In our day-to-day life of shopping for food in the various grocery stores, we typically pay little attention to what foods we buy that may be genetically engineered. Genetically Modified Foods are those that have undergone in the laboratory a process of artificially inserting genes into the DNA of foods. It sounds like science fiction, but it is here to stay! GMO’s can be engineered with genes from viruses, insects, animals, bacteria or even humans. Would you likely purchase foods labeled GMO? Americans currently purchase foods that are not labeled one way or the other. Some companies are starting to voluntarily label their products as “non-GMO” and others may include a claim to only “certain” ingredients in their products as “non-GMO”. As a rule of thumb there are four big food groups that are used in processed foods. Corn, Soy, Canola and Cotton oils. GMO Sugar beets which are used as sweeteners in candy and chocolate products are coming soon to your table!
The good news is that very few fresh fruits and vegetables are genetically modified. Corn obviously is and papaya from Hawaii is (or at least half of their crops). Meat, fish and eggs are not modified but the grains they are feed are GMO’s. Buying wild rather than farmed fish and 100% grass feed animals for meat is a better alternative.
So why the precaustions? What do we know of the long term health issues possibly associated with eating these GMO foods? Not much. We are introducing into our bodies some unnatural foods that may have some serious health issues for us later down the road. If a seed is genetically altered to withstand insects for instance, what does that food source when introduced into our bodies do? We have little compelling evidence to date to say.
A complete guide to shopping for non-GMO’s is available fron our website www.healthywellbeing.net by requesting it. Join our mailing list and it will trigger a copy to your email.
Tags: buying food, DNA, genetically modified foods, GMO's
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