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Whole Foods Market executives emailed suppliers last Friday to announce that the company will delay the rollout of its GMO Labeling Policy. The company’s comprehensive labeling policy was slated for September 1st. They have not announced a new timeline for the policy.
In a copy of the announcement obtained by The New Food Economy, Gallo and two vice presidents write that the pause is a response to suppliers’ concerns about having to comply with two competing sets of rules: Whole Foods’ own GMO labeling requirements, and rules newly proposed by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), which are currently open for public comment.”
The confusion is understandable. As currently proposed, the USDA policy would make several substantive changes to the way GMOs have traditionally been defined by the food industry—starting with the terminology itself. The government’s preferred nomenclature is “bioengineered” (BE), which only refers to a food that has had another organism’s genes spliced into it by a process called transgenesis. Other types of genetic modification, including some produced by gene-editing tools like CRISPR, would not need to be labeled. – New Food Economy
Whole Foods previously announced that it soon would require food suppliers to “label products that contain genetically modified (GMO) risk ingredients and were not third-party verified as non-GMO or organic.”
Whole Foods stated in a separate memo that all suppliers still must acquire third-party verification by a Whole Foods-approved program for any “non-GMO” claims on the food labels.
Study Links Restaurant Food To Higher Levels of Plastic-Based Chemicals In Blood
Some reports indicate that Americans eat more and more of their meals at restaurants. Other reports say restaurant eating is on the decline. Most reports say that millennials are eating out more and that they don’t know how to cook. We’re not sure where the truth lies, but we’re pretty sure it’s not normal for twenty-year-olds to be cooking most of their own meals. And, more importantly, young consumers are growing more concerned with finding healthier food choices, whether they are eating out or not.
On that note, the single most important thing you can do for your health is to prepare your own food from scratch. Now, a new study published in the journal Environment International states that Americans’ are getting more than they bargained for when they eat out. Eating out restaurants frequently is correlated with higher body levels of phthalates.
Phthalates are not food additives; at least, they’re not intentional. Phthalates are chemicals that are mixed with plastics to make them more pliable or flexible. They are also linked to reduced semen quality, diabetes, lower IQ, cancer, and more. The chemicals can leach into food as they are stored in restaurant-style plastic containers, handled with food-handling gloves, and processed through plastic processing equipment.
George Washington University, UC-Berkeley, and UC-San Francisco analyzed urine sample data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, which is a government-backed health survey that is performed every two years. Data from more than 10,000 Americans (between 2005 and 2014) included urine analysis along with what they ate the day before and where they got the meal. Approximately two-thirds of the respondents reported having eaten restaurant food the prior day.
We found that people who eat out more at full-service restaurants, cafeterias, and fast-food restaurants have nearly 35 percent higher phthalate exposures than people who bought their food from a grocery store, and are presumably eating at home,” – Ami Zota, senior author on the study, Mother Jones
The reports also states that people who ate restaurant-made meat sandwiches (including hamburgers) saw increased phthalate levels higher than that of people who ate homemade meat sandwiches. Fast food consumption showed a big increase in phthalate exposure.
Our findings suggest that eating fresh, less processed foods at home can potentially reduce biologically-relevant phthalate levels in your body, and that’s something you could do tomorrow,” – Julia Varshavsky, lead author on the study
Phthalates last in the body for about a day, so the good news is that it’s not too hard to detoxify oneself of most of them by not eating out, but it begs the question, what other plastic and chemical contaminants are we getting from restaurant foods? Not to mention rancid industrial cooking oils, GMOs, and extreme cooking temperatures that cause Advanced Glycation End Products.
How to Avoid GMOs – And Everything Else You Should Know About Genetic Engineering
It’s slowly getting harder and harder to avoid genetically modified foods, but it’s still not that hard, especially if you do your own cooking. As of 2018, GMOs remain unlabeled in the US despite mounting consumer desire to know what exactly we are eating and drinking. Some companies have begun a voluntarily labeling process, but the protocols tend to leave much to be desired. Now we have gene editing capabilities using “CRISPR technology.” We now live in a time when practically anyone can manipulate the genes of practically any living organism.
While science has taken GMOs to whole new levels, the original intent was largely to create vegetation which would be naturally pest-resistant. Prior to the development of GMOs, chemical pesticides were much in the news. Scientists strove to find a way to keep crops free from pests without the need to spray carcinogenic pesticides often, but then GMOs came under attack as being harmful as well. Along the way, GMOs evolved as science found other benefits from modifying the underlying plant in question. Bigger, larger crops were possible which, in turn, was supposed to be a financial boon.
Most of the United States largest trade partners have boycotted GM crops from the U.S, including China, Japan, and much of Europe. Sixty-four countries have enacted GMO labeling requirements. Thirty-eight countries, including 19 in Europe, prohibit GMO cultivation.
