood co-op.

Laurel Avery, DiHom, is a homeopath who became interested in natural health and the positive effects of healthy eating after moving to Europe from her native U.S. She now devotes her time to helping expose the dangers of genetically modified food and helping others learn how to achieve vibrant health through their diet.

For more about healthy eating and how you can easily cook delicious meals for yourself and your family, visit http://www.natural-health-guide.com.

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Is Your Food Genetically Modified?

After three long days at Grams' house in Philadelphia, I returned to Utah with a cold and feeling like I'd been hit by a bus. I was blown away by the lack of healthy food choices available to me and was once again placed in the shoes of a typical American.

I struggled to find real, whole, live and organic foods. Instead, I surrendered to the Philly cheese steak, fries, and chain restaurant food like the rest of them. Breakfast wasn't any better. The bread for toast had Trans fat in it and the jam was loaded with high fructose corn syrup. As you can imagine, I was not happy, but by now I know how to be a flexatarian and roll with the punches.

The effects I suffered after eating the Standard American Diet for three days were striking. I felt mentally clouded, irritable, exhausted, sad, angry, troubled, overweight, tense, anxious, stressed and insecure. To think most American's are eating the Standard American Diet daily is frightening!

At the same time, I feel grateful for the experience because it helped me better relate to my clients and the world we live in. I feel inspired to keep on sharing my experience, knowledge and wisdom with you.

Do you know what GM food is? Genetically modified (GM) foods are food items that have had their DNA altered through genetic engineering. Unlike conventional genetic modification that is carried out through time-tested conventional breeding and that have been consumed for thousands of years, GM foods were first put on the market in the early 1990s.

For example, a typical GM Food could be a strawberry that has to survive in cold climates. Therefore, the farmer would get its DNA altered so it could survive in the frost. They would take DNA from a frost resistant cell, and transfer it into the strawberry cells genes. Therefore, the cells of the strawberry are now frost resistant and will survive the frost, so the farmer can produce strawberries all year long.

GM foods are scary for several reasons. The long-term health effects of eating GM foods as well as their environmental safety is virtually unknown. Other potential negative effects of these kinds of foods include labeling and consumer choice issues, violation of intellectual property rights, unclear food security and potential disruption or even possible destruction of the food chain.

The multi-national corporations and governments engaged in the genetic engineering of food claim the technology to be a boon for the human race, while many health-conscious people believe it to be a potential and/or actual disaster.

I urge and encourage you to be a conscious consumer! Know what you are eating. What are you feeding your beautiful body and spirit? Read every label of every food you put in your mouth. Empower yourself!

When you eat well, you will feel boundless energy, strength, mental focus, self love, self acceptance and a deeper connection to the earth and all beings.

Before your next trip to the grocery store familiarize yourself with this list compiled by The True Food Shopping Guide to decipher which foods contain genetically engineered ingredients and which do not.

Share it with your friends too!

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The Problem With GMO Food

GMOs (Genetically modified food) are one of the biggest health disasters, they were introduced in 1996 and since that time within 9 years multiple chronic illnesses jumped from 7% to 13% and food allergies have doubled. 'The American Academy of Environmental Medicine' has urged doctors to prescribe non-GMO diets as studies show GMO foods cause vital organ damage, immune system problems, accelerated aging, infertility and dysfunctional regulation if insulin and cholesterol.

Genetically modified food works so that crops such as corn and soya are modified so that they can withstand the herbicides that are sprayed on the crop to kill the weeds but don't kill the crop. There are concerns that GM foods could pose a health risk, including antibiotic resistance, creation of new toxins and the increase in allergies. GM foods are more widely used now and they don't have to be labeled so you, the consumer, can buy GM foods and not realize it. Also pollen, bees, insects and wind can move this contaminated crop to nearby organic crops; the spread of this could be disastrous. A study by the university of Newcastle in 2002 got people to eat GM food and found that after only one meal the GM material moved out of the food and entered the gut bacteria and remained there long after they stopped eating the GM food, affecting its role in digestion and protection of the gut.

In the US about 85% of the corn grown is genetically engineered and 91-93% of all soy beans are genetically engineered. Therefore nearly all the foods you buy containing either corn or soy will contain GMO unless it's organic. Other common foods include cottonseed, canola, milk containing rbGH, rennet (used to make hard cheeses) and aspartame (NutraSweet). You also need to avoid their derivatives, which include maltodextrin, soy lecitin and high fructose corn syrup.

For more information get the book What's your poison?

For Health and Wellbeing products or Nutrition and Health information go to her website.

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Dangerous GMO Foods Are Flooding Our Supermarkets

Why are our supermarkets being flooded with genetically modified foods (GMOs) when a whole host of studies have shown that they are potentially dangerous to human health? "Frankenfoods" are increasingly appearing on supermarket shelves at a rapid rate. These foods are altered to withstand heavy applications of toxic chemicals, resist disease or contain more nutrients.

