Non-GMO Shopping Guide

Click here to dowload a free Non-GMO Shopping Guide put out by The Center for Food Safety.

You can learn more about the guide here.

To learn more about genetically modified foods, watch this film.

The Whole Soy Story

After a visit to a homeopathic doctor in 2008, I discovered that I am soy intolerant, a diagnosis that has changed my life in many ways.*  I used to be a sushi addict and my mouth still waters at the idea of a spicy tuna roll dipped in soy sauce, but then I remember the days following my sushi binges and how the soy sauce would leave me curled in the fetal position on the floor of my bathroom, writhing around in pain. 

I also was a vegetarian for nearly ten years prior to this diagnosis.  I lived off of tofu burgers and veggies shreds.  As soon as I learned that the soy was making me sick, I had to completely change my lifestyle and begin eating meat again.

A few months prior to my diagnosis, it was also discovered that my older son, Gabriel, had a soy allergy.  His first bottle of soy-based formula caused a severe allergic reaction.

Because of this our home has been soy-free for nearly two years, except for a couple of foods that my husband enjoys to have around as snacks.  Gabriel and I are also unable to eat food that has been prepared at restaurants, because the only items on the majority of menus that do not contain a soy product are plain fruits and veggies that haven't touched the grill (which is usually covered in either margarine or soybean oil).

It is estimated that nearly 70% of the foods on our supermarket shelves contain soy.  It has become filler that is used in just about everything, because it is cheap.  But what's even worse is that over 60% of the soybean crop in the United States is genetically modified.

One day Adam heard a news story that linked soy to hormone imbalances in men, specifically that eating high levels of soy causes men to produce more estrogen, leading to a whole host of health problems.  That was the final straw - all of the negative information I had been hearing about soy made me want to learn more about why it is considered a "healthy" food in our culture.

I finished reading The Whole Soy Story by Kaayla T. Daniel, PhD, CCN and I learned more than I ever wanted to know about the food.  The book gives a background on how this crop that historically was used as a cover crop to enrich soil, became part of a health-food craze in America. It also breaks down all of the health concerns about eating soy.  I recommend the book for anyone interested in learning why you shouldn't be consuming this food in the amounts that we find in the average American's diet.

I just wanted to highlight some of the interesting things I learned while reading the book:

The study that really made soy a healthy food in America showed that the Japanese (who eat 30 times the soy we eat) have lower rates of breast, uterine and prostate cancer.  What the media coverage of this study failed to also tell us is that the Japanese have higher rates of esophageal, stomach, pancreatic and liver cancers.  Asians also do not eat soy in the ways we eat it.  They leave the soybean intact in fermented products like miso, tempeh and natto. 


The FDA approves soy protein as a heart healthy food but it is also found on their "Poisonous Plant Database."


Soybean oil is a mosquito repellant.  It actually kills the mosquito, which makes you wonder what it does to your insides.


People who eat ground meat with textured soy protein extenders (this is what is served to our children in school) lose 61% (at a 3:1 ratio) and 53% (at a 2:1 ratio) of their ability to absorb the iron from the meat.


Here are all of the toxins and antinutrients that soy contains: 

• allergens
• goitrogens - cause thyroid damage
• lectins - cause immune system reactions and play a role in allergic reactions because they destroy intestinal mucosa.
• oligosaccharides - cause bloating and gas
• oxalates - prevent the absorption of calcium and linked to kidney stones
• phytates - leads to poor growth and anemia.  Levels are higher in soy than in any other food.
• isoflavones - cause reproductive damage
• protease inhibitors - cause gastric distress, poor protein digestion, cancer, and damage to the pancreas.  Many foods contain them (grains, nuts, seeds, some veggies, etc.), but cooking deactivates them.  They are at higher levels in soybeans (and even higher in GM beans) and are more resistant to neutralization through cooking.

The scariest information to read was about soy-based formula:

• The isoflavones in the formula effect hormones and can cause developmental problems in the reproductive system.  They also put children at an increased risk of thyroid problems (hypothyroidism and autoimmune thyroid disease). 
• Infants fed soy formula also produce more gas (CH4 and H2S), which has been linked to intestinal disorders, such as ulcerative colitis and Crohn's Disease. 
• Scientists have suggested expensive techniques that would neutralize the phytates in formula, but the industry prefers to go the cheaper route and enrich the formula with zinc, iron and calcium to compensate.  They are required by law to do this. 
• Iron absorption from soy formula is 27%.  It is 65% in breast milk, 60% in whey formula and 46% in casein formula.

