How to Avoid Foods Made with Genetically Modified Organisms [GMOs]

Here's a list of non-GMO containing foods, as well as many foods/brands which likely contain GMO, which everyone should take a look at and keep in the back of their minds when grocery shopping.

Many are well aware that Monsanto and GMO are infiltrating our food supply, but the most common question I come across is how to stay away from GMO containing products. Hopefully this helps.

Jump to This Extensive List Here

Monsanto law undermines democracy, public health

It takes away the power of U.S. courts to block the planting and sale of genetically modified seeds if evidence indicates they are harmful.


The otherwise-named Farmer Assurance Provision, which is now law, takes away the power of U.S. courts to block the planting and sale of genetically modified seeds if evidence indicates they are harmful.

It was slipped in anonymously at the last minute as part of the budget bill President Barack Obama signed to avoid a federal government shutdown.


How could such a provision, which undermines both the public health and the democratic process to serve the bottom-line interests of a major corporation, get through without broad public attention and lobbying? Why were no hearings held on it and no reviews conducted by either the agriculture or judiciary committees?

.And how could members of Congress claim not to know when, as Stewart drily noted, Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., lashed out at the provision in a Senate speech and sponsored an amendment to nullify it? An organic farmer, Tester said he had tried to find out which lawmakers put it in there, but no one would own up to it.

Of course they wouldn’t. Mother Jones magazine reports that Monsanto spent $5.9 million in lobbying last year. No politician wants to appear to have been bought.


Even in the era of the Citizens United ruling, when undue powers have been accorded corporations, we have three branches of government to protect and balance public interests. Congress and the executive branch should not be able to take power away from the judiciary at the behest of a corporation, or any other entity.

And lawmakers should not be doing a corporation’s bidding at the expense of the public health and economic well-being.

That sinister provision needs to be overridden, one way or another.

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What Every Parent Should Know About Monsanto

Keeping our children from harm in today’s chemically-saturated world is one of the great challenges of modern parenting. The more I read the news, the more I want to look for toddler-sized quarantine suits on Etsy, but the most proactive way I can protect my daughter is to keep myself educated on these issues — even if that means I get forehead wrinkles from excessive worry. In addition to the health of my child, I fear for the ecological health of the planet. Last time I checked, Earth is the only place we have to live, and what kind of future am I providing for my daughter if I am not cognizant of how my life, and the decisions of my government, effect our environment? That is why every parent should be aware of the Monsanto Protection Act and what it means for their family.

When President Obama signed the Monsanto Protection Act, many citizens were outraged by this blatant violation of the Constitution. By approving this act, Obama has allowed Monsanto to exist above the law, since genetically modified seeds are now protected from any litigation involving health risks. That is strange, right? If you were confident in your product, why would you be concerned about lawsuits involving health risks? You may wonder how this applies to you, considering you don’t buy Monsanto-Oh’s for breakfast, but essentially, you are. Monsanto’s genetically engineered corn, soy, wheat and beet crops have infiltrated our entire food system, and you could be eating their products every day and not even realizing it.

Many people, including children, have developed deadly allergies to peanuts and other food products. Imagine the trauma for a child who has to deal with their mortality every time they eat — how terrifying for the affected kids and their parents. According to PBS.org, “Some critics of GM foods feel that the possibility exists that those genetically modified food crops may unintentionally introduce a new allergen — for example, a fish gene can be put into a plant…. ” Although I am fan of sushi, I don’t really think it is necessary to cross-breed it with my strawberries — especially considering the potential adverse reaction. PBS then goes on to explain, “Another potential hazard is the possibility that bacteria in our guts could pick up antibiotic-resistant genes found in many GM foodstuffs… in principle, it could exacerbate the already worrisome spread of disease-causing bacteria that have proven able to withstand our antibiotics.”

Beyond frightening and unforeseen potential consequences to human health, there are some serious ecological effects we can’t afford to ignore.  Traditionally, farmers around the world have saved seeds in order to cultivate a variety of strands to help maintain bio-diversity, particularly heirloom varieties, some of which may have been developed hundreds of years ago or more. Monsanto requires farmers to sign contracts on their seed that cannot legally be used the next season, and therefore the farmers have to purchase new seed annually. These GMO seeds are used only in monocrop farming type operations, which are not environmentally friendly or sustainable for their own reasons even without the GMOs, pesticides, and petrochemical fertilizer. So when you drive cross-country, one-third of the time you will be staring at corn and soy fields making you wish the Children of the Corn will emerge and eat your eyeballs directly out of your sockets. Massive fields with one crop, created from one seed, become very susceptible to pests — hence the creation of pesticides. And because there is no crop-rotation to replenish fields, the pesticides often continue to build up over time.