Currently, genetically modified (GM) corn and soy can be found in many processed foods. Many more GMOs are on the way and they probably won't be labeled. California recently lost a vote (very suspiciously at the last moment) to force companies to label GMO foods in their state.

The Center for Food Safety estimates that over 70 percent of the processed foods in American grocery stores contain genetically modified corn or soy. It won't be long until many more unprocessed foods will hit the markets containing genetic modification.

List of GMO Food Sources

• Most of the genetically modified corn products forced on American consumers today is hidden in processed foods in the form of high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS), corn oil, corn starch, and various other corn-based additives. A landmark study has shown that GM corn consumption can lead to the development of cancerous tumors and diabetes.


• The most common genetically engineered food of all is the soybean. Since 1996, scientists have been creating varieties of soybeans that are resistant to both pests and herbicides, and they wind up in places you'd least expect them, like candy bars.


• Peas that have been genetically modified have been found to cause immune responses in mice and possibly even in humans. A gene from kidney beans was inserted into the peas creating a protein that functions as a pesticide.


• Rice plants are often modified to be resistant to herbicides and pests in order to increase grain size and generate nutrients that don't exist in the grain naturally.


• While there are not any genetically modified tomatoes on store shelves currently, they're still being used extensively by scientists to study the function of genes that are naturally present in the plants.


• We don't normally think of cotton as a food but we still end up eating it. Cottonseed oil, which is present in products like mayonnaise and salad dressing, can be packed full of pesticides. It is one of the most frequently genetically modified crops in the world.


• Canola, a cultivated variety from rapeseed, produces one of the most commonly consumed food oils (Canola Oil) and is one of America's biggest cash crops. A 2010 study in North Dakota found that the modified genes of these plants have spread to 80% of wild natural rapeseed plants.


• The USDA has announced that farmers may now plant Monsanto's Roundup Ready sugar beets. This is despite the fact that a 2010 court order prohibited planting the GMO beets until a study was performed. Sugar beets provide about half of America's sugar.


• Providing the other half of America's precious sugar, sugar cane is set to debut on our shelves in genetically modified form sometime soon.


• Salmon may become the first genetically modified animal to be approved for direct human consumption. The FDA has decided that a variety of GM salmon that grow twice as fast as their natural, un-modified peers is both safe to eat and safe for the environment. Who knows how these genetically modified organisms will affect the ecosystem if they somehow find their way into the ocean?


• After the Ringspot Virus nearly destroyed all of Hawaii's papaya crops, a new variety was engineered to resist the disease, and it now represents the majority of the papayas grown in the United States. Papaya has not been adequately studied for its human health effects although there is some evidence of an adverse connection to allergies in humans.


• The first genetically modified food to be approved for cultivation in Europe in over a decade, Amflora potatoes are currently being grown in Sweden. Only one in four potatoes grown in Europe actually gets eaten by people. Almost half end up being fed to livestock. The remaining one quarter are used as raw material in the production of alcohol and starch.


• Modified genes in plants are causing changes within bees. They're also likely to cause changes to the honey that the bees produce. Could genetically modified crops have something to do with the mysterious ailments that are killing honeybee colonies by the billions? Some researchers believe so. A zoologist in Germany found that genes used to modify rapeseed crops had transferred to bacteria living inside bees. GMOs are currently considered to be among the possible causes of Colony Collapse Disorder.


• After banana crops in Uganda were affected by a bacterial disease that caused the plants to rot, scientists developed a genetically modified variety that could help alleviate the $500 million annual loss. The ban on GM crops was waived to make way for the GM version of Uganda's staple food.

Effects

There are many discoveries being found regarding the adverse effects of genetically modified foods on the human body. Contrary to industry claims, studies show transgenes aren't destroyed digestively in humans or animals. Foreign DNA can wander and even be transported by blood to internal organs possibly causing chronic diseases. Livestock farmers who use GMO grains to feed their livestock are reporting die-offs and increased stillbirths that threaten their animals.

These crops have been shown to increase environmental and other toxins that may accumulate throughout the food chain. Potential harm to adults is magnified for children. Another concern is that pregnant mothers eating GM foods may endanger their offspring by harming normal fetal development and altering gene expression that's then passed to future generations.

History

GM foods entered the market long before science could evaluate their safety and benefits. News from former research scientists that found negative side effects associated with GMO was leaked to the news media in Europe. Europe reached the tipping point in April 1999 and within a single week, virtually all major manufacturers publicly committed to stop using GM ingredients in their European brands.

Once GMOs enter the food chain, the "genie is out of the bottle" for keeps. There is a long-lasting and widespread effect on many different organisms associated with these foods.

Robert Bradshaw is also a student of Biblical Research and has focused recently on crucial issues in our society today that people must become more aware of so that they don't stumble in their path to success.

For more information on other Shocking Fact-Based Questions that we should know the answers to, go to: Shocking Fact-Based Questions to Not Ignore or for more information about Becoming More Successful in Life, go to: THE SECRET TO SUCCESS

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