Genetically modified organisms are created by combining genes from one species into the DNA of a food crop or animal to produce a new trait. Because living organisms have natural barriers to protect themselves against the introduction of DNA from a different species, genetic engineers must force the DNA from one organism into another. Their methods include: Using viruses or bacteria to “infect” animal or plant cells with the new DNA. Coating DNA onto tiny metal pellets and firing it with a special gun into the cells. Injecting the new DNA into fertilized eggs with a very fine needle. Using electric shocks to create holes in the membrane covering sperm and forcing the new DNA into the sperm through these holes. Why is this done, you might ask? By inserting certain bacterial genes into crop seeds it allows farmers to spray otherwise deadly doses of weed-killer directly on the crop without killing it. Other seeds are inserted with soil bacterium Bacillus Thuringiensis (Bt) to produce an insect-killing pesticide within every cell of the plant.” – Vessles That Thrive
Heirloom plants have been grown and saved by generations of gardeners because of specific traits.
Hybridization is when two different varieties of a plant cross-pollinate.
Genetic engineering is the direct manipulation of an organism’s DNA using any number of methods.
GMO is the genetic modification of organisms. It’s been around for a while and uses imprecise methods of genetic engineering.
Gene editing is now a more precise method of genetic engineering which hopes to avoid any bad associations with GMO. CRISPR is one such technique.
If you are anti-GMO, you’ve heard the argument, “All of our food has been genetically modified for years,” too many times. It’s true but the argument is irrelevant and flippant. Let’s clear up the differences between how genes evolve, how genes are manipulated over time, and how we modify the genes.
Heirlooms
The way fruits and vegetables have been grown and propagated for thousands of years is that the seeds get saved from plants with favorable characteristics, like color, shape, size, and flavor. Besides picking seed selection, which favors certain traits, the plant’s genetics are not manipulated. Today we call these plants “heirlooms.” Since these seeds can be harvested and planted year after year, a farmer does not have to purchase the seeds again.
There are downsides to heirlooms. They tend to have a relatively small gene pool. They often lack disease resistance. These reasons are why we discovered and started utilizing hybridization.
Hybrids
Hybrid plants happen in nature when two different varieties of a plant cross-pollinate, and we can do this with many plants fairly easily. Seed companies will cross two specific varieties of plants in an effort to produce a plant that has the best traits of both parent plants.
Hybrids enable more people to grow more food in a variety of climates while decreasing pesticide usage and increasing crop yields, and other desirable traits. The one major downfall of hybrids is that the seeds do not generally result in plants that are identical to the parent, and the seeds are often sterile, so the seeds are typically not saved.
Genetically Modified Foods – GMOs
GMOs are created in laboratories. These plants are the result of specific, manual genetic engineering, done by artificial means. GMO stands for “genetically modified organism.” This process alters the plant’s DNA in a way that cannot occur in nature. Genetic modification usually includes the insertion of genes from other species.
Gene Editing
CRISPR-Cas9 is a new technology that enables geneticists to remove, add, or alter sections of the DNA sequence by introducing molecules into the DNA that can cut the DNA at a specific location in the genome so that bits of DNA can then be added or removed. This method of genetic editing has many advantages over genetic engineering. It is currently the simplest, easiest, most versatile, and most precise method of genetic manipulation available, and the technology continues to get more reliable. The method doesn’t introduce foreign genes to the crop. It’s also relatively cost-effective, so not only are more scientists are gaining access to the technology (compared to GMO), but there are even do-it-yourself CRISPR genome editing kits for the home hobbyist.
GMO News
Scientists have found that insects have become resistant to the resistant GMOs, just as many viruses and bacteria have become resistant to the medications once used to treat infected individuals. GM corn, in particular, is designed to stop caterpillars from eating the corn, and caterpillars have evolved to withstand the technology. Now GM corn is being sprayed with more and more pesticides to combat the ever-evolving pests.
There’s a new kind of GM corn that may be coming soon. Researchers have discovered a way to add a single E. coli gene to corn that enables the corn to be grown with an essential amino acid otherwise that is only found in meat.
DvSnf7 dsRNA is an unusual insecticide. You don’t spray it on crops. Instead, you encode instructions for manufacturing it in the DNA of the crop itself. If a pesky western corn rootworm comes munching, the plant’s self-made DvSnf7 dsRNA disrupts a critical rootworm gene and kills the pest.
The USDA released a proposed rule outlining the ways in which it may implement the mandatory labeling law for GMOs, called the National Bioengineered Food Disclosure Standard (NBFDS). It was passed by the US Congress and signed into law back in the summer of 2016 by Barack Obama. This is still a proposed rule and public comments are accepted until July 3, 2018.
Food manufacturers have been fighting expensive battles against GMO for years. The concern is that they would deter customers, giving an advantage to organic food producers (organic food is not allowed to be genetically modified).
Forgoing the stigmatized terms “G.M.O.’’ and “genetically engineered,” new guidelines propose labels that would say “bioengineered” or “BE.” Food manufacturers would be able to choose one of three disclosure methods:
Spelling out the information, like “contains a bioengineered food ingredient”
Place a QR code on a package that directs consumers to a website with more information
Label with a standard icon, like one of these:
GMO labeling advocates are concerned with the friendly, “smiley” nature of the images.
Will GMO Labels Include All Genetically Modified Foods?
