the non-gmo project
The non-GMO project is a great non-profit organization, founded by leaders of the organic and natural products industry, that evaluates and labels foods to indicate which products are free of genetically modified organisms (GMOs). They are one of the leading voices fighting corruption among food producers and government officials. If it weren't for activists like them, we'd have no idea which foods and beauty products contain GMOs and which do not!
The reason GMOs are a cause for concern is that they haven't been scientifically proven to be safe- which is why they are outlawed in Europe. So far, the US government has relied upon studies conducted by companies who produce GMO foods to prove that GMOs are safe. Seems like quite a conflict of interest!
Luckily for us, the non-GMO project has a super reader-friendly website about what GMOs are, where you can find them, and how you can avoid them. On their website, you can find lists of brands that are GMO free, organized by category or brand name. You can also download the Non-GMO Project PDF or iPhone app, so you can have these lists handy when you go to the grocery store!
Do you avoid GMO foods? Do they creep you out as much as they do me?
31 comments
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Organic Consumers Association:
OCA's worst fears, about what would happen if the man who was Biotech Governor of the Year, Obama's USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack, was put in charge of new genetically modified crops, are coming true.
Vilsack is trying to lift a court-ordered ban on Monsanto's genetically modified "Roundup Ready" alfalfa.
This would endanger consumers who eat alfalfa sprouts -- or milk and meat from animals fed alfalfa -- that are genetically engineered or contaminated with GMOs.
Click on this URL to take action now
http://capwiz.com/grassrootsnetroots/utr/2/?a=14469696&i=105379827&c=&u=capwiz.com%2Fgrassrootsnetroots%2Fissues%2Falert%2F%3Falertid%3D14469696 -
I have been trying to not use GMO products but it is very difficult in the winter months. I do not live near any stores that provide non-GMO products. Recently, a couple of the national chains we have here started stocking the shelves with SOME products but not nearly enough.
I know we don't have the scientific evidence yet, but I feel very strongly that GMO's are a contributing factor to the declining health of Americans. Yes we are living longer, but our quality of life is not always very good. But I suppose that is another topic altogether.
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I avoid GMO food if at all possible! I started learning about Monsanto and all of the trouble they are causing for our health, farmers, planet, etc. a couple of years ago when my mom was beginning to learn about all of it. It's terrible what they have been and are doing and something really needs to be done about how their seeds are uncontrolablly contaminating farmers fields. There are some really great documentaries on netflix to watch about how and what Monsanto is up to.
Long story short.....GMO's totally creep me out to!!
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Hey Anne T! I think it is great that you are able to stand up for your dietary beliefs. I was raised vegetarian and became 99% vegan about 2 years ago. I just recently became aware of the horrors of GMO foods and am also trying to eliminate them from my diet. I watched Food INC. and it changed my life. Good luck and you should be proud of your efforts!
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Ever since I discovered the difference in non GMO products about a year ago, I have sworn of it, especially in soy. It's hard sometimes when I'm at the grocery store, because I'm only 17, and my mom does the shopping for the family, and well.. I come with her too, cause I'm the only semi-vegan (only about 80% vegan) in the house, it's up to me to find the products I want/am willing to put down my throat. And while my family gets annoyed at me for being "picky", I know I'm doing myself a huge favor in the long run and I only hope that by example my family will learn to not only accept my choices, but join me in discovering a better lifestyle :)
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Human hybridization of plants is a far, far cry from things lke adding molecular structures from a daffodil and soil bacterium to rice. GMOs have also been a contributing factor in the spread of monocrops, which adds to the extreme soil degradation in our country, which adds to an increased need for genetically modified crops just to be able to grow in the barren soil (and we also probably wouldn't need a higher yield of GMO crops if so much of it wasn't going to feed animals, just another reason not to eat them). However, if you are willing to eat genetically modified crops, then you are entitled to make that choice, just as I am entitled not to, and to speak out against the corporate control and profit of our food sources. Then again, I'm not terribly trusting of the way Big Business does things. For instance, I do not take pharmaceuticals unless there is no way around it in an extreme circumstance, and for me it's the same for genetically modified foods. And just because people might not understand the science behind genetically modified foods, like so many of the public doesn't, doesn't mean they shouldn't stick to their intuition about not eating foods which have not been around long enough to know if they will affect our health. I'll let other people be the guinea pigs.
Hopefully, the number of people with backyard gardens will continue to grow so that we as Americans are not held hostage to monster crops in the future. As more people have their own gardens, their friends and neighbors start thinking about having their own, and it starts a chain reaction. I have seen several front yard gardens in my neighborhood, and heard backyard chickens. I hope to see even more gardens this year, and may put one in my front yard just to make it more visible to others. Think WWII - Victory farms!!! We need a victory for ourselves!
