Food wisdom: How to avoid GMOs and toxic herbicides (video)

This may seem like a simple question for our long-time readers, but many new readers are asking, “How do I avoid GMOs?”

It’s not just the GMOs themselves, of course, that people wish to avoid. It’s also the toxic, cancer-causing herbicide known as glyphosate that frequently saturates both genetically engineered crops and non-GMO crops alike. Glyphosate was recently added to California’s Prop 65 list of known cancer-causing chemicals.

In this short video, I explain the simplest ways to avoid GMOs and glyphosate. They include:

• Buying certified organic produce.
• Looking for the “Non-GMO Project Verified” logo on grocery products.
• Growing your own food.

Watch this short video to learn more, and share everywhere. Follow more news on organics at Organics.news.

Consumers now demanding their meat be raised “humanely,” without growth hormones or GMOs, according to new study

Recent polls indicate that over 90 percent of Americans want their food labeled in a way that clearly indicates the presence of genetically modified organisms (GMOs). It is unsurprising, therefore, that a recent study conducted by the University of Illinois confirmed that when it comes to beef, chicken, eggs and dairy, the majority of people have key areas of concern that they want clearly indicated on food packaging, including the presence of GMOs.

The study, which examined how important seven key issues are to consumers, determined that the three most important factors were that animals had not been given growth hormones; that no GMOs had been used in the production of the food; and finally, that the animals had been humanely raised. This third issue was seen as more important for animals that keep producing items like milk and eggs, than for animals raised for slaughter.

Other issues of concern to consumers included:

• That the animal had not been given routine antibiotics;
• That it had been raised in a free-range environment;
• That the animal had been grass-fed or raised on a vegetarian diet; and
• That the product overall was certified as organic.

Researchers were surprised to find that consumers seemed to want specific issues identified individually, rather than by blanket terms like “organic” or “raised humanely,” which are legislated to cover multiple issues. Both the terms “organic” and “raised humanely,” for example, already indicate that no growth hormones have been given to the animal.

“When most people hear the term ‘organic,’ they think of produce, fruits, and vegetables,” said lead researcher Brenna Ellison. “I don’t think the term translates as well to animals. Consequently, consumers may not understand that the organic certification for meat and other animal products actually already includes a lot of these other production attributes.”

Labeling, therefore, has a direct impact on the salability of a product, and consumers are demanding clear, understandable labeling that clarifies issues that are important to them in a very direct way.

This is interesting when looked at in the context of the federal GMO labeling law signed by President Obama in August 2016. After Vermont passed its own GMO labeling law in 2014, many big food companies began labeling their products, even those sold outside of the state. There were several who even started removing GMOs from their products. That all ground to a halt when President Obama signed a toothless and confusing federal labeling law last year. In terms of that law, instead of the clear, concise labeling that the public had been demanding, food producers were offered the following three labeling options:

• They can clearly state the presence of GMOs on the food label;
• They can add a barcode which consumers with smartphones can then scan to get the relevant information; or
• They can simply print an 800-number on the package which consumers will have to phone if they really want to know whether or not the food contains GMOs.

Guess which option all the food manufacturers are likely to choose? Clue: It’s most probably not going to be the first one.

Many consumers were outraged by the law. For one thing, there are still many people who do not have access to smartphones. For another, who has the time to scan a barcode or call an 800-number for every product they want to pick up at the store?

The University of Illinois study really drives home the point that consumers want clarity. They want to know what they’re eating; they want to know what the animal they’re eating was fed; they want to know what hormones and medications it was given. It’s not complicated – just inconvenient for those who wish to keep those facts hidden.

Sources:

Phys.org

NaturalNews.com

HuffingtonPost.com

Genetic pollution harms organisms through 14 generations of offspring, stunning scientific study reveals

A new study has alluded to several shocking revelations about genetic engineering and raises many questions about the magnitude of harm that can be perpetrated by both genetic modification and changes to environment.

In the study, the researchers utilized genetically modified nematodes to analyze the effects of environmental change — but their study also revealed something more sinister: The impact of genetic modification. This recent research has shown that genetic modifications can persist and remain active throughout many generations. The transgenic nematodes were altered to contain a fluorescent protein. The team found that the protein became more active in a warmer environment, and that the more active state of the protein was passed on through multiple generations of nematode worms.

The findings, which were intended to demonstrate the effects of temperature shifts, also illustrate the fact that genetic engineering can have a lasting effect on a species — and also that even small changes in environment can have long-term impacts on animals and their offspring. Think about it: If just shifting temperature by a few degrees can affect genes, what are chemical fertilizers, pesticides and other toxins that are literally poured into our environment really doing — not just to us, but to every living thing these substances come into contact with? If just temperature can elicit changes that last for 14 generations, what are these far more damaging chemicals capable of doing?

Past research has shown that pesticides are also capable of leaving a lasting impact on the future. In fact, the negative effects of pesticides can be harmful to up to three generations. Pesticides are capable of turning certain genes on or off, through what is known as “epigenetics.” Basically, what your great-grandparents were exposed to could increase your own risk of certain diseases or conditions due to the changes in genetics caused by exposure to toxins.

In the same vein, genetic engineering can also persist throughout generations — and it can even expand from one “family” to another. Four years ago, Mike Adams reported on the genetic pollution of wheat crops in US states. GE wheat had escaped from so-called “field experiments” in 16 different states and polluted crops were found in Oregon. Further testing by the USDA revealed that the experimental GE wheat had infiltrated and polluted wheat crops in many other states.

As Mike Adams explains, “The spread of GM wheat from experimental fields to wheat production fields is proof that GMOs cause genetic pollution — self-replicating pollution with the potential to devastate global food production.”

This new study of nematodes emphasizes this by showing how genetic modifications can remain present and active for up to 14 generations beyond the initial GE organism — and with cross-breeding or cross-pollination, GE alterations could very well persist in the environment far beyond that. The finding that genetic alterations, or “transgenes,” can remain present for so long is devastating — and it shows that you really can’t “put the cat back in the bag,” as they say. Genetic engineering has opened a can of worms, and the effects seem to be more far-reaching than we could have ever imagined. (RELATED: Learn more about the dangers of genetic engineering at GMO.news)

Genetic pollution is a serious problem that is growing with every release of a GM product. Once organisms created through GE technology are released into the environment, there is no going back. These species — plant or animal– are capable of breeding with others and spreading their GE traits, and these traits clearly remain in the environment for multiple generations. And as Northwest Resistance Against Genetic Engineering explains, it is even possible that one GE organism could transfer their GE traits to other species, as well as their own. “For example, genes from GM crops, fish or trees may move into the gene pools of related species in the wild. The introduction of genetically engineered organisms into complex ecosystems may bring about effects that we are unable to control.”

GMOs, and the pesticides and fertilizers that accompany GE crops, are clearly capable of imposing grievous damage to the environment — and that damage can persist for many generations.

Sources:

ScienceDaily.com

NWRage.org

NYDailyNews.com

NaturalNews.com