New gene-editing technologies let scientists tweak the DNA of plants and animals with great speed and precision, often by deleting a snippet of genetic information, or by inserting a desirable trait from one breed into another of the same species. Crops that contain such changes, which could theoretically be achieved through conventional breeding, or occur through a natural mutation, are excluded from the proposed labels.
The labels may also exempt highly refined sugars and oils, like those made from genetically modified sugar beets and corn, which typically contain no genetic material after being processed. Consumer groups oppose that move, which could significantly curtail the number of foods that carry the label, saying that it’s not just what we ingest that matters but how food is produced. Foods whose primary ingredient is non-G.M.O. meat, like beef stew, also don’t have to be labeled, even if they contain other genetically engineered ingredients.
Vitamin C derived from GM corn, vitamin E derived from soy, and vitamin B2 and B12 derived from GM yeast would also be exempt, and so would CRISPR genome edited foods and Monsanto’s new genetically engineered RNA interference foods as well.
The analysis 6,006 peer-reviewed studies covering two decades of data found that GM corn increased yields up to 25% and dramatically decreased dangerous food toxins.
While 6,000 is a big number, only 72 studies were used in the review, and only 32 of the studies were deemed acceptable for the analysis of increased crop yields.
The first step of the selection procedure yielded 6,006 publications. Te subsequent refinement, by adopting the stringent criteria above described, gave 32, 5, 32 and 10 eligible publications, covering, respectively, the following categories: grain yield and quality, TOs, NTOs (non-target organisms), and biogeochemical cycles (e.g. lignin content in stalks and leaves, stalk mass loss and biomass loss, CO2 emission).
Also, it’s important to note that this is a review of many other studies over a 21 year period, not a 21 year study. The individual studies that were accepted into the analysis were comparatively short.
The reality is that GMOs, like pesticides, will increase crop yields for a period of time, but the increase is followed by an eventual and inevitable decrease in yields. Pesticides do their job until pests evolve, and the same is true of GMOs. The only way to keep crop yields high would be to develop GMOs at such a high rate that there would be no time for any reasonable testing, though many argue the tests that are done on GM food now are not adequate. With how easy and inexpensive CRISPR technology is to use, this may be how big agriculture will try to keep up with pest evolution.
From the same study:
Despite the high effectiveness of IR crops, the evolution of resistance in pests and a consequent reduction of
the GE crop efectiveness can not be excluded. Actually, resistance and cross-resistance to Bt maize were recently
detected in Spodoptera frugiperda (J.E. Smith) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) in Puerto Rico, Busseola fusca (Fuller)
(Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) in South Africa and in the Coleoptera D. virgifera in Iowa.
From another paper published in Oxford Research:
Repeated use of a single pesticide over time leads to the development of resistance in populations of the target species. The extensive use of a limited number of pesticides facilitated by GM crops does accelerate the evolution of resistant pest populations (Bawa & Anilakumar, 2013). Resistance evolution is a function of selection pressure from use of the pesticide and as such it is not directly a function of GM HT crops for example, but GM HT crops have accelerated the development of glyphosate resistant weeds because they have promoted a tremendous increase in the use of glyphosate (Owen, 2009).” – Pros and Cons of GMO Crop Farming
There have been some long-term studies of GMOs on animals, but these studies only compare animals in factory farming conditions where their health is already poor compared to free range livestock. Long-term GMO studies generally mean the study looks at a few years, which does not yield adequate time to see the differences in which of the unhealthy groups of animals are less healthy.
Initially, the goal of GM crops was to reduce crop loss from pests and reduce toxic pesticide and herbicide usage. Washington State University researcher Charles Benbrook demonstrated that the net effect of GMOs in the United States has caused a rise in the use of toxic chemical inputs. As the pests adapt to GMOs, more and more pesticides are needed to maintain crop yields.
Humans are the true long-term study participants, and many argue that it’s not looking good for GMOs. Autism rates are skyrocketing, as well as food allergies and other health issues, but the problem is that this can be (and should be) attributed to a wide variety of accumulated toxins, from the air we breathe to the water we drink as well as the medicines we take and inject ourselves with.
But none of this addresses the real problem with GMO studies. The real problem is that are agriculture system is all wrong in a multitude of ways. Good health is not profitable to U.S. industry with the way we have things set up now. Food is grown for high yields, uniform appearance, and shelf-life, not health.
We don’t need a study that compares the benefits of GM soybeans to non-GM soybeans. There may be little difference between GMO corn and conventionally grown corn, and there may even be little difference between GM corn and large-scale “organic” corn, especially considering how organic rules continue to be eroded by agriculture lobbyists.
We need small-scale farming that includes crop rotation and other sustainable practices, and we need to research and see which of these beneficial practices can be scaled up and how.
Current GM Crops
The most prevalent of GM crops grown today are sugar beets, soy, canola, cotton, and corn. In the United States, 93 percent of soybeans and 88 percent of corn is genetically modified, but only a few GM whole foods are available in the produce section, for now. At this time, look out for sweet corn, squash, alfalfa, and the latest addition, Arctic apples. GM potatoes are coming soon. AquAdvantage salmon has been sold in Canada and is coming to the U.S. any time now. Plenty more are on the way.
