OMG GMOs

Ok, so we haven’t quite reached the level of “Soylent Green is people!”, but still, there’s a problem. GMOs, or Genetically Modified Organisms, are crops that have been tinkered with in a lab to make them “better.” Whether that means that they produce more crop yield or are resistant to something environmental or whatever, the term better is applied pretty loosely here. When it started, GMOs were touted as the way to end world hunger. The claim was that with the ability to “improve” crops, we’d increase crop yield, produce more food, and decrease famine and starvation.

If you’ve watched late night TV lately and seen a “Save the Children” commercial, you know that’s not the case.

Personally, I don’t feel good about the idea of GMOs for the same reason that I make my own cleaning products instead of buying chemicals – there are certain things that were not intended to exist. That’s why human scientists had to invent them. Nature (in her infinite wisdom) gave us everything that we needed to allow our species (and our predecessors) to survive for millions of years. Humans, because we are stupid and curious and can’t leave well enough alone, decided to “improve” on the nature’s design, and have (to quote Weeds), dug ourselves a hole a mile deep and foot wide, and now we’re looking back up at a pinhole. Fuck, right?

Even if you don’t agree with me and see no problem with GMOs as an unnatural blight on the earth, I think we can all agree that we have a right to know what we’re eating. Have you looked at the ingredients on the back of, say, a box of cereal lately? I’ll wager that 90% of us don’t know what a third of those things are. What the fuck is “soy lecithin?” Why am I eating it? What exactly is it bringing to the party?

What scares me is not so much that humans have created these Franken-foods, but the fact that not everyone is even aware of what GMOs are. The fact that GMOs aren’t labeled. The fact that Monsanto (the most evil corporation in the world in my mind as well as the champion of GMOs) is taking active legislative and legal steps to make damn sure we never know where or what GMOs are. It scares me that so few people are paying active attention to this. Seriously, take some time to Google Monsanto, and if you stumble upon the right blogs, you’ll find the data on the tests Monsanto did to prove that their GMO corn was safe for human consumption. For 90 days, Monsanto paid scientists fed GMO corn to lab rats. After 90 days, the rats were fine, and somehow that convinced the FDA to greenlight the production of GMO corn for human consumption (fun fact, approximately 90% of the items in your local grocery store contain corn). Scientists not being paid by Monsanto did their own trial. They fed lab rats GMO corn for 120, 150, 180 days. The rats were not fine. The rats grew gigantic tumors, tumors so large that the rats could not walk, and no longer looked like rats anymore. We are eating this stuff every single day without even knowing it.

I consider the actions of Monsanto a serious issue, and I try and make a conscious effort not to buy anything that supports them. Here’s where things get legitimately terrifying. I found a list of companies not to purchase from to avoid supporting Monsanto and GMOs in general:

Aunt Jemima

Quaker

Betty Crocker

General Mills

Bisquick

Duncan Hines

Hungry Jack

Jiffy

Ms. Butterworths

Peppridge farms

Campbells

Aurora foods

Kraft/Phillip Morris

Post cereals

Hershey’s Nestle

Carnation

Holsum

Interstate bakeries

Best foods

Knorr

Kelloggs

Nature Valley

Nabisco

Pillsbury

Heinz

Hellmans

Hunts

KC Masterpiece

Frito-lay/Pepsi

Delicious brand cookies

Famous Amos

Keebler/Flowers Industries

Banquet

Green Giant

Healthy Choice

ConAgra

Kid Cuisine

Stouffers

Lean Cuisine

Marie Callenders

Ore-ida

Smart ones

Power Bar Brand

Chef Boyardee

Hormel

Loma Linda

Morningstar

Lipton

Unilever

Uncle Ben’s

Rice-a-roni/Pasta-roni

Tombstone Pizza

Totinos

Orville Redenbacher

Pop Secret

Pringles

Proctor and Gamble

Coca Cola

Minute Made

Pepsi

Cadbury/Sweppes

Capri-Sun

Kool-Aid

Ocean Spray

V-8

Prego Pasta Sauce

Ragu Sauce

Ridiculous, right? So, what do we do?

First of all, let me just say that I know that not everyone is as passionate about or as interested in this stuff as I am. But let me also say this: human bodies were designed to eat food, not chemicals. And I’m not saying that Doritos and Oreos aren’t fucking delcious, because they are – but I find it hard to believe that those things couldn’t be made at least similar to their current status without incorporating GMOs and chemical, lab-created bullshit that doesn’t influence the taste anyway.  What I am saying is that we have a right to know what we’re eating, we have a right to be told what it is that we are putting into our bodies. Let’s just say, there’s absolutely a reason that cancer rates have risen in conjunction with the prevalence of processed foods.

We forget that as common people, we have power. You decide where to spend your money, and how. I’m not saying that you should buy organic or 100% natural or only shop at Whole Foods. We all know that that is just not economically feasible for the vast majority of Americans. But, you do have options, even if you can’t afford to spend a fortune. Always try and choose real food – that means opting for more vegetables and fruits, for fresh food rather than processed foods whenever possible. Farmers markets are incredibly affordable. Take up the practice of Meatless Mondays. If this issue or any of the satellite issues surrounding it are important, download the Buycott app. That magical app will scan the barcode of any product and tell you who made it and who owns them and who owns the company that owns them, etc. That app will help you figure out what’s really important to you, and assist you in not providing economic support to things that you’re diametrically opposed to.

We aren’t being held dietarily hostage by what’s available on the Wal-Mart shelves. By virtue of having money, we have options and we have power. And, even if you don’t, remember that in 2002, Zambia, on the verge of a legitimate famine, turned down food aid because it was GMO maize. Even the starving don’t want that crap. Fight for your right to be knowledgeable about your food.

If things stay the way they are, Soylent Green is our future. I promise you that.

(BTW, as you can tell, I’m making  a greater effort to actually put thought and research into these posts instead of just ranting. My apologies – sometimes I get a little riled up about things)