Something I learned from the author's website - "The Israeli Health Ministry has issued a health advisory warning that infants should not use soy formula. So have the British Dietetic Association, the New Zealand Health Ministry, and the Swiss Federal Health Service."

Soy lectin may contribute to Type 1 Juvenile Onset Diabetes because it destroys pancreatic cells that secrete insulin.

Asian monks used to eat high levels of soy because it was known to lower their libido.

I have also read before that animals that are fed diets high in soy fail to thrive and show signs of malnutrition.  They also have a shorter lifespan and produce less offspring. 

When I put all of this information together, it's a no-brainer for me.  It's yet another reason to make sure the food I am feeding my family isn't processed and is prepared properly (soaked, cooked properly, etc.).  Since cutting out soy from my diet, I have not had a major flare-up of my Crohn's Disease and have been able to stay off of toxic drugs like Prednisone.  I think I now know why!

If you are interested in learning more about soybeans, I suggest reading this book!

-Jessica

I was not contacted by anyone to review this book.  I just enjoyed it and wanted to share some information with my readers.

*Diagnosis made through IgE fecal test.

Q&A: High Fructose Corn Syrup

I was wondering if you have ever tried doing a high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) free diet. I recently saw a youtube video called "Sugar: The Bitter Truth". It's really long and kind of boring, but it scared me away from HFCS. I've been thinking about trying to do a HFCS free diet, but I've noticed it's in just about everything we have. Have you tried this? Have any tips?

My Views on Sugar

I limit the amount of sugar that I consume for many reasons.  Sugar consumption leads to obesity, heart attacks, artery disease, tooth decay, diabetes, metabolic issues, concentration issues, fertility problems, and upsets the balance of the endocrine and nervous systems. 

Our ancestors did not consume sugar in the same ways we do and our bodies were not designed to consume it in large quantities.  In the past, natural sweeteners were used sparingly to sweeten foods and desserts were viewed as a treat reserved only for special occasions.  But now, the average American consumes more than 22 teaspoons of sugar per DAY (mainly from beverages like soft drinks) and many children and teenagers consume almost double that amount.

If you shop in the grocery store and consume mostly processed foods, you can pretty much guarantee that everything you eat has some type of sweetener in it.  Our taste buds have grown so accustomed to tasting it, that we hardly recognize exactly how sweet our foods are.

And here is the problem with the way we consume sugar in our society - most of our sugary foods (like soft drinks and candy) do not contain fat.  Fat slows the sugar from entering our blood stream in a rush and stimulating insulin and hormone production.  Our "high carb/low fat" diets are literally killing us.  In fact, we should be doing the opposite - consuming higher levels of healthy fats and less carbohydrates.

As a rule for myself, I avoid refined sugars, artificial sweeteners, and even some "natural" sweeteners.  The only sugars I consume are fruits, raw honey, and unrefined maple syrup.  Occasionally I will crave a soft drink or a cookie with sugar, but I reserve those foods for special occasions and do not keep them in the house for myself.

This year for Lent I gave up sugar (except fruit) - honey and maple syrup included - and have not intentionally consumed it for over a month now.  For the first four days my body crashed.  I was irritable, tired, and hungry all of the time.  We forget that sugar is actually a drug (an addictive one) that affects not only your blood sugar, but also your brain chemistry.

But once I made it past those first four days, I noticed that my energy levels started to increase and my mind felt clearer than normal.  After a few weeks more, my appetite started to decrease and I now don't feel the need to snack as much.  My body no longer craves those foods throughout the day.

So, you're probably wondering - what can a person eat if they avoid sugar completely?  Here was my food intake yesterday:

Breakfast - 2 slices of raisin toast with butter and 2 scrambled free-range eggs mixed with chopped spinach.

Snack - some almonds and a few apple slices

Lunch - canned tuna mixed with olive oil and salt/pepper, and a few slices of cheese on homemade bread

Snack - a banana and some pumpkin seeds

Dinner - chuck roast (with the broth used as a condiment for dipping), okra breaded in spelt flour and fried in olive oil, and a bowl of grapes

Snack - 3 pieces of cheese and a slice of homemade toast with butter

My beverages most days consist of unsweetened hot and iced teas, water, and fruit smoothies.

The hardest part about going sugar-free is not having condiments with your foods.  Most store-bought condiments contain HFCS - ketchup, barbecue sauce, taco sauce, salad dressings, mayo, salsa, etc.  In order to have condiments with your food if you are going to go sugar-free, you have to make your own.  If you are just trying to eliminate HFCS from your diet, most organic brands of condiments contain organic sugar or other sweeteners.  They are a little more expensive, but worth it in my opinion - just use a little less to make up for the cost.