I’ve color coded the crops. Red means they are prevalent, and one must be vigilant to avoid them. Orange means they are not very common and easily avoidable. Black means that they are not available for consumption at this time. Click each one for more information.
Yeast – This is approved in the United States for making wine and is used for making vitamins and other things.
Genetically Modified Microbes – Yeast, Enzymes, and Bacteria
When thinking of genetically modified organisms, usually the plants and animals come to mind. Genetic modification of plants and animals are used to enhance taste, shelf life, nutrition and crop losses from pests and disease.
The very first GMO created was done in the 1970s, and it was bacteria, specifically, E. coli. Researchers created GM bacteria that produced human proteins like as insulin and blood clotting factors. A wide variety of drugs, hormones, and other medical products are created with the use of genetically modified microbes.
Genetically modified enzymes are used to make cheese, bread, alcohols, sugars, and more. Food additives are also made by GM microbes, including, but not limited to vitamin E, B2, B12, C, amino acids (aspartame), xanthan, and nisin (a food preservative). These items typically do not contain any GMO material in the final product.
Since the 1980s, GM bacteria have even been purposefully released into the environment, after approval by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). In 1985, researchers took bacteria that normally encourage ice formation on plants, and got rid of a gene that they needed to do this. Consequently, plants with the modified bacteria don’t form frost until around 23°F, saving the plants from damages brought upon by an early frost, or unusually cold weather. Soon after that, researchers made and released bacteria that were even better at nitrogen-fixation to help legume plants (like beans, lentils, peanuts, soy, and more). Bacteria have even been made to clean up the environment – some have been modified to break down a compound related to TNT. Ongoing work is being done to see how long the bacteria persist in the soil (often they’re undetectable after a few weeks or a year, but sometimes they persist for more than two years based on some studies) to address any complications from releasing them, such as interactions with the “normal” bacteria and other organisms.” – Biology Bytes
Genetically modified yeast is used in making wine, and researchers have recently developed a genetically modified yeast that mimics the flavors of hops for beer production.
Genetically Modified Tomatoes
The FLAVR SAVR tomato was the first commercialized GM crop. It was first sold in 1994. It was only available for a few years before production ended in 1997. There are no GM tomatoes in production at this time. There was a disease-resistant GM tomato that designed to eliminate the need for copper pesticides, but researchers were unable to find a partner to commercialize the technology thanks to public fears.
Genetically Modified Squash
Zucchini and yellow summer squash became commercially available in the late-’90s and is grown on an estimated 24,000 acres today. Genetically modified zucchini has an added toxic protein that makes it more resistant to insects. The protein has recently been found in our blood, including pregnant women and their fetuses. To avoid GM squash, always buy organic when buying yellow summer squash or zucchini. Other varieties are not GMO.
Genetically Modified Flax
Canada’s flax crop has been contaminated with trace amounts of a GMO flax, known as Triffid, named after the 1960s horror flick that starred a villainous breed of carnivorous plants. This is proving to be a big problem for Canada’s flax market since Europe has banned further imports of flaxseed from Canada. The contamination is likely to slowly spread. If your flax doesn’t come from Canada you should be safe from the GMO version, but buying organic from a reputable source is the safest option.
Genetically Modified Soybeans
Known as the Roundup Ready soybean, the seed was first introduced in 1996 by Monsanto to make soy crops resistant to Roundup so that farmers were able to spray large amounts of the herbicide on the soy to kill weeds and other unwanted plants without killing the crop.
It’s the second largest U.S. crop after corn is the GM soy. It’s grown for animal feed and soybean oil production, which is widely used for processed foods and is also common in restaurant chains. Reports say that soybean oil makes up 61% of Americans’ vegetable-oil consumption. Soybean oil is used to make an emulsifier called soy lecithin, prevalent in lots of processed foods and health supplements. Any time you see soy listed as an ingredient, make sure it’s certified non-GMO or it’s organic. It’s also important to purchase from a reputable company that tests for GMO contamination since GM soy has been discovered in organic foods, especially processed foods coming from Asia and Latin America.
Genetically Modified Cotton
Non-organic cotton is one of the most chemically-laden crops in the world. Over 90 percent of the cotton grown in the U.S. is GM, designed to make the plant produce a protein that kills insect larva like the bollworm, and it’s also engineered to survive heavy doses of Monsanto’s Roundup herbicide. This genetic modification involves adding a bacterium called Bacillus thuringiensis, hence the name Bt cotton.
GM cotton is turned into cottonseed oil, commonly used for frying in restaurants and in packaged foods like potato chips, oily spreads like margarine, even things like cans of smoked oysters. Much of the plant is also used in animal feed, and what’s left over can be used to create food fillers such as cellulose.
Many consumers are careful to purchase organic cotton clothing, citing concerns of cotton picker’s welfare, environmental issues, and the prevalence of toxic residue on the clothing, but this crop is extremely resource-intensive, and organic cotton crops yield about half of the cotton in the same amount of space compared to GM cotton. For the sake of our ecosystem, please avoid cotton as much as possible, forgo the latest trends in fashion, keep your clothes as long as possible, and shop for used clothing at consignment stores.
