California Proposition 37 to label foods containing Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) is up for a vote on Tuesday. Many people are unaware they’re eating GMOs because labels are not required and companies quietly release new GM foods with no public announcement. Americans are deliberately kept in the dark about what’s hiding in their food because there’s a dirty little secret going on in the food industry and big chemical and food companies are spending millions of dollars to keep it that way….A SECRET! But what do they have to hide?
What exactly are GMOs and how are they made?
GMOs are foods produced in a laboratory to create specific desired traits that cannot be created by nature. Scientists discovered they can transfer the DNA from an arctic fish, and force it into the genes of a tomato and create a new tomato that won’t freeze.
Chemical companies like Monsanto started taking DNA from things like bacteria and viruses and inserting it into the genes of plants to create their own “designer” seeds which pair perfectly with their bestselling weed killer Roundup.
There are two categories for the GM food we eat: “Roundup ready” crops engineered to survive massive doses of herbicides that kill weeds, but not the crops and “pesticide producing” crops engineered to produce their own toxic insecticide in every cell within that crop, like corn. The pesticide is not only ON the corn it’s actually IN the corn and cannot be washed off! If a bug eats the corn it will break open their stomach and kill them. So the question is…what is this doing to OUR bodies when WE eat this corn and what is it doing to our children?
Doctors have seen a dramatic increase in things like diabetes, infertility, food allergies, autoimmune diseases, asthma, irritable bowel syndrome, heart disease and chronic inflammation since the mid 1990’s when GMOs were introduced into our diet. You would think extensive safety tests would be required before controversial new organisms could be released into our food, but not in the United States. Sixty one other countries either ban or require some sort of labeling for GM foods, including Russia and China. Here in the US they don’t tell us when our food is Genetically Modified and when over a million Americans signed a petition demanding that the FDA label GMOs, the FDA went and deleted these signatures.
What Food Contains GMOs?
The current GM crops grown in the U.S. are: soybeans, corn, sugar beets (half of our sugar comes from sugar beets), canola, cotton (oil used in food), Papaya from Hawaii, some zucchini and crook neck yellow squash and alfalfa used for hay.
There are only nine GM crops, but their derivatives are in about 80% of the foods on the supermarket shelves, mostly in processed foods. If you think you don’t eat Genetically Modified food, you’re probably eating more than you think.
For breakfast they could be in your cereal, instant oatmeal, margarine, egg beaters, pancakes, syrup, juice, protein powder or coffee creamer. For lunch it’s likely in your bread, processed lunch meat, chips, and several condiments like mayonnaise and salad dressing. Dinner could be spaghetti sauce, garlic bread, pasta…you name it if it comes in a little package it’s probably there. For a list of foods “click here”.
Common GM ingredients are: High Fructose Corn Syrup, Soy Lecithin, Aspartame, Corn Meal, Corn Syrup, Vegetable Oil, Soy Oil, Canola Oil, Cottonseed Oil, Sugar (unless pure cane), Xanthan Gum, Caramel Color, Citric Acid, Maltodextrins, “Natural” and “Artificial” Flavorings. For a complete list of invisible ingredients “click here”.
Who is Monsanto?
Monsanto, a chemical company with a history of creating toxic disasters, is now the world’s biggest GMO Company. They created DDT and PCBs. They also produced Agent Orange, a herbicide used as a defoliant in the Vietnam War, which was responsible for an estimated 400,000 people being killed or maimed, 500,000 children born with birth defects and up to a million people disabled or having health problems. Ironically, Monsanto is now trying to get back into Vietnam with their GMO seeds and of course Roundup.
Monsanto also produced the highly controversial recombinant Bovine Growth Hormone (rBGH), a Genetically Engineered hormone that’s injected into cows to artificially increase milk production. Cows injected with rBGH experience higher rates of mastitis, a painful udder infection, that’s treated with antibiotics – causing a rise of resistance of antibiotics in humans. Because of mastitis, the FDA increased the amount of antibiotics that farmers could have in their milk by 100 times! “Dairy products from treated cows contain more pus, more antibiotics, more growth hormone, and more IGF-1 – a powerful hormone linked to cancer”. (see www.YourMilkonDrugs.com.)
Prior to rBGH being introduced into the milk and dairy products consumed by millions of Americans every day, it was only tested on 30 rats for 90 days!
