Say It Isn't So...GMO

We’re going to change course this week and take a trip right into the ol’ grocery store.

The topic of this week is genetically modified foods (aka GM or GMO), in which I am willing to bet your kitchen is full of, mainly because the grocery store shelves sure are.

A recent study reported that if you were to randomly pick an item off of your grocery store shelf, you have a 70% chance of picking a food with genetically modified ingredients. This is basically saying that 7 out of 10 foods on the grocery store shelves have been genetically modified.

Another study uncovered that when polled, only ¼ of Americans report having eaten genetically modified foods…quite a large difference of numbers in these two studies. If more Americans were aware of the 7 in 10 chances, I am willing to guess that ¼ would be much higher.

A big problem is that Americans are kept largely in the dark about genetically modified foods, and most are not aware they are eating these foods because there are no labeling requirements to identify genetically modified foods.

Should we be concerned if we are eaten genetically modified foods?

Who knows? No studies have been done with humans with the intent to find out what happens when genetically modifed foods are consumed… although concerns have been raised about issues of sterility, possible influence on creating super viruses, triggering of cancers, and more.

Aside from a lack of adequate studies, if you were to ask me, I much rather consume a food created through and by nature, not via science with a foreign component sliced into it. There is still far too much unknown about this science to be experimenting with our health.

There are tools you can use to find out how to access the other 30% of the grocery store shelves that are not GMO.

Here are some tips to weed thorough the GMO puzzle.

1- Buy organic- Buying organic is currently the best way to ensure that your food has not bee genetically modified. By definition, food that is certified organic must be:

• Free from al GMO organisms
• Produced without artificial pesticides and fertilizers
• From an animal reared without the routine use of antibiotics growth promoters or other drugs

However, as GMO crops are becoming more and more prevalent, and the spread of GM seeds and pollen is a major concern. Even organic produce may be contaminated with traces of GMO elements that have been spread by wind for insects such as bees.

2- Read labels- GMO soybeans and corn make up the largest portion of genetically engineered crops. Stop on in at Scripts and pick up your ‘GMO Food Ingredients Chart’ that may contain GMO corn, soy, and other products. This will give you an in-depth look at what might be GMO.

3- Look at Produce Stickers- This one is cool, I really dug finding this out and I hope you will too.

Take a look at the little stickers on fruit and vegetables. They contain different PLU codes depending on whether the fruit was conventionally grown, organically grown or genetically engineered. The PLU code for conventionally grow fruit consists of four numbers, organically grown fruit five numbers prefaces by the number 9, ad GMO fruit five numbers preface by the number 8.

For example:

Conventionally grown PLU: 0210
Organically grown OPLU:90210
Genetically modified PLU: 80210

So there you have it! A quick and concise way to help ensure that you are not eating Genetically modified foods and organisms.