Other ways to avoid HFCS and sugars:

• Make your own jams and jellies, or buy the brands labeled "no sugar added".  Fruit is sweet enough; it doesn't need more sugar to taste good on bread. 
• Make sure your fruit juice has no added sugar.  Many juices can contain as much, if not more sugar than a can of soda.
• Make your own salad dressings.  My favorite recipe is a mixture of virgin olive oil, lemon juice, a squeeze of raw honey, garlic, salt, pepper, and any herbs I am in the mood for (dill, sage, rosemary, etc.)
• Buy plain peanut butter.  The average brand of peanut butter contains more than one type of sugar - HFCS, molasses, honey AND sugar.  Usually when you eat peanut butter, you are spreading it on bread with jelly, which is sweet enough.  You don't need added sugar in your peanut butter.
• Bake your own bread.  You can even substitute raw honey for sugar in most bread recipes to avoid refined sugars.  Or even better, make some homemade sourdough without any sweeteners at all.
• Always read your labels and buy unsweetened/plain when available.  You can always add a little honey or sugar to your food if it needs it, but you rarely need the amount that is in the sweetened versions of foods (for example: applesauce and yogurt).
• Don't buy canned fruit.  Aside from the fact that the lining of the cans is toxic, most of the fruits are soaked in syrup.
• Cook your food at home.  Nearly everything you eat at a restaurant contains HFCS and sugar.
• Avoid buying processed foods that say "sugar free".  The sugar in these foods has usually been replaced with artificial sweeteners, which are just as bad for you as HFCS.
• Watch your processed meats.  Most of them contain sweeteners.

What is the difference between a natural sweetener and a refined sweetener?  Which ones are the best for me?

The following are natural sweeteners. This means they are the least processed and they contain more vitamins and minerals. Use these if you have a sweet tooth!

• Raw Honey
• Unrefined Maple Syrup
• Agave Nectar
• Date Sugar
• Sorghum Syrup
• Barley Malt Syrup
• Fruit

The following are natural sweeteners that should be avoided for various reasons.

• Concentrated Fruit Juices - They are composed mainly of fructose in levels so concentrated that your body is unable to regulate blood sugar properly.
• Raw, Natural, Turbinado, Sucanat, and Florida Crystals - They upset your body chemistry and are refined, which removes most of the nutrients.
• Brown Rice Syrup - The rice is cooked with enzymes, which are many times genetically modified.
• Stevia - It is a calorie-free, herbal substitute that does not affect blood sugar. Although it has many medicinal uses, including the treatment of heartburn, its safety is still questionable.
• Molasses - A byproduct of the processing of sugar cane with a strong taste and moderate sweetness. If it comes from sugar cane grown in the right type of soil, it can contain especially high levels of iron, calcium, zinc, copper and chromium.

The following are refined sweeteners that should be avoided.

• White Sugar (sucrose) - has little, if any, nutritional value
• Brown Sugar
• Refined maple syrup - formaldehyde is used in the production.
• Corn syrup - is usually genetically modified.
• Fructose - causes deleterious effects, especially in small children
• Glucose
• Dextrin - made by boiling corn starch with acid
• Dextrose
• Processed honey
• Maltodextrin

The following are artificial sweeteners, which have been linked to headaches, gastro-intestinal problems, panic attacks, depression, nervous system disorders (specifically fibromyalgia and multiple sclerosis), male infertility, cell damage, and cancer (specifically bladder and reproductive organs).  NEVER EAT THESE!

• Aspartame - linked to cancer of the reproductive organs.
• Saccharin - linked to bladder cancer
• Mannitol
• Sorbitol - labeled to warn of nausea, diarrhea, and vomiting.
• Xylitol
• Splenda (sucralose) - a chlorocarbon (contains chlorine) linked to organ, genetic and reproductive damage. Lab rats show a 40% shrinkage in thymus gland (foundation of immune system) when given Splenda.

Here's the bottom line!

Avoiding sugar is easy to do if you are willing to put in a little hard work first.  Your body is going to have to detox and it is going to be uncomfortable for a few days or even weeks.  But, once you get past the initial withdrawal, you will start to feel so good that you'll realize a soda isn't worth it.  Your taste buds will also change and most of the foods you once thought tasted good will become too sweet for you.