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Hazel - in response to what you wrote:
1) Do you mean mutation, or do you mean adaptation? I don't see how GE crops would induce mutation, but as with any method used to eliminate pests (be they unwanted insects, weeds, or bacteria), adaptation is difficult to avoid. When you use something to kill off a population of organisms, you're applying a selective pressure, favouring the survival of individuals with some level of resistance. If enough of these individuals survive the onslaught (as when you don't take the full course of antibiotics prescribed), they can reproduce and generate a new population with high resistance.
2) I agree with you, I think we need to be more cautious about using GE plants so ubiquitously (in the case of soy and corn, for instance). But we have to find out the effects somehow, and I think the best approach is to use them in a much more restricted and controlled manner.
3) I don't think that's how I would describe modern agricultural plants! They've been selectively bred since the dawn of agriculture to produce larger and larger edible product, and not (as wild plants are) subjected to the pressures of natural selection to compete and interact with their environment. A picture of wheat was featured on this post - I'm pretty sure modern cultivated does not resemble its wild, pre-domestication predecessor. It's been bred to produce large endosperms, requiring short, dwarf-like stalks to support them.
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Insect-repellant crops can then lead to mutations in insects. Just as there is the new superweed, that last I heard, anyway, had led Monsanto to urge its farmer's to buy other companies' weed killers, in an effort to control the weed that had become resistant to Monsanto's weed killer.
Plus, there is really no arguing, as Alicia pointed out, with the fact that there simply has not been enough of a time lapse to know any true long term effects of GMOs on people, animals, or the planet for that matter.
Manipulating something on a genetic level, that has evolved naturally over thousands upon thousands of years to work with everything else in its ecosystem, is just asking for a kick in the butt. Screw with nature, it's gonna screw us in return.
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I don't know if anyone has posted this link yet but Monsanto is very close to getting the government to approve it's GM alfalfa which will then be fed to the dairy cows as well as contaminate other crops. It is a huge step in destroying the organic food process. There is a link through Food Democracy Now where you can sign a petition to get your voice heard and learn more about it. I'm really troubled by GMO's but Monsanto has their people throughout the government so it seems impossible to stop them. You can click on this link to get to the petition. I feel like little things like this are the least we can do. http://www.fooddemocracynow.org/blog/2011/jan/20/act-now-or-kiss-your-organics-good-bye/
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Thanks Timothy - I'm in total agreement with you on picking the "lowest hanging fruit": using cattle/pigs/chickens to convert plant food into animal food is inefficient (or feeding smaller fish to farmed salmon). Widespread adoption of a plant-based diet is definitely the easiest way to relieve some of the pressure agriculture places on the environment.
I'm not familiar with the ill-effects that GE foods cause - could you direct me to any scholarly research about these things?
That being said, there's no inherent reason why genetically engineered plants must produce ill effects. Mutations and novel genes are the driving force of evolution. But if GE foods ARE causing infertility or allergic reactions, then it means that it wasn't done right! I like the example of golden rice for how GE foods have the potential to do good in the world:
http://journals2005.pasteur.ac.ir/NB/23(4)/482%20-%20487.pdf
The rice plant just lacks two enzymes necessary to complete the beta carotene synthesis pathway - all it took was two genes from a daffodil and a soil bacterium. The only thing these genes do is code for the creation of the necessary enzymes, and the only role of the enzymes is in beta carotene synthesis.
So I'm not saying all GE foods are benign - only that genetic engineering can play a valuable role in developing sustainable agricultural practices.
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Genetic engineering has the potential (if used the right way) to make agriculture more environmentally friendly. If we can grow food with more nutrients ( e.g. golden rice) that require fewer resources ( e.g. insect-resistant crops) isn't that a good thing? ALL agriculture, even the organic, family-farm type uses land and requires fossil fuels. GE provides a way to reduce the environmental impact of agriculture. That certain companies like Monsanto use GE in a perverse, profit-driven way should not detract from the potential benefits of GE foods.
Also, when you consider that "traditional" selection in agriculture has for many, many years consisted of bombarding organisms with radiation and selecting for favourable mutations, GE seems like a better alternative. Instead of altering the ENTIRE GENOME of the plant in a haphazard manner, you're intentionally selecting genes that produce a desired effect, and carefully inserting them into the plant's genome.
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"We are at an historic tipping point -- a moment when the forces have aligned like never before; the president, Congress, industry and the public have stepped up their support for our mission," Taylor told a gathering of FDA staff members last month.
