Lately I've been hearing more and more about Monsanto, the evil chemical corporation that is genetically engineering most of our foods these days. And I didn't just toss the word "evil" in there as a matter of opinion. Google the words "Monsanto evil" for yourself and you'll see a never-ending plethora of results that lead to pages outlining the terrifying things Monsanto has done - like suing poor farmers for their entire life's savings, or worse, knowingly feeding uranium to pregnant women.
Monsanto has been in the news a multitude of times lately, especially after the recent bill passed (that the President signed into law) making it so that even if Monsanto's GMO products are shown to cause harmful effects on humans, the government can't stop them from feeding them to the people. That's right. Even if the government tells them it is now against the law to manufacture their chemically altered seeds, they can keep doing it anyway, and continue selling the resulting altered foods in stores to unknowing buyers.
It seems like the easy way around this would be to simply stop buying products that contained GMO foods. For those who don't know what a GMO food is, basically, Monsanto has engineered seeds that have their own form of pesticide contained within, and are resistant to chemicals like Round-up. (Yes, Round-up, the dangerous chemical that - surprise, surprise - Monsanto also manufactures.) Here is the problem. Regardless of multiple petitions against Monsanto and towards the FDA, the government refuses to require foods to be labeled as containing GMO's. You are eating them everyday, and you just don't know it. Ever stop and wonder why the foods don't taste as good as they used to, or why mysterious health problems (such as being unable to absorb iodine) pop up more and more? It's the GMO's.
"But wait!", you might say, "Isn't the food obviously safe since they are feeding it to humans? I mean, it's been tested for long-term effects, right?" Here's the kicker: You are the test. You are the unwilling experimental guinea pig being fed foods that have been chemically altered. These foods don't taste better. They don't provide more nutritional benefit. They certainly can't be promoting good health. The perk is that they literally make Monsanto money. Because the seeds and plants are resistant to Round-up, farmers can easily spray loads of Round-up (which Monsanto makes, remember) onto the plants. The plants live, the weeds and bugs around them die. Easy for the farmer, double money for Monsanto. And when I say double money I really mean more like a never-ending cascade of money for Monsanto. This is because they have also conveniently patented their seeds - yes, that's right! They took it upon themselves to patent the very source of all life, seeds!!! This means farmers are not allowed to save seeds as they usually would. They have to go to Monsanto every single year to buy more seeds for the next planting. That doesn't mean that nature won't blow the seeds into nearby farms, and guess what? Any farms that have been found by Monsanto to have any of their special seeds but didn't sign the contract to grow them have been sued into bankruptcy. They don't care that Mother Nature is the one that made the planting. To them, all's fair when it comes to getting their money.
Still, they must have some sort of platform to stand upon, right? I mean, it's not like anyone is doing anything about it. I think if it was a big deal, someone would do something about it. Well, it is a big deal, and lots of people are doing things about it, but it just doesn't matter. Media journalists that have reported the truth about it in mainstream media have been fired and even sued for speaking the truth. The government and Monsanto seem to be great friends, so we can find no help from that quarter. The farmers who speak out against Monsanto and the troubles that they've found are quickly silenced by lawsuits and ridden straight into bankruptcy. Meanwhile, Monsanto only stands to gain more money.
So how can we stop them? By speaking out. By placing petitions on Whitehouse.org. By telling our friends, family and neighbors. By doing our own research online and then writing the companies that produce our food to let them know that we want our food labeled as GMO, or even better, we want them to stop using GMO's.
As for this family, we're doing our small part to save ourselves from the dangers we feel are lurking in the near future. We've switched to organic foods, and with some help we hope that we will be able to stick with it. Yes, it is a little more expensive. But it will also help us with things like portion control and adding more vegetables and fruits (which are typically cheaper) into our diets. Have you ever been to a farmer's market? The foods there are traditionally organic, and they are often cheaper or just as expensive as the local grocery. I'm thinking of starting a separate blog dedicated specifically to finding out which companies provide non-GMO options and encouraging more companies to switch back to non-GMO foods if they really refuse to label. Until the FDA requires labeling on all GMO foods, the best we can do is seek out the companies that take pride in labeling their foods as a non-GMO. The funny thing is - you don't see companies willingly labeling their foods as containing GMO's, and with good reason. They know it's not appealing to us as consumers, and they know we aren't thrilled about putting chemicals into our bodies.
So next time you're at the grocery store, really think about everything you are putting in your cart. Every time you see something without the words "non-GMO" on it, you have to assume it contains GMO's. Do you really want your family eating something that is immune to pesticide?
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