Make your own food and read your labels.  And as always - everything in moderation.  You're not going to die if you eat a cookie or drink a soda every now and then, but when you eat them day after day your body and brain become addicted and the sugar begins to get every system in your body out of whack.  Stick to natural sweeteners and use them in moderation.

-Jess

Sources

"Exactly What Is Splenda? .: Ask Dr. Hull." Dr. Janet Starr Hull, PhD, CN - Website. Web. 11 Sept. 2009. .

"Substitute Natural Sweeteners for Artificial Sweeteners." Body Cleansing / Detox Plan and Natural Cures. Web. 11 Sept. 2009. .

"Top 10 Dangers of Artificial Sweeteners." Nutrition Supplements News. Web. 11 Sept. 2009. .

All Eggs Are Not Created Equal

I wrote last September about food labels and what they actually mean. In that post I discussed the different labels for eggs:

Certified Organic - The chickens are required to have outdoor access, but there is no regulation concerning the length of time and conditions. The birds must be fed a vegetarian diet, without pesticides and hormones. A third party verifies compliance.

Free Range - This usually means the birds are kept in a barn or warehouse uncaged and have some outdoor access. This label tells you nothing about the diet of the bird. There is no USDA standard, therefore a third party does not verify compliance.

Cage-Free/Free-Roaming - The same as free range, except the chickens usually do not have outdoor access.

Vegetarian-Fed - The chickens are fed a vegetarian diet, not necessarily organic. There are no restrictions on the living conditions of the bird.

Natural - Essentially, this means nothing.

Fertile - The hens lived with roosters. This label tells you nothing about the diet of the birds.

Omega-3 Enriched - The birds are fed a diet enriched with things like flaxseed and algae.

In this post I would like to show you the physical differences between most store-bought eggs and those that are from chickens that were allowed to roam free and eat their natural diet.

The following picture shows an Eggland's Best egg on the left. The carton says the egg is "all natural", "farm fresh", and "vegetarian fed", but says nothing about the living conditions of the bird from which it came. The egg on the right is fertile and comes from a local farmer, whose birds roam free and eat a diet of bugs, greens, and animal dung, as well as organic, non-GMO feed.



Have you ever wondered why some eggs are white and some are brown? White eggs come from white chickens and brown eggs come from brown chickens. Contrary to popular belief, brown eggs are not any more "natural" or healthy for you than white ones.

In the following picture you can see the difference in the color of the yolks (The Eggland's Best egg is on the left and the free-range egg is on the right).



As you can see, free range yolks are usually a deeper shade of orange. This is due to the birds' diets. And you can definitely taste the difference!

But color and taste are not the only differences between these eggs. The eggs from chickens that are allowed to eat on pasture have:

• 1/3 less cholesterol
• 1/4 less saturated fat
• 2/3 more Vitamin A
• twice the omega 3
• 3 times more Vitamin E
• 7 times more beta carotene

If you are worried about price, you can actually get free range eggs from a local farmer for much cheaper than the store-bought organic brands that claim to be free-range. A dozen Eggland's Best Free-Range Organic eggs cost nearly $5 at my local grocery store, but we purchase our eggs from a farmer for $3.

If you still aren't convinced that you should be switching to pastured eggs yet, you may want to also consider the lives of the animals. Many times the eggs in the grocery store come from birds that have been living their entire lives in a small cage not even big enough for them to stand. These birds are pumped full of antibiotics and hormones so that they can be healthy enough to lay eggs (eggs that are obviously of an inferior quality due to the fact that the hens are so sickly). Their diets consist of genetically-modified grains and corn, and sometimes they are even fed other chickens or animals. Without ever seeing sunlight or feeling the earth beneath them, they produce egg after egg until they eventually die due to their poor health and living conditions.

Why support such an inhumane practice when you can get healthier eggs, for much cheaper, and from hens that are able to live their lives in the open air doing what they were meant to do? Check your local health food store, Farmer's Market, or Weston A. Price meetings to find a source for healthy, nutritious, humane, free-range eggs.

-Jessica

Source:

"Meet Real Free-Range Eggs." Organic Gardening, Modern Homesteading, Renewable Energy, Green Homes, Do it Yourself – MOTHER EARTH NEWS. Web. 12 Feb. 2010.

Movie Recommendation - Food, Inc.

Food, Inc., a new documentary exploring the American food industry, was just released on DVD yesterday. I have been anticipating the release of this movie for months and made sure we got the one and only copy at our video store yesterday.

