AVOID PROCESSED FOODS
Avoiding processed foods is one of the best ways to ensure that you will not eat GMOs. In America today at least 90 percent of all processed foods contain one or more GMO ingredient. We are completely unaware of this fact because there are NO laws requiring manufacturers to label a food as a GMO. For this reason it is very important to read the ingredient list when buying processed and packaged foods.
Best of luck to you if you are trying to find a packaged food in America without corn, soy, canola, or sugar. It is currently believed that 91 percent of soy crops are GMO, 88 percent of canola crops are GMO, 85 percent of corn crops are GMO, and at least 90 percent of sugar beets are GMO. See www.responsibletechnology.org
Unless the sugar is listed as cane sugar, it is almost certain that you are eating a GMO.
Be aware that GMO ingredients have aliases and they may be difficult to spot. Some hidden GMO ingredients include; aspartame, baking soda, caramel color, corn flour, corn sugar, corn syrup, dextrose, fructose, protein, lecithin, malt, maltodextrin, sorbitol, sugar, soy sauce, soy lecithin, vitamin E, vitamin B12, and xanthum gum. I challenge all of you to find a processed food on the market without at least one of those ingredients. Please go to www.NonGMOShoppingGuide.com for a complete list of hidden GMO ingredients and other tips for avoiding GMOs.
BUY ORGANIC
The USDA has a rule forbidding the use of GMOs in organic food products. So, if you are buying organic, you are avoiding GMOs. It is important to note there is a risk that the GMO crops have cross-pollinated with some of the Non GMO crops. But, at this point there is nothing we can do about the potential risk of cross-pollination until GMO crops are no longer planted.
Always buy organic meat. Animals raised at non organic factory farms are given GMO feed. If GMOs are making us sick, they are making the animals sick too. If you are going to eat animal protein, it should be from animals that were healthy. In addition, when buying dairy please remember that the statement "made from cows not treated with rbGH or rbST" does not mean that the cows were not fed GMO corn and soy. The dairy must be labeled organic to ensure that the cows were not fed GMOs. Farmers producing organic dairy and raising animals for organic meat are not permitted to use GMO feed.
LOOK FOR THE NON GMO PROJECT LABEL
If you want to be absolutely certain that your food does not contain GMOs, look for this label. The Non-GMO Project is a non profit organization that is dedicated to ensuring that foods are clearly labeled and are also independently verified as not containing GMOs. The Non-GMO project seal is the best way to ensure that your food does not contain any GMOs.
You may see other Non-GMO labels, but, I do not recommend taking those labels at face value. They are not regulated and different manufacturers use assorted testing methods and have varying thresholds as to what qualifies as Non-GMO.For instance, one manufacturer can decide that if the product contains less than .1 percent GMO then it can have their Non-GMO label, where as another manufacturer can decide that anything less than 2 percent GMO can be labeled Non-GMO.
My approach with everything is to implement changes into your life slowly so that the changes stick and you do not overwhelm yourself. If the prospect of completely eliminating GMOs from your diet right now feels too overwhelming, take a step back and evaluate what smaller steps you can take to begin replacing GMOs with non GMO foods. For a start, try replacing your Tostito corn chips with an organic or NON GMO Project brand of tortilla chips. Eliminating GMOs from your diet is possible, one change at a time.
