Fact And Fiction About GMO
Much of the positive literature you read about products created via genetic modification is written by partisan bodies. They are employed by companies who profit from these experiments, so how can a person learn the facts about GMO?
The truth is that genetic modification of the foods we eat is such a new science that few consequences have yet to surface. No one knows for sure what the direct results will be. What the world already knows after this short time, however, is alarming enough.
Modification Generation
Most of the food Americans eat today is riddled with GMO ingredients, especially processed foods. An entire generation of children is unaccustomed to consuming non-GMO products. There is no way to know what their health would be like if they hadn’t eaten those foods.
Scary Truth
GMO stands for genetically modified organism. Foods are altered by having the DNA of other organisms forced into them in order to make them more resilient. It’s a new type of cross-breeding, but not one found in nature. Additions to your daily doses of carbohydrates, protein, or produce might contain DNA of germs, people, bugs, or animals, not just similar plants.
Watch List
What foods should worldwide shoppers be on the lookout for? There are two lists: one of high-risk products and one that could become a problem.
The top risks include alfalfa, corn, soy, and zucchini. Ingredients found in prepared, packaged foods include ethanol, flavorings, and textured vegetable protein.
You can almost guarantee your junk food is laced with these ingredients. Monitored items include beets, rutabaga, acorn squash, potatoes, and rice. They might not have been modified but watchdogs are keeping an eye out.
Why Does GMO Cause a Problem?
The major reason for developing GMO is to create crops resistant to weed killer. They certainly become resistant, but that means more children’s food contains pesticides. These toxins correlated directly to some health issues including damage to the central nervous system. Most of them are not labeled on foods so you only know they haven’t been modified if you grow them from non-GMO seeds or purchase products labeled “Non-GMO.” Organic foods are also GMO-free.
Those GMO’s are covered in pesticides which also make their way to the neighbor’s field. Even if you didn’t intend to use commercial weed-killer to protect your crop, it’s going to be tainted and that affects your business.
How Do Consumers Feel About Their Food?
American and worldwide shoppers are strongly against GMO or lab-produced foods. They would like to know more about the foods they buy and eat, meaning stronger labeling laws should be legislated.
On the other hand, they don’t want to purchase this sort of food in the first place. The goal of many consumer organizations is to see the end of GMO, lab-altered produce.
How to Achieve the End of GMO
The first item on the agenda is choosing an alternative to spraying with pesticides, and there are other ways. When farmers come to terms with public opinion, they can join the movement away from genetic modification and earn points with environmentally aware shoppers.
What can proponents of the non-GMO movement do about this problem until pesticides are legislated out of the food chain? They are already working to bring modification to an end. Brochures and internet campaigns are designed to enlighten the general public, much of which has no idea of the full extent of the problem.
For the individual who believes he is already doing everything he can to eat healthily and provide a healthy diet for his children, the notion of food interference comes as a surprise. That’s why one of their most powerful tools is education via multi-media campaigns.