By David Blyweiss, M.D., Advanced Natural Wellness

June 14, 2013

• Would you like a little poison with your corn?
• How GM foods are invading our food supply
• What you can do right now…

What if I asked you to throw a few ears of corn into the sink and douse them with Roundup… then asked you to rinse them off and feed them to your family for dinner? Would you do it?

Probably not.

Nobody wants to pump their family full of harmful herbicides that have been linked to cancer, infertility, DNA damage and liver problems. But it may be exactly what’s happening.

Believe it or not, 86% of our corn is genetically modified. And the bulk of that corn comes from Monsanto seeds, which are “Roundup ready.”

This means farmers can spray as much Roundup on these crops as necessary to get rid of weeds.

According to a report from the Organic Center, genetically modified (GM) crops increased the use of herbicides by 383 MILLION pounds in the U.S. from 1996 to 2008. That’s a lot of chemicals being added to our food supply.

And it’s great news for Monsanto. Because they not only create Roundup ready seed for crops… they are also the manufacturers of Roundup! So they are making a lot of money from poisoning our food.

Worse, they’ve got a David and Goliath approach that’s putting family farmers out of business.

You may have heard about Vernon Hugh Bowman. Last February Monsanto forced this 75 year-old farmer into Federal Court. His crime: He planted second-generation Monsanto soybean seeds.

Now this man was a customer of Monsanto’s and regularly purchased seed from them. But apparently farmers can’t plant and harvest seeds produced from original crops. They always have to buy a new batch directly from Monsanto.

Mr. Bowman, a small family farmer, lost the case and had to pay Monsanto $85,000. And he’s not the only one.

As of December, 2012, Monsanto had filed 142 patent infringement lawsuits involving 410 farmers and 56 small farm businesses. They received more than $23.6 million in recorded judgments.

If you think that’s appalling, just wait until you hear the rest…

There are a lot of countries that won’t grow GM crops… and won’t even allow GM seeds, plants or products to be imported. But not the U.S. We are the largest grower of GM foods in the world.

By the end of 2010, the amount of GM foods being grown in the U.S. was dumbfounding. 95% of sugar beets, 93% of soybeans and 86% of corn produced in America are genetically modified.

Now, that’s only three food groups, so how bad can it be? Let me show you…

Sugar beets account for more than half of U.S. sugar production. And do you know what that means? Any time you eat something with sugar in it, there’s more than a 50% chance it’s made from GM sugar beets.

High fructose corn syrup obviously comes from corn. So it stands to reason HFCS is another sources of genetically altered food.

And get this… The average American consumes between 41 and 50 pounds of processed sugar and 27 to 34 pounds of high fructose corn syrup each year!

And this isn’t limited to the sugars you use at home, or the HFCS in your soda. Many canned, frozen, packaged, processed and bottled products contain sugar, corn oil, corn meal and high fructose corn syrup.

You’re just as likely to find GM soy hidden your foods. Hydrolyzed plant or vegetable proteins often include soy, as does monosodium glutamate. (The only soy foods I recommend are naturally fermented tempeh, miso and natto.)

Chemical residue and DNA fragments from altered foods can even end up in your meat and dairy products. That’s because more and more Roundup ready corn and soy are being used for livestock feed.

And here’s the worst of it.

You can’t tell which foods contain genetically modified ingredients. And the amount of chemical residue in your food is anyone’s guess. That leaves you on your own to figure it out.

If you want to avoid GM foods – and foods that have been doused with herbicides – here are some tips to help you out…

It’s vitally important you take control over the foods you’re eating. Knowing exactly you are putting in your body gives you the upper hand when it comes to your long-term health and that of your family. Here are some things you can do to get started:

• Stay away from processed foods and soft drinks. Remember, these foods are full of genetically modified HFCS, corn syrup, sugar, corn oil, soybean oil, corn starch and more.
• Buy from your local farmer. Visit the neighborhood produce stand and talk to them about their farming methods. If they’re not using GMO seed, support them by becoming a regular customer.
• Go organic. Look for the 100% Certified Organic label on the products you buy. This includes your fruits, vegetables and dairy products. You can also use this Non-GMO Shopping Guide when you go to the grocery store. If you have an iPhone, you can download it as a free app as well.
• Select grass-fed beef. Naturally raised grass-fed cattle aren’t eating feed that has been man-made or altered in any way. Plus, they aren’t pumped with antibiotics and hormones.

If you like to be outdoors you can even try your own hand at gardening. Summer’s coming and it’s pretty easy to grow greens, onions, peppers, herbs, squash, green beans and tomatoes if you have the room for it.

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Resources:
Critical Issue Report: The First Thirteen Year. The Organic Center. Nov 2009.

Seed Giants vs. U.S. Farmers. The Center for Food Safety & Save our Seeds. 2013.

Wayne Peng. GM crop cultivation surges, but novel traits languish. Nature Biotechnology
29, 302 (2011)