Corn, also called maize, is native to Mexico. At the time of publication, there are 142 varieties of genetically modified corn.
About 90% of all the corn grown in the United States goes to feed livestock and to produce biofuels. About 9% is processed into high-fructose corn syrup, corn starch, corn oil, or used as the source material for some alcohols and citric acid. Recent additions of GM corn have been developed for drought tolerance, improved ethanol production, and to increase the lysine.
A few years ago corn on the cobb was safe for GMO opponents, but now we have Performance Series Sweet Corn produced by Seminis and Roundup-ready sweet corn by Monsanto, available on store shelves, and becoming more and more prevalent quickly.
GM corn contamination is becoming more and more prevalent in organic corn crops. If you eat meat or a typically modern diet of processed foods, it’s probably impossible to avoid GM corn without changing your eating habits. If corn is an ingredient on the package, you’ll need to know that the company is very careful to eliminate potential contamination. If you’re eating meat, we suggest only buying from small, local, free-range farms that take great care to ensure that any feed they use is never contaminated. GM corn seems to be taking over the industry, and at this time it seems to be inevitable. Corn is also an extremely resource intensive crop to produce, so we recommend avoiding it whenever possible.
Incidentally, corn is one of the reasons e. Coli can infect and harm us humans. Corn is inflammatory and acidic, especially GM corn. Conventional cows and other livestock are fed lots of GM corn and given lots of antibiotics, and this inhospitable environment mutates the naturally occurring e. Coli into the dangerous food-borne illness we all know and fear, and contaminates nearby waterways via the animal’s defecation and urine.
Genetically Modified Papaya
GM papaya was bred to withstand the ringspot virus, which destroys papaya plants and poised a huge problem for Hawaii’s papaya crops. Some say the GMOs saved Hawaii’s papaya crops, which were near extinction, but now there is a new problem. Consumers no longer want GMOs, but the gene has spread to the extent that the island has virtually no more GMO-free papaya left. GM papayas account for about 75 percent of the 30 million pounds produced in the United States, almost all coming from Hawaii. And papaya is rarely produced to be certified organic. But there is good news.
Strawberry Papaya, also known as Sunrise papaya, is a Hawaiian grown and is the sweetest and juiciest of all the papayas. Unfortunately, it’s also genetically engineered. It is pear-shaped and weighs about a pound, making it much smaller than the Mexican varieties.
Other GM papayas include the SunUp and Rainbow varieties. They look a lot like the Strawberry Papaya. Check out this link for a better description of these three and the non-GMO Kapoho Solo. The Kapoho solo is the original Hawaiian papaya; it’s not a GMO or a hybrid.
Kapoho solo, Mexican Red, Caribbean Red, Maradol, Royal Star, Singapore Pink, and Higgins papayas are non-GMO.
Non-GM papaya
Genetically Modified Canola
Canola was developed in the 1970s through hybridization of the rapeseed plant. Genetically modified versions of canola came to be in the late 1990s. The plant is primarily insect pollinated, but the pollen is also able to travel by wind for great distances. GM canola is grown for cooking oil, margarine, and to for emulsifier production. It’s estimated that 90% of canola grown in the U.S. and Canada are GMO Organic crops are highly susceptible to windblown contamination if they are anywhere near GM crops. We recommend avoiding canola oil altogether, GMO or not. Studies show it’s not a healthy fat, organic or not.
Genetically Modified Plums
The USDA may soon approve a genetically modified plum for commercial use, which would make it the second GM fruit, following papaya. The GM plum, called c5, is engineered to resist the mutation of the Plum Pox Virus, common among stone fruit trees. This virus is said to have the potential to devastate stone fruit production. The company says approval will open the door for other stone fruits like peaches, apricots, cherries, and almonds, which are all susceptible to the virus.
At this time the Center for Food Safety opposes the GMO approval, saying that the virus is not found in the U.S.
Genetically Modified Alfalfa
Alfalfa is grown on 22 million acres in the US, which makes it the fourth largest crop. To much controversy, the FDA approved the commercial use of GM alfalfa in 2007. The addition of a gene makes it resistant to herbicides like Roundup. GM Alfalfa is grown primarily for hay for cattle feed. This RoundupReady Alfalfa did exactly what anti-GMO advocates knew it would do; it has contaminated other alfalfa crops. A recent study by the USDA shows that this feral GE alfalfa is contaminating fields all over the Midwest, costing American alfalfa growers and exporters millions of dollars in lost revenue. Unlike corn, soybeans, or cotton GM alfalfa is pollinated by bees and other insects that travel great distances, and it grows wild near roads, ditches, and yards.
At this point, it’s very difficult for meat eaters to avoid GM alfalfa, and it’s only getting harder. Goats, pigs, cows, horses, chickens, and sheep base their diet on alfalfa, either in fresh, hay or pellet form. Livestock food producers and farms using alfalfa are not regularly testing for GMO contamination. Alfalfa has amazing health benefits, but if you’re buying it for your salads, to avoid the GMOs you’ll need to make sure it’s produced by a company that regular tests for contamination, or is otherwise able to ensure you that contamination is not possible, like with small farms that grow it indoors from organic seed.