I thought the movie was very well-made and inspiring. As with any documentary, there were a few parts that were a bit too "Michael Moore" for me - for example, making a political point as a cow is being tortured in the background - but for the most part I felt it was informative.

The documentary covers pretty much every aspect of our nation's food industry - labeling, health issues, political issues, big business, the organic sector, etc. - with the overall goal of showing you exactly how your food gets to your grocery store.

I have to warn you though, some of the footage is graphic and disturbing, especially the scenes on the chicken farms and in the slaughterhouses. I also found footage from the food processing plants where they showed how the filler that is in 70% of store-bought ground beef is bathed in ammonia to kill e-coli equally horrifying.

There was only one part of the movie that I found to be completely hypocritical and worthy of a huge eyeroll from me, and that was when they were interviewing Gary Hirshberg from Stonyfield Farms. They showed how Gary started out in the industry with the intention of creating organic, wholesome food for people, probably while living out of a Volkswagen bus. Then as Gary goes on bashing capitalism over and over again, he then shows us how his little organic company has now been bought by Dannon yogurts and is sold in WalMart stores across the nation. I'm pretty sure capitalism has been good to him.

But then they showed an organic farmer named Joel Salatin, who treats his animals with care and has the health of his customers at the top of his list of priorities. He says that when you start thinking too big and increasing the size of your food operations, you start sacrificing the integrity of your product, and the health of your customers.

For me, this information couldn't have come at a more relevant time, as yesterday our state (Ohio) just voted on and passed an issue allowing an amendment to our Constitution, creating a board of industry professionals to determine best management practices for our state. Our state will now have farmers, college professors, elected officials, and others who are in bed with these huge corporations making decisions about what is best for our health and safety when it comes to our food (although I'm sure the bottom line will be their true priority).

So the point of the documentary, and the inspiring part for me, was the statement at the very end of the film - you have the ability to vote on these issues three times a day, as you are purchasing, preparing and eating your meals. You can choose to support these huge corporate farmers, who pollute the environment, treat their animals with absolutely no respect, exploit their workers, and focus on their bottom line (instead of your health) OR you can "vote" for safe, local, fresh foods from farmers like Joel Salatin.

In Ohio yesterday, my vote may not have mattered, since an overwhelming majority of citizens decided to support corporate farmers, but I will continue to vote each and every day as I prepare healthy meals for my family and choose to only spend our hard-earned dollars supporting people who value life the same way we do.

Learn more about what happened in Ohio with Issue 2 here.

Deciphering Food Labels

Over the past few years it seems like the labeling of "natural" foods has gotten more and more confusing. As it has become cool to be "green", corporations are spending more and more money marketing their products as "green" and "pure", when in reality there is nothing natural about the products.

The words "organic" and "natural" as they apply to food have basically become a joke. There is little regulation by the FDA concerning the labeling and evaluation of products and many laws exist that prohibit truthful labeling by farmers.

My intent in this post is to break down some of the common food labels so that you can make better, more informed decisions at the grocery store, and not fall prey to this marketing game.

Natural/All-Natural - According to the USDA, this means that the item does not contain synthetic or artificial ingredients/preservatives and is minimally processed. There is no regulation concerning the use of antibiotics, hormones, and chemicals. There isn't a certification process for labeling, so essentially this label means nothing and the FDA currently does not have plans to establish a clear definition or monitor the usage of these terms in food labeling.

Organic - There are four separate categories in organic food labeling:

• 100% Organic - refers to single ingredient foods, like produce and dairy products. May bear the USDA seal.
• Organic - refers to foods containing more than one ingredient. 95-100% of those ingredients must be organic. May bear the USDA seal.
• Made with organic ingredients - refers to foods containing more than one ingredient. 70% of those ingredients must be organic. May not bear the USDA seal.
• Contains organic ingredients - Foods with less than 70% organic ingredients. May not bear the USDA seal.

Look for this seal on "100% Organic" and "Organic" foods:

Grass-Fed - This label means the animal was raised primarily on a pasture. There is no regulation concerning where and how long they are allowed to graze.

Eggs - The labels on eggs bought in the grocery store can be very confusing, because there are so many words used to describe the living conditions of the birds, as well as their diets.