I know organic is a bit more expensive, but that is largely because organic farmers don’t receive the subsidies that GM farmers do. It is not like organic farmers are blinged out in diamonds because of all their profit from kale. They are barely scraping by trying to compete in a marketplace dominated by agribusiness. And think of it this way — until the 1940s the whole world ate organic all the time. Because that was all there was. Of course this is a very complicated issue because millions of people are dependent on GM crops to survive, but as an individual with purchasing power, how you spend your money will dictate where the market will start to lean. Supporting local farmers and getting involved with CSA‘s (community supported agriculture) will keep your costs down.  And, of course, the more people who buy food grown without GMOs, the more companies will move in that direction.

It can be difficult to make an assessment for yourself of the personal and environmental risks of genetically engineered crops, because both the pro and con sides of the argument are very impassioned. You can find massive amounts of research pointing you in either direction, and that in and of itself should be a major warning sign. That the long-term consequences of these products are not yet understood means that we, the consumers, are essentially the test subjects of a global experiment involving our entire food system. What kind of responsible scientist uses humans as their guinea pigs? Not to throw the mice and rats under the bus, but I would much prefer we test on them for a few decades instead of using our children.

LINK

Monsanto: Six Truths and a Lie

President Obama just signed a budget bill the other day, into which Monsanto had cleverly snuck a rider. The so-called Monsanto Protection Act, allows Monsanto to continue planting, growing and selling their GMO crops while they are under court review. But to make sure we needn't worry about this last minute addition and what it might mean – after all, it looks an awful lot like corporate immunity from here – they named it the "Farmer's Assurance Act," which sounds kind of pleasant.

It's a dick move, to be sure, on the part of the biotech behemoth. But there’s no surprise there - Monsanto plays the part of Evil Corporate Overlord so perfectly that if you search for “Monsanto”, Google helpfully suggests “evil”.

But where did this reputation come from? What evil things has Monsanto actually done?

Well, Grasshopper, the better question is what evil has Monsantonot done. See if you can guess which one from this list Monsanto didn’t do.

1. Still Insisting Agent Orange is A-OK

Agent Orange was a dangerous herbicide sprayed by the U.S. Military during the Vietnam War (12 million gallons). Children and veterans who had Agent Orange dumped upon them have suffered a huge list of health problems including severe deformation, extra fingers and toes, mental retardation, leukemia, and Hodgkin's Disease. Here are some pictures that will make you cry.

But Monsanto’s not convinced. Company spokesperson Jill Montgomery said the company should not be liable for injuries or deaths caused by Agent Orange. Even today Monsanto accepts no responsibility and refers only obliquely to “alleged consequences.” Those who think their liver cancer or extra fingers are Agent Orange-related may want to try readjusting their “beliefs.” Perhaps “walking it off” might do the trick. If you have any legs.

2. Monsanto Worker/Government Worker Mix 'N Match

Many former Monsanto employers see nothing untoward in taking jobs in the EPA or FDA, the very agencies that regulate Monsanto. Linda J. Fisher jumped freely between high-level jobs at the EPA, then Monsanto, then back to the EPA. William D. Ruckelshaus, former EPA administrator, and Mickey Kantor, former U.S. trade representative, each served on Monsanto’s board after leaving government.  And Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, and former Monsanto attorney, wrote the majority opinion in a 2001 Supreme Court decision that gave the ok to patenting newly developed plant breeds. In subsequent biotech cases, Thomas saw no need to recuse himself, even those involving his former boss. Conflict of interest is for pussies.

3. Being A—holes about Seeds

Behold Monsanto's genius idea of patenting seeds, then forbidding farmers from saving or replanting the seeds for the next year. So what if it undoes millennia of time-tested agricultural practices and creates monocultures of dubiously safe plants? It's all good because this way farmers have to buy their weed-killer Roundup and a new batch of GMO Roundup-resistant seeds every year. And if seeds go rogue and contaminate other crops via genetic mutations and/or an errant wind, that's good too. Just sue the farmer - or you know, whoever - for patent violations. Right now, Monsanto is tying up the Supreme Court (including Justice Thomas who—surprise! - did not recuse himself) with a suit against a 75 year old farmer for the heinous crime of seed replanting.

