Genetically Modified Us?

We are now facing the greatest health challenge in history. How did GMOs become so entrenched, in our lives, that every trip to the grocery store is now fraught with the unease of a walk down a dark alley? Everything is under suspicion now, not just food. Oh My! We are entitled to know what is and is not in the foods we eat. Food keeps us alive! 

We think of organics as the panacea to the dilemma of GMOs. Maybe. Hopefully. They are not easily accessible, at affordable prices, however, creating the have/have not world of healthy eaters and everyone else, not envisioned by us. We exist because of the food we eat. There is no escaping that basic fact. Few of us have access to this gold standard of food: organics. Does buying locally, guarantee our food is O.K.? I hope so. I simply do not know. Oh My!! Recently, strange looking interiors in both a tomato and several potatoes I was cutting, had me thinking “What is this? What is going on?”. (My husband refused to ever eat tomatoes again, though I cautioned him not over-react, just now.)  His reluctance to eat tomatoes, had me wondering, “Were the tomatoes reacting to something, not a part of their 'upbringing?" We had never seen such a sight! These unusual things, inside the first tomato, were grotesque squiggly things, never seen, by me, in over 40 years of eating, cooking, and preparing raw tomatoes, making BLTs, sauces, stews and mashed potatoes, galore. Oh, my! "Where were we headed?", I wondered with trepidation.

We are what we eat, as the saying goes, so it would seem to me that we are slowly becoming genetically modified, too. While shopping for additive-free wild caught seafood, recently, I was told by a 'helpful' store employee, who grows her own food, that strawberry DNA have been spliced with salmon DNA to produce a more resilient berry that can grow in cold temperatures. Was she misinformed? The thought was preposterous! She pointed to the produce aisle, in a sweeping gesture with her hand, indicating the world of GMO. I was suddenly nauseated. I thought we still had time to re-think this GMO strategy. 

Sixty countries have banned GMOs. Is it too late for us to follow suit? I wonder at the secrecy waiting for us in the grocery store. Is the music that is being played simply a divergent tactic to distract us from the 'food' we are putting into our grocery carts? Are the brightly coloured boxes and packages a ploy to entice us into a world of 'fun' eating where paying too much for 'foods' laden with sugars, starches, HFCS and other foreign ingredients, formulated in the chemistry lab, is simply good business? Is the motive for all this, profit driven? Must be. ... While watching an episode of the hit comedy show,“Just For Laughs”, Ron White, the American comedian, spoke of the wisdom in remaining behind when a tornado is predicted, with its destructive, high velocity winds. “It's not that the winds are blowing but what the winds are blowing.”  In the case of agriculture, what happens if GMO seeds, plants and their accompanying entourage of leaves and blossoms become airborne next to a certified organic farm? Contamination is the biggest threat to the healthy food being grown, in the next county, town, region, province or state! But are the efforts of those 'certified' farms being sabotaged, in other ways, too? 

The Suzuki Foundation questions GMO in our food supply. The growing body of research raises questions and more questions about this sinister game being played with our health, with its longterm “unintended consequences”. In 1992, other regulatory bodies - the FDA in the U.S. and the Royal Society of Canada - raised concerns about GMOs hidden “toxins, allergens or substances inhibiting assimilation of nutrients”. That was a quarter of a century ago! We are now presented with an obesity epidemic, widespread gluten and lactose intolerance, even cancer. Twenty-four years later, does scientific data mean anything to those in power? Is anyone listening? ... It would seem from my vantage point that there are serious conflicts of interest within government and governmental agencies and serious errors in judgment. The people we voted into power are not doing their duty: to always protect the public's interest. Why do we accept such a lackluster attitude from these politicians? Who are we entrusting with our lives as we go shopping for food or anything else, for that matter? What does healthy eating really mean, anymore? 

It's a monumental challenge to do what is right, agriculturally, in today's GMO world. If pressure is being brought to bear for the farmer to change his methods but he refuses, then what? Planting seeds is not a simple act, today. Where do the seeds originate? We need heritage ones, now. What hope do our children and future unborn generations have if we stand by and do nothing? Is greed behind the inability to act expeditiously? Profit can be such an evil thing. 

Hybrid plants, unlike genetic engineering, is a simple tinkering slow process with Mother Nature, in charge, involving two parent plants, with the help of farmers, novice gardeners and the all-powerful honey bees, Mother Nature's 'natural' scientific pollinators, the major shareholders in this game called agriculture. A new, hardier generation of plant offspring result. Agriculture is guided by the dedicated farmers, gardeners, Mother Nature and her workaholic bees, these 'master manipulators' of the outdoors. But the bees are struggling to stay alive. Why? Are modern-age pesticides and insecticides giving rise to their demise? Are the bees being ambushed?

TheMomsey is not easily deceived and she is not a scientist. Recently, I found 'farm raised' and 'responsibly farm raised' seafood, while 'sight seeing' in the frozen seafood aisle, of the grocery store. What is the difference and what is the inference here? Is a babysitter involved with the second variation? It's a scary picture when we practice to deceive. 

GMOs are here. Does their sinister presence, in our food supply, make guinea pigs of us all, with every morsel? Remember, we are what we eat! Are we slowly becoming genetically engineered, too? What about our growing children and all future generations of man? Rachael Parent, a 15-year-old Canadian girl is shedding serious light on this global GMO issue, with GMO labeling, a right. Listen to her. Support her. Sign her petition. ... Gwyneth Paltrow, an A-list celebrity, is also fighting to bring sanity back, to the kitchen, with GMO labeling, a human right. We must not get distracted by her wealth, power and connections in shedding light on labeling GMO food. Let us get signing and do our part. We all have a right to know “what's cookin.''

Next: What scientists are saying.