So, what’s the big deal? What is genetically modified? Pretty much ALL corn, soybean, and cotton products are GMOs (genetically modified organisms). And do you realize how much corn/soybeans/cotton we come across each day? A lot. Corn products are everywhere now days… remember corn is how we get high fructose corn syrup. So, is this puzzle beginning to come together? The corn and soybean industries are behind everything in 2010. If they need to genetically modify their products, they will because their jobs and success are at stake. It’s all fine and dandy, but I am just not a fan of massive industries basically controlling the US. I don’t see any major health problems resulting from GM products, but I would like to support local farming as much as possible (and I plan to go to more farmers markets since the weather is getting nicer).
- So why don’t we see GM foods in the grocery store? We do! They are just not required to label the products as GM unless they can cause an allergy or if they have less nutritional value.
- 72% of consumers are unaware that modified crops are evaluated for human safety, and similarly, 77% do not know that the crops are tested for environmental safety
End of story: GM foods are not a big deal to me, and I don’t believe them to cause any health problems. I don’t really care if my food is GM; I still think it’s more important to just be eating you fruits and veggies 5 or more times per day and to have balance 
And once again, to support local produce.
For more info: http://usbiotechreg.nbii.gov/
Sources:
American Dietetic Association. Statement on Biotechnology before the Food and Drug Administration; November 30, 1999; Washington, DC. Available at: http://www.eatright.org/Public/GovernmentAffairs/98_lg113099.cfm.
Position of the American Dietetic Association: Agricultural and Food Biotechnology
April 22, 2010 at 8:47 am • Permalink •
I love how you are so balanced in your views- so many people I know would be against this and turn it into something they needed to avoid. I'm like you, I'm not opposed to them- let's be honest, eating an apple the size of my head is kind of fun some days..
April 22, 2010 at 9:34 am • Permalink •
It's really important to know what's in your food, and how the food was produced. If you agree with that, you should consider home delivery of organic free food. To learn more, visit
http://organicfreefood.blog.com/
Eat well to stay healthy!
April 24, 2010 at 6:21 pm • Permalink •
Hi Nicole,
Please don't take this as an attack, because until a few months ago I was unaware what the big deal was about GMO either. But I highly recommend you read the books Seeds of Deception or Genetic Roulette to educate yourself further on the issue. It's also very important to understand how Monsanto is directly compromising the future health of the farming industry across the entire world. (i.e., There's an entire "suicide belt" in India because farmers have been screwed by sustainability promises from Monsanto.) And if the farming industry isn't sustainable; neither are we.
Unfortunately the "big picture" story on isn't always provided in our nutritional education, but it is very important that we (as nutrition educators) educate ourselves further so that we can better educate our clients.
I recommend you also check out this website.
http://www.nongmoproject.org/
Cara