Genetically Modified Sugarbeets
The US sugar beet industry coordinated an industry-wide conversion to genetically modified sugar beets, thus eliminating a non-GMO alternative for food manufacturers and consumers. Meanwhile, production of GM sugar beet seed is likely to contaminate organic and conventional vegetable seed production in Oregon’s Willamette Valley. – Non-GMO Project
This is where I’m supposed to tell you how to make sure your sugar isn’t GMO (which is to buy organic), but instead, I’m just going to say, STOP EATING REFINED SUGAR! It doesn’t matter if it’s organic, raw, sugar cane juice, sugar cane crystals, sugar in the raw, brown sugar, etc. Refined sugars are doing far more damage to us than any GMO on the market.
Del Monte’s new pink pineapple has been genetically engineered to produce lower levels of the enzymes that convert lycopene to the beta-carotene. If you are a fan of pineapple, you know that the enzymes are the what makes pineapple such a healthy food. Lycopene is a pigment that makes tomatoes red and watermelons pink, and beta-carotene makes pineapple yellow. Pink pineapple disease is a perplexing problem for the pineapple canned-fruit industry because the disease’s symptoms almost always manifest itself after the fruit is canned, leaving the consumer to discover it. The thinking is that if the pineapple is pink to begin with, problem solved! The pineapple is slated to be grown in Costa Rica and labeled “extra sweet pink flesh pineapple.”
This product is not commercially available yet. When it is on the market, it will likely be sold canned or otherwise processed, as opposed to fresh, at least at first.
Genetically Modified Wheat
Genetically modified wheat developed by Monsanto was never approved for consumption, but the GMO has escaped, it has been found growing wild in Washington State. It’s only going to get worse. While contamination is still fairly rare, the only way to completely avoid it is to avoid any wheat grown in the Pacific Northwest.
GM wheat contamination is somewhat of a sore subject for Monsanto. In 2014, the agritech giant paid $2.4 million to settle a lawsuit filed by U.S. wheat farmers over the GM wheat scare in Oregon. Last year, the company paid another $350,000 to farmers in seven states over the same issue.
The latest discovery of GM wheat could also impact global trade, as many countries have strict regulations over GMOs and GMO imports. – EcoWatch
Genetically Modified Potatoes
The potato is the United States’ most frequently consumed vegetable. The only GM potato currently sold is the “White Russet” potato, engineered by the J.R. Simplot Company. They have designed the potato to reduce browning and bruising and to reduce the amount of a asparagine, a naturally occurring chemical that converts to acrylamide under heat, which is believed to be a cancer-causing carcinogen.
Simplot has also received approval for other GM potatoes which are resistant to late blight, the disease that caused the Irish potato famine. They also last longer in storage through slower conversion of starch to sugars.
The company says they’ve grown only about 6,000 acres of the potato to be sold in 2017. There were more than 955,000 acres of potatoes grown in the U.S. in 2015. McDonald’s chose not to use the potato, for now at least, but other restaurants are buying them. They’re rare right now, but they’re still new.
Another newly approved crop is an apple from a Canadian biotech company that does not brown even after it’s been sliced. It recently received FDA approval for three varieties, Golden, Granny, and Fuji. Gala is coming soon, and more to follow. At this time, they are selling these apples in plastic bags labeled as “Arctic Apples,” so, for now, they are easy to spot.
Genetically Modified Salmon
AquAdvantage, the genetically engineered Atlantic salmon, is now being sold in Canada. Wild salmon is big business for Alaska, so Sen. Lisa Murkowski and other Alaskan officials got Congress to hold up the sale of the GM fish in the U.S. The FDA blocked AquAdvantage imports until new GMO labeling regulations are in effect for food labels. FDA is mandated to issue that regulation by late July but has not indicated when to expect the rules.
Scientists inserted into the fish’s DNA a growth-hormone gene from Chinook salmon, along with genetic regulatory elements from the ocean pout. We expect to see GM salmon in America after new GMO labeling laws take effect.
Genetically Modified Rice
There are two types, but neither are commercially available.
Golden Rice
Millions of people in Asia and Africa don’t get enough vitamin A. Golden rice has been genetically modified so that it contains beta-carotene, the source of vitamin A. Bu the rice has not been successful in test plots.
A few months ago, the Philippine Supreme Court did issue a temporary suspension of GMO crop trials. Depending on how long it lasts, the suspension could definitely impact GMO crop development. But it’s hard to blame the lack of success with Golden Rice on this recent action.” – Glenn Stone, professor of anthropology and environmental studies in Arts & Sciences
Huahui Rice
The rice, known as Huahui 1, was developed by Chinese researchers, and designed be to pest resistant. It has been approved to be exported to the U.S, but China has not approved it to be sold or even cultivated. China does not allow commercial cultivation of GMOs.
Genetically Modified Bananas
Scientists in Australia have developed a banana with a genetic manipulation to increase the vitamin A content. The flesh is described as golden-orange. This project received a $5 million grant from the Bill Gates-funded Grand Challenges in Global Health Initiative.
