How can i avoid gmo foods

Course dates are approaching fast! Sign up today for the Plant-Based Nutrition Certificate. By now, you may have heard interesting arguments from both sides of the GMO debate.

But no matter what side you support, it is ultimately your decision to make. And until the regulatory environment is strong enough to ensure transparency and greater access to information, you must empower yourself.

Thankfully, there are many places to start. With these tips, you should soon be on your way toward a more confident, easy, and informed shopping experience. Ending World Hunger or Boosting Agribusiness? Copyright Center for Nutrition Studies.

All rights reserved. In a few short weeks arm yourself with the knowledge you need to improve your overall health, learn new skills, or even inspire a career change. Hear what people are saying. Yes, I'd like to receive the weekly Plant-Based Nutrition newsletter. Geneticists achieve this by isolating genes from one plant and injecting them into new plants. Every day, more research comes out showing the supposed safety of GM technology.

This research is often heavily-funded by the very creators and benefactors of GM foods and technologies. In parallel, research emerges showing the apparent dangers of genetically modified foods, although there is little clinical research funded for how these plants may be affecting humans. It can be very frustrating for you, the consumer, to know what to believe.

But I believe that there is an inherent collective knowledge that we share — an instinctive feeling that we are messing with Nature, and that the health consequences could be perilous. Recent studies have shown that genetically modifying plants an unnatural process that works against the natural ebb and flow of genetic movement may be detrimental to human health.

Studies are now showing the harmful effects of genetically-modified plants on animals in testing. For example, an early study on GMO crops showed that corn pollen was adversely affecting monarch butterfly caterpillars, causing higher mortality rates in the butterflies that had eaten the GM pollen. Genetically modified foods have also been shown to create plants that are engineered for herbicide and pesticide tolerance.

These plants then cross-bread, and pass on the transfer of genes to other weeds and plants. This interbreeding also effects the bees and birds that pollenate the plant.

Essentially, plants that are stripped of their creative, fruiting essence. Not to mention, that these removed essences may offer us, the human consumers, the much-needed life and energy we are all lacking?

Moreover, it is surprising to note that while new medicines released into the marketplace undergo stringent testing and approvals, GMO foods which is designed in a laboratory just like drugs , undergoes very little regulation from the FDA. It is possible that inserting new genes into plants can create new allergic reactions in humans, particularly those that are already susceptible to allergens.

A proposal to incorporate a gene from Brazil nuts into soybeans was abandoned because of the fear of causing unexpected allergic reactions. What is more, these altered forms of DNA do not always completely metabolize in the digestive tract. Gut bacteria are then susceptible to consuming these GM genes and plasmids, making us even more susceptible to disease through antibiotic resistance.

Oftentimes proponents of genetically modified foods site human global food needs as a reason why we need GMO crops. While little academic research supports this statement, leaders from over 20 African states have actually published a statement stating that genetically modified foods do not aid farmers in their 21st century food production needs.

Another main concern on the issue of genetically modified foods is that we cannot know the long-term health effects of these plants in our bodies. Down to Earth strongly promotes the organic industry, whose products are produced without GMOs.

Until recently, selecting foods labeled Organic has been the only way customers could avoid non-GMO foods. However, organic certification covers how a food is grown, not the content of the food itself.

And, since food production has become increasingly compromised by cross pollination and cross contamination in processing and handling, even organic certification does not guarantee that a product is GMO free.

If a non-organic product contains corn, soy, canola oil, or even sugar as a significant amount of sugar is now produced from GMO sugar beets it may contain GMOs unless the manufacturer makes a specific claim that their product is GMO free. However, even if a manufacturer makes such a claim there is no way to know whether such claims are actually valid because they generally are not backed by third-party testing or adherence to independent standards of transportation and processing, etc.

The natural products industry, along with many concerned consumers and others, have long pressed for and supported efforts to require mandatory labeling of foods containing GMOs. Consumers have repeatedly stated they do not want GMOs in their foods.

If such products were labeled, their sales would likely plummet resulting in their economic failure. Sadly, for various reasons, mandatory labeling efforts have not succeeded. Over 1, products have been verified to date, with thousands more in the process. Consumers have the right to choose what foods to eat and feed their families.

This Non-GMO logo enables consumers to exercise this right! Since most genetically engineered food comes from large industrial farms, you are more likely to find non-GMO food grown by small local farms. You can also contact your local farmers and ask them directly about how the food is grown. Identify how produce is grown by reading its label or sticker number. PLU labeling is optional so not all genetically modified produce can be identified Know which foods and their derivatives are most likely genetically engineered.

Such as: Soybeans and soy products such as soy lecithin, soy protein, isolated soy, soy flour, etc. Soy is the most heavily modified food and is also commonly used as an additive.