Hell No, GMO

I read a many articles this week that stuck with me, but this post includes two that I think are very closely tied to GMO's and other things in food that we don't always know how to look for. I have an incredibly strong opinion on Genetically Modified Organism's (GMO's). And here are a couple reasons why why.

We do not know the long-term effects of GMO's. Plain and simple. We don't know the effect those soy beans from Monsanto that are loaded with ROUND-UP (yes, the weed killer which is highly poisonous) will have on us or future generations, but it probably isn't good.

There is a legislative fight in many states to make sure foods with GMO's can't be labeled that way. Why? Well, profit, duh. But it's still a red flag in my book.

Now, yes, advances have come with science that have helped many countries. For example, flood-resistant rice has helped rice-producing countries from losing an entire crop in one bad typhoon. But, there are so many unnecessary things that are done, and we as consumers should be allowed to know what's in our food.

Here are the articles. First, NPR's The Salt wrote about how Ben & Jerry's is one company to begin ridding their products of GMO's, despite the fight to be able to in their home state of Vermont.

While this second article - Prevention's guest columnist Robyn O'Brien - doesn't specifically mention GMO's, this excerpt stuck out to me: "learning that our food contains ingredients for which no long term human health studies have been conducted can cause heartache....  ...To then learn that other countries have not allowed these new ingredients, introduced into our food supply in the last ten to twenty years, because of this lack of evidence of safety can then trigger more than just an adjustment in what you put into your shopping cart, it can change how you view our system."

So, check your PLU codes at the grocery store. See the cheat sheet below, and inform yourself.