• Certified Organic - The chickens are required to have outdoor access, but there is no regulation concerning the length of time and conditions. The birds must be fed a vegetarian diet, without pesticides and hormones. A third party verifies compliance.
• Free Range - This usually means the birds are kept in a barn or warehouse uncaged and have some outdoor access. This label tells you nothing about the diet of the bird. There is no USDA standard, therefore a third party does not verify compliance.
• Cage-Free/Free-Roaming - The same as free range, except the chickens usually do not have outdoor access.
• Vegetarian-Fed - The chickens are fed a vegetarian diet, not necessarily organic. There are no restrictions on the living conditions of the bird.
• Natural - Essentially, this means nothing.
• Fertile - The hens lived with roosters. This label tells you nothing about the diet of the birds.
• Omega-3 Enriched - The birds are fed a diet enriched with things like flaxseed and algae.

Non-GMO - Non-organic food products are not required to be labeled as made with genetically modified ingredients in the United States. In Europe, Australia and Asia, there are restrictions on labeling and some countries have gone so far as to prohibit the sale of GMO foods. There are no set standards for labeling and auditing products that contain the words non-GMO in the United States at this time.

Milk

• rbGH-free - Milk that does not contain the recombinant bovine growth hormone. In Ohio it is illegal to label milk as "rbGH-free". It must instead be labeled "from cows not treated with artificial growth hormones" and must also contain a disclaimer stating that milk from cows injected with hormones is the same as milk without the hormones, even though it is not true.
• Pasteurized - This means the milk is heated to kill all bacteria.
• Ultra-pasteurized - The milk was heated to 280 degrees Fahrenheit for several seconds.
• Homogenized - Milk that has gone through a process to keep the fat from separating.
• Raw - Milk that is neither pasteurized nor homogenized.

Produce

• Stickers beginning with the numbers 3 and 4 - conventional produce. This is produce that is grown using pesticides, fertilizers and other chemicals.
• Stickers beginning with the number 8 - genetically modified produce.
• Stickers beginning with the number 9 - organic produce. This does not mean the produce is 100% free of pesticide residue, but does mean that the levels are significantly lower than conventional produce.

What does all of this mean to my family?

We try to purchase most of our produce, meat, milk and eggs from local farmers, so we know for a fact where it is coming from, the living conditions of any animals, the diets of the animals, and whether or not the food it truly organic. It seems to be the only way you can really know for sure, since food labeling can be very deceptive.

When shopping at the grocery store I tend to ignore all labels and focus more on the ingredients. If I pick up a processed food that says "organic", I know that up to 5% of the ingredients can be non-organic. You can usually spot them, as they are labeled as "natural flavors" or something similar. Those natural ingredients can be anything from MSG to GMO-soy, so I try to avoid products that contain them. I buy products that contain ingredients I can pronounce and that I know are good for me.

I also pay attention to the labelling of non-organic products. For example, most brands of organic milk are ultra-pasteurized. I refuse to drink ultra-pasteurized milk and usually drink raw milk from a friend's cow. But when we run out of raw milk and need something in a pinch, the milk from a local dairy farm that our grocery store sells is simply pasteurized, and the label also says that it does not contain any antibiotics or hormones. So, I prefer to purchase the non-organic milk (which also costs half as much as the organic).

The point is - read your labels. Don't just trust the front of a box or a TV commercial to tell you whether or not a product is good for you. Read the ingredients and research the companies from which you buy your food.

-Jessica

Sources:

"A Brief Guide to Egg Carton Labels and Their Relevance to Animal Welfare ." The Humane Society of the United States. Web. 20 Sept. 2009.

"Food labels what do the numbers mean? Townsend Letter for Doctors and Patients Find Articles at BNET." Find Articles at BNET News Articles, Magazine Back Issues & Reference Articles on All Topics. Web. 20 Sept. 2009.

"Organic Food Labels: What does it all mean?" Seattlepi.com Blogs. Web. 20 Sept. 2009.

"What do food labels really mean? GreenCityBlueLake." GreenCityBlueLake Advancing sustainability in Northeast Ohio. Web. 20 Sept. 2009.

Movie Recommendation about GMO Food

The Future of Food is a documentary about genetically modified food. It discusses the history of GMO foods in America, the patenting of life, GMO labeling (and why the US is the only country not requiring it), farming subsidies, and sustainable agriculture. Although most of the documentary talks about the political issues surrounding GMO foods, it also discusses how GMO seeds are made, the health effects of GMO foods and the importance of organic farming. Skip to around 25 minutes, one hour and the last ten minutes for more health-related information.

I found the parts discussing allergies to GMO foods really interesting, and how it is difficult to tell whether someone is having an allergic reaction to the actual food or just the GMO version. As the mother of a child with multiple food allergies, it would be helpful to know whether a food is GMO or not. I am wondering why the United States does not require this?



-Jessica