This is a direct quote from the article in the Washington Post from Lori. This is true that the public and government are becoming more conerned with health than ever before, but are we really looking to the best solutions? Or will the future be all genetically modified foods? This really makes me worry about the future of food in our country.
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Dear Friends,
I just took action calling on Secretary Vilsack and President Obama to reject the approval of Monsanto's GMO alfalfa and protect the integrity of organics. Approving GMO alfalfa will potentially destroy the integrity of and access to organic food, as well as the livelihoods of organic farmers.
The approval of GMO alfalfa is only days away and the Obama administration needs to hear from you and all of your friends who care about organics. It is outrageous to risk the contamination of the organic dairy industry simply for Monsanto's corporate profits.
Please take a moment to let Vilack and President Obama know that you care about organic integrity by following this link from Food Democracy Now! Then please pass this on.
http://action.fooddemocracynow.org/sign/kiss_your_organics_goodbye/Every voice counts!Thank you! -
Caitlin I don't know about Trader Joe's, but I know Whole Foods' own brand is not supposed to contain GMOs, even when it is not organic, I believe they do, however, have a pretty stringent process to go through to make sure. You can find non-GMO sources that are not organic. To be certified organic is very expensive, and some companies may not be able to afford it. I believe (?) the non-GMO project is on the labels I have been seeing on products in Whole Foods. I was actually looking at a bag of tortilla chips and it had the label on it, but it was not organic. The label is supposed to guarantee non-GMO ingredients even if it is not organic, and it's less expensive partially because the cost of being certified is not passed on. So, it's certainly possible, but I don't know anything about Trader Joe's process.
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This creeps me out even more! A fox guarding the hen house!
http://current.com/news/92009377_obama-appoints-monsanto-man-as-fda-food-safety-czar.htm
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I do everything possible to avoid GMO's they freak me out too! I get gorssed out at the sight of non organic corn sometimes because i know that almost all corn is GMO.
I do have a question for anyone who may know: Is Trader Joe's really a non-GMO using company? They are not on the list on the GMO project website. But the Trader Joe's website says their brand does not use GMO's. But they sell things like non organic corn tortilla chips and I wonder do they really find non organic non gmo corn to make this product? I find that odd. I shop there a lot and want to research this topic? Anyone notice this too? Has anyone researched this company?
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yes, yes, yes!!!! I have been doing my research for about a year and came across a list of foods with gmos in it. So Im trying to avoid them at all costs. And you should watch "The World According to Monsanto."
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OMG, so what now...organics highly priced. tired of being forced to buy stuff 'made in..." anywhere besides America. Tired of lead and PVC and PBA in our toys and other items. Tired of not being free and safe in the free and safe land. Now they're saying the constitution is now longer relevant? Could this all be true coming from the land that I love. I'm sometimes confused bc I thought I lived in one country but as it turns out, it appears to be alien.
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Alicia and everyone, it's great to get this information. I didn't know this was so prevelant, especially the Monsanto issue. That's why this site is so important - it gets the word out. I saw "Food Inc" listed on the TV schedule the other night, but actually was afraid to watch it because I knew it would be scary and yes, creepy. I "third" that emotion: What's wrong with Nature's plain old bananas?!
This is also worrisome as regards animals that companies use for food. It's like being on Star Trek's Enterprise and finding out we've landed on this bizarre planet where the food supply is being poisoned and everyone's eating it anyway because they either don't know, or they don't have a choice.
Suzann
Makeup Without Cruelty - a list of animal-friendly cosmetics companies
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I definitely avoid GMOs as much as I can. If you buy conventional soy products or corn, there's a good chance it's genetically modified (doesn't that sound way more creepy than 'GMO'?).
As an aside, if you google 'Monsanto' one of the first things to come up is "monsanto evil' - that tells you what a lot of people think about Monsanto. If we're not careful, Monsanto is going to have control over nearly everything we eat before we know it - thwy already have a huge foothold.
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I was already concerned about GMO foods, but didn't really understand them until I watched The Future of Food (www.thefutureoffood.com). Unfortunately, I live in the Midwest where all the farmers have to buy their seeds from Monsanto or ConAgra. There also isn't much organic produce available here and what they have is very high priced.
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I absolutely avoid GMO foods/products. And, yes, they totally creep me out. I need to read more about it, and continue to educate myself, so I will check out the non-GMO project's web-site and get their app, too. What a great resource to have. I'm grateful that the folks at the non-GMO project do what they do.
I'm concerned about Monsanto trying to own all of our seeds! I've been hearing about this for awhile and this is very frightening.
Ditto what Emily said, "Why can't we just eat the fruits nature created?" I wonder this all of the time. Why all of the gentic modifying? Why? Greed, at the expense of health and environment? It's perverse.
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