It’s not available for consumption yet. Other GM bananas are being developed for disease resistance.
Banana is an important staple food crop feeding more than 100 million Africans but is subject to severe productivity constraints due to a range of pests and diseases. [Xanthomonas wilt disease] is capable of entirely destroying a plantation while nematodes can cause losses up to 50% and increase susceptibility to other pests and diseases.
How to Avoid GMOs in the Grocery Store
This list is as complete as I could make it, but it’s likely missing quite a few, and there are more and more coming every year. won’t last long, as new GM food varieties are approved every year. Let me know if I missed any, please!
List of Ingredients That May Be GMO
Aminosweet
Aspartame
Baking Powder
BeneVia
Canderel
Canola Oil (Rapeseed Oil)
Caramel Color
Cellulose
Citric Acid
Cobalamin (Vitamin B12)
Colorose
Condensed Milk
Confectioners Sugar
Corn Flour
Corn Masa
Corn Meal
Corn Oil
Corn Sugar
Corn Syrup
Cornstarch
Cottonseed Oil
Cyclodextrin
Cysteine
Dextrin
Dextrose
Diacetyl
Diglyceride
E951
Equal
Erythritol
Food Starch
Fructose (Any Form)
Glucose
Glutamate
Glutamic Acid
Glycerides
Glycerin
Glycerol
Glycerol Monooleate
Glycine
Hemicellulose
High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS)
Hydrogenated Starch
Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein
Inositol
Inverse Syrup
Inversol
Invert Sugar
Isoflavones
Lactic Acid
Lecithin
Leucine
Lysine
Malitol
Malt
Malt Extract
Malt Syrup
Maltodextrin
Maltose
Maltose
Mannitol
Methylcellulose
Milk Powder
Milo Starch
Modified Food Starch
Modified Starch
Mono And Diglycerides
Monosodium Glutamate (MSG)
Nutrasweet
Oleic Acid
Phenylalanine
Phytic Acid
Protein Isolate
Shoyu
Sorbitol
Soy Flour
Soy Isolates
Soy Lecithin
Soy Milk
Soy Oil
Soy Protein
Soy Protein Isolate
Soy Sauce
Starch
Stearic Acid
Sugar (Unless Specified As Cane Sugar)
Tamari
Tempeh
Teriyaki Marinades
Textured Vegetable Protein
Threonine
Tocopherols (Vitamin E)
Tofu
Trehalose
Triglyceride
Vegetable Fat
Vegetable Oil
Vitamin B12
Vitamin E
Whey
Whey Powder
Xanthan Gum
Aisle by Aisle
In the produce section, to avoid GMOs, you’ll need to be careful of conventional summer squash (yellow and zucchini), sweet corn, alfalfa sprouts, and the smaller pear-shaped papaya. These foods should be organic, and hopefully, the company tests their products for contamination. Also, avoid the Arctic apples, which are at this time being sold in easily identifiable plastic bags (see previous image). They will likely be out of their bags and sold individually soon, and conventional apples are sprayed with tons of chemicals, so we recommend yougo organic whenever possible.
In the bulk section, you’ll need to make sure any grain that could be a GMO is certified as not GMO, via USDA Organic, Kosher, or Non-GMO Project Verified. The same goes for the packaged and processed foods that we shouldn’t really be buying. There are other labels as well, and you should be able to trust packages that say they are GMO-free, but these are the three most popular certifications to look for:
Forget the PLU Numbers!
The PLU numbers won’t help you. Articles still circulate on the web stating that PLU numbers indicate GM foods, but this is not true. Organic produce has a 5 digit PLU number, beginning with 9. Conventionally grown produce has a 4 digit PLU number. GM food was supposed to have a 5 digit PLU number beginning with 8, but this labeling is optional, and rarely if ever used.
At the Farmer’s Market
The farmer’s market is usually the best place to shop for produce for a multitude of reasons, but you’ll often that the best food at your local farmer’s market is not certified organic or GMO-free. The organic label, while still strict regarding GMOs, is allowing more and more chemicals to be sprayed on crops every year. I prefer small farmers, and they typically don’t have the time, money. or inclination to get such certifications. Just ask. Farmers are proud of their growing methods and you’re more likely to get a lecture about the benefits of GMOs than you will get someone lying to you. The trick is to go to the farmer’s market every chance you get and get to know your favorite stalls. Ask good questions, take your time, and develop relationships.
Foods Often Mistaken for GMOs
Seedless watermelons are not GMO, their genetics are modified through hybridization methods, but I don’t recommend them.
Seedless watermelon is grown two ways. Usually, watermelons are diploid, meaning they have two sets of 11 chromosomes. Seedless watermelon is a triploid because they have 3 sets of chromosomes and are sterile. In order to produce seedless watermelons, a diploid watermelon is pollinated by a tetraploid (4 chromosomes) watermelon. In the process of reproduction, the new watermelon gets one chromosome from the diploid parent and two from the tetraploid which makes it triploid. Since the triploids have three sets, the eggs inside the watermelon are never formed and thus, seeds don’t grow. The second way to grow seedless watermelon is by using a drug called Colchicine, a chromosome-altering chemical. This US drug is toxic (though people have been using it for the treatment of rheumatism and gout without FDA approval). Colchicine changes the chromosome number in the seeds from 2 to 4. After which, the seeds are pollinated with the natural 2 chromosome watermelon. The product – a genetically modified watermelon with 3 chromosomes.” – LA Healthy Living
Seedless watermelons have too much sugar as well.