4. Fighting the Consumers' Right to Know What We're Eating

Monsanto spent $8.1 million to fight Proposition 37 in California, a proposition that merely required GMO-containing products to be labeled. Not a judgey label with skulls all over it--just a neutral informative label stating that the product contained GMOs. Monsanto felt so strongly that consumers should be shielded from this knowledge that they fought like a wet cat against it, hiring a PR firm to create a misleading study predicting outrageous price increases, illegally using the FDA logo on mailings, making up an FDA quote, and ominously claiming that consumers' “broad food choices” could be “denied.” How that last one works, Monsanto never said, but it sure sounds bad.

5. False advertising

New York's Attorney General ordered Monsanto to stop running ads that claimed weed killer Roundup was “safer than table salt” and “practically nontoxic” to wildlife.  But, despite those reassurances, if you do have a choice in condiments, go for the table salt, unless the zesty spice of Roundup is worth side effects like birth defects and hormone disruption. And lest you were planning feeding your cat a big bowl of Roundup, please note that “practically” nontoxic doesn't necessary mean the same thing as actually nontoxic. (That’s why no one ever puts that they are “practically non-murderous” in online dating profiles.)

6. Various and Sundry Evil Deeds

These include—yawn -Monsanto's day-to-day evil such as violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, involvement with 41 active or archived US Superfund sites, producing now-banned toxic chemicals PCBs and DDT, developing terminator seeds that create sterile plants, using child labor and whatnot.

7. Monsanto, though the glories of GMOs, makes good on pledge to end world hunger

Which one do you think we made up? Go on, have a guess…

LINK

A COLD Spring Break in PCB and a Wonderful Easter

We've been having big fun, as usual.  Dom looks and feels great.  Our dear friend Chris had never been to our condo, so we kidnapped him for 6 nights and hit the road.

Headed to Panama City Beach for the Crimson Tide Spring Break Week.  I got ONE day on the beach, then it got too cold.

Much to the boys' delight, the college gals were still running around in bikinis.

We made the normal circuit.  Had a blast. Came home on Good Friday.

Another dear friend, Dennis, bought a beautiful home and alot of property just 15 miles from us.  He and his son, Rene, stopped by for a visit on Sat.

I've known Rene his entire life.  Was at his mamma's baby shower!  Now the kid is getting ready to enter law school.  How time flies!  (He fell in love with my Barnabas and his thumbs!)

 Easter Sunday was very pleasant.  Normally, I make creamed hard boiled eggs and asparagus served over English Muffins for Brunch.

This year, I tried something new.  WOW!  This will be our new yearly brunch!


Creamy Baked Eggs with Asparagus and Pecorino

Butter for ramekins
6 thin asparagus spears, ends trimmed
4 large eggs
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup lightly packed shredded pecorino
Pinch of sea salt or kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper

1. Preheat oven to 275°. Lightly butter two 4-oz. (1/2-cup) ramekins or ovenproof bowls and set in a baking pan just big enough to hold ramekins.

2. Slice asparagus thinly on the diagonal. Bring a small pot of water to a boil. Add asparagus; cook until just tender-crisp, 1 to 2 minutes, and scoop out into a colander. Keep water boiling, covered.

3. In a bowl, beat eggs with milk until smooth. Stir in cheese and salt. Divide mixture between prepared ramekins. Top each with half the asparagus and sprinkle with pepper.

4. Set ramekins in baking pan and put in oven. With oven door open, carefully pour hot water into baking pan up to the level of the eggs in ramekins. Bake until eggs are set in centers (touch to test), about 45 minutes. To remove ramekins, carefully pull oven rack out partway; lift ramekins from pan with tongs and set aside. Push rack with pan back into the oven to cool. Serve eggs immediately.

Dinner was a great success.  I picked up a 6 1/2 pound Leg of Lamb, stuffed it with loads of garlic, topped it with lemon juice, rosemary and cracked black pepper.

I roasted it on a "rack" of lemon halves.

The lamb was delicious, and the gravy was outstanding.

Served this with something new this year:

Crash Hot Potatoes


Ingredients

12 small yellow potatoes
Kosher salt
3 tablespoons olive oil
Fresh ground black pepper

Directions

In a medium saucepan over medium heat, boil the potatoes in lightly salted water until fork-tender, about 12 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 475F.

Place the potatoes on a baking sheet. Using a potato masher, gently press down to mash each one. The tops of the potatoes should be really textured. Drizzle the tops of the potatoes with the olive oil. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Bake until golden brown and crisp, about 15 minutes. These are absolutely irresistible!

Variations:

Place 1/4 pat of butter on top of each smashed potato before baking.

Top each smashed potato with grated Cheddar before baking.

These were YUMMY.

Finished up the dinner with Spinach Souffle (Stouffer's), and had planned on Pecorino/Butter stuffed and baked Vidalia Onions, but forgot them.

I hope that everyone had a pleasant Easter!