Today’s problem thanks to Monsanto – Excessive use of Roundup has created a new strain of resistant super weeds and bugs. Chemical companies want to fix this problem by creating a NEW corn that’s resistant to a more powerful pesticide that’s produced with 2,4-D…which is half of the chemical ingredients in Agent Orange! If approved, farmers will be required to spray down their fields with both – Roundup AND 2,4-D!!
So Monsanto, the company that told us DDT, PCBs and Agent Orange were safe…is now telling us GMOs are safe. Should we really be putting our health and trust into the hands of a company with this track record? Monsanto has donated a total of $8,112,866.55 so far fighting against Prop 37, which would simply put a few extra words on a food label IF the food contains GMOs. What are they so scared of? If Monsanto really believes their products are so safe why are they spending millions of dollars trying to hide them from you?
GMOs and our kids
Foods marketed to children and vulnerable babies are some of the worst offenders in terms of GMOs. Almost all baby formula in the U.S. contain derivatives from Genetically Modified corn and/or soy and milk from cows treated with rBGH (unless certified organic), and soy formula can contain up to 66 % GM soy. These ingredients are in baby cereal, toddler snacks, juice, crackers, and even “healthier” cereals like Cheerios, Kix and Kashi.
Over the last decade, doctors have noticed an increase in the number of children with chronic disease—digestive issues, severe food allergies, increased immune system disorders, inflammatory bowel disease, Autism and more.“In my opinion it’s an epidemic”, said Dr. Michelle Perro a pediatrician. “We are living in a science experiment.” She has observed many cases of sick children getting better when they stop eating GMOs.Food allergies in children have become so severe, schools have had to ban all forms of nuts or some have a designated table set up if you send your child to school with a PB&J sandwich. Food allergies are a major health concern with engineered foods because those with allergies will have no way of knowing what foods to avoid. Think about it, how many of your friends growing up were deathly allergic to peanuts, gluten or soy?
Children born in 1996 or later are the very first generation to grow up on GMOs possibly since birth. As a mother I will not allow my children to be the guinea pigs for this science experiment. I deserve the right to know what’s in the food I’m giving to my family!
On Tuesday, here in California the vote for our right to know what is in our food is in the hands of the PEOPLE for the very first time in the United States!
The world’s largest pesticide and junk food companies have the most at stake if you find out what they are doing to your food and they’re spending a million dollars a day with deceptive advertising trying to confuse you!
They say food prices will go up, but do you really think these companies are spending millions of dollars to save US money??? Food prices didn’t go up in the other countries that required labeling.
They say Prop 37 will result in frivolous lawsuits and that farmers are against it. What they’re not telling you is farmers are embracing Prop 37! It’s Monsanto who’s doing all of the suing, terrorizing farmers and has led to thousands of farmers to commit suicide in India…one in every 30 minutes!
The ad campaign that’s confusing people the most is the one about food exemptions that “don’t make any sense”. Why is some food labeled and some isn’t? It actually makes a lot of sense:
- Dog food labeled vs. Meat for people unlabeled:
Dog food will be labeled if it contains GM ingredients like corn or soy….The animals we eat ARE NOT Genetically Modified (yet). If and when they are, they will be labeled! The FDA is in the approval process for GM salmon!
- Soy Milk labeled vs. Cow Milk unlabeled:
Soy milk contains GM soy….Even though the cows may possibly be injected with GM hormones the milk itself is not Genetically Modified. Under law it could not be labeled.
- Fruit Juice labeled vs. Alcohol not labeled:
GM Fruit juice has an ingredient label….alcohol doesn’t. Alcohol has different law requirements than food and does not have an ingredient or nutrition label. Prop 37 can add GMOs to a label, but it can’t add a label to food that doesn’t already have one.
- Frozen pizza from a store vs. Delivery pizza from a restaurant:
Frozen pizza will be labeled if it contains GMOs….Delivery pizza from a restaurant does not have an ingredient or nutrition label. Prop 37 doesn’t affect restaurant food because it can’t add a label to food that doesn’t already have one.
Makes more sense now that you know the truth…right? Californians are smarter than this!!
Before you vote on Proposition 37 ask yourself this question:
Who do you trust? Should you trust the companies that created DDT, Agent Orange and Roundup to make the decisions about what’s in your family’s food? Or do you want to make those decisions for yourself?
I will be voting YES on Proposition 37 so I can make an informed decision on the food I feed my family!
CLICK HERE to watch the movie Genetic Roulette. It might be the most important movie you will ever see!