Large apples are often assumed to be GMOs, but they are not, unless they are of the new non-browning variety. Neither are purple carrots or blood oranges, any other produce that’s not listed above as a GMO crop regardless of how large or funky they look. As stated above, we do modify the genetics of foods through hybridization, but that’s not what we call GMO, or genetically engineered, even though they are in a sense. Also, a lot of the funky looking produce is actually heirloom fruits and vegetables that you’re not used to seeing.
Popcorn is made with a kind of corn that is not genetically modified, though it’s not the healthy snack many people think it is. Healthy corn is raw, organic corn on the cobb grown on a small farm that doesn’t spray chemicals. I find the inflammatory properties to be unnoticeable with raw sweet corn, but when cooked it feels different. I have no scientific evidence for this theory yet, but maybe you can compare the two and see for yourself.
To recap, within the produce section, at this time, the foods you should be concerned with in order to avoid GMOs are summer squash (including zucchini), corn, papaya, alfalfa, Arctic apples. We may see the White Russet potato and GE salmon in stores soon with plenty more to follow.
Conclusion
I’m not opposed to the idea of genetic modification of food, but until food companies are not primarily profit-driven and science has a much better understanding of health, I won’t trust the GMO companies. And they should be better controlled so as not to be allowed to contaminate other crops, and not grown in uncontrollable environments at all. There is likely no turning back for alfalfa and corn, and soon, others will likely follow. I’ll never be a fan of genetic modification designed to kill pests, or designed to allow heavy dosages of chemicals to be sprayed on them. These GMOs disrupt our gut’s ecosystem and consequently, they are never going to be a good idea. If the GMOs are designed to kill anything, it’s nearly certain they will kill gut microbes as well. I’m also not a fan of genetic modification to increase shelf-life, but I certainly do appreciate the motives, as we waste massive amounts of food. The problem with this approach is that our distribution is flawed due to corruption because of greed. We also have a serious lack of education that is keeping consumers in the dark. People should be taught natural health and how to grow their own food. On that note, are you growing your own food yet?
How Farmed Fish Degrades Our Health and the Environment – Better Options Included
More than 1 billion people across the world rely on fish as their main source of protein. Consequently, the world’s oceans are in trouble with marine life plummeting. More than 80 percent of the world’s fisheries are either considered fully exploited or overfished and on the brink of collapse. People who are dependent on the sea for income and food are left increasingly vulnerable. Our oceans are radically depleted. A decade-long international survey of ocean life completed in 2010 estimated that 90% of the ocean’s big fish have disappeared.
Aquaculture seems to be a sustainable solution to overfishing, but the reality is that fish farms are causing huge problems. As typical with big business, profits are more important than ecological sustainability or our health.
As the world began to attempt to limit overfishing the aquaculture industry boomed. Between 1980 and 2015, the total amount of fish production from aquaculture increased more than 16 times from 4.7mn tonnes to 76.6mn tonnes. If you eat seafood, unless you catch it yourself (or ask the right questions), it probably comes from a fish farm. More than half of the fish we consume is farmed. The aquaculture industry is growing faster than any other animal agriculture segment, overtaking beef production in 2012. A report by the Earth Policy Institute in Washington DC reported that farmed fish production reached 66 million tonnes in 2012, while beef production was at 63 million tonnes.
Why Farmed Fish Are So Toxic To the To Us and the Environment
One study showed that aquaculture in Sweden “is not only ecologically but also economically unsustainable.” Another report looked at farmed fish in Chinese lakes and concluded that it is an “economically irrational choice from the perspective of the whole society, with an unequal tradeoff between environmental costs and economic benefits.” Aquaculture harms the environment, which eventually costs a lot of money. In the U.S., fish farming is responsible for roughly $700 million a year in environmental costs. Fish farming operations typically generate more costs than profit.
Abhorrent Conditions
Research has shown that fish feel pain and stress. Large-scale fish farm operations have fish living in extremely crowded conditions, often leaving each fish less space than the size of an average bathtub. Living in this close proximity increases infection and disease, which leads to antibiotics which further pollutes surrounding waters.
Farmed Fish Eat Their Own Shit
The feces concentration is often so great as to cause the fish to ingest their own poop, increasing the likelihood of disease. The fish poop also promotes algal growth and reduces the oxygen content in the water, which makes it harder to support life. Fish waste and uneaten feed litter the sea floor beneath fish farms contaminates the area and generates bacteria that consume oxygen vital to shellfish and other bottom-dwelling sea creatures. Reportedly, the Israeli government closed two fish farms in the Red Sea after discovering the farms were causing algal growth that was harming coral reefs.
A Cesspool of Disease
Pathogens from farmed fish pools can spread rapidly to contaminate any wild fish swimming past. