In America and across the world, consumers are becoming more and more aware of the potential dangers of genetically modified foods. The heated debate on their safety continues with consumer groups and the general population demanding mandatory GMO labeling laws. This battle has been ongoing for some time now with at least 64 countries around the world way ahead of us. However, in December of 2018, the final GMO labeling rule in the U.S. was released by the USDA.
So how much confidence do I have in this new rule? Not much! Click here to see if you agree.
However you feel about the new labeling rule, the good news is – We still have choices!
We can choose to continue buying commercial produce and refined packaged items with no regard as to what we might be putting into our bodies, or we can do our best to avoid modified foods.
Now avoiding GMOs may seem overwhelming at first. I used to spend hours at the grocery store reading label after label before allowing anything to make its way into my cart. This was very time consuming because GMO crops are refined and turned into many different processed ingredients. Some may be easier to recognize than others. I lost track of the number of times I stood in a grocery aisle holding a very attractively labeled box in my hands trying to decide whether it was safe to take home or not. Food marketers purposely add enticing pictures and convincing tag lines to distract us from flipping the box over to discover what’s actually inside. If we flip the box over, we will probably find GMO crops camouflaged under a wide variety of names.
Here are some examples:
GMO Corn may be hidden under:
• high fructose corn syrup, modified corn starch, corn sugar, hydrolyzed corn, maltodextrin
GMO Soy derivatives may be hidden as:
• textured soy flour, tempe, textured soy protein, lecithin, monodiglyceride, miso, mixed tocopherals, msg
Most MSG is made from GMOs and may be hidden under:
• hydrolyzed vegetable protein, monosodium glutamate, sodium caseinate, natural flavorings, natural meat tenderizer, yeast extract
Besides our grocery stores, GMO products are served in most fast food chains and national chain restaurants.
So how on earth are we supposed to avoid them?
Here are a few Power Tips!
- Look for products that contain either the NON-GMO or USDA Organic label or both
- Shop at your local farmer’s market and ask questions! (It is much easier to question the local farmer about how he grows his crops as opposed to the one who lives in another state or country.)
- Make homemade meals using natural ingredients instead of eating out. Yay!
- If you must eat out, know which GMO products to avoid and question the waiter on what type of oil, sugar, etc… that they are using. Choose restaurants that advertise at least some of their ingredients as NON-GMO or USDA Organic.
Check out this article on How To Avoid GMOs When Dining Out by Jeffrey Smith.
As with anything, the more we practice, the easier it gets.
So lets take control of our health and practice good lifestyle habits by doing all we can to avoid GMOs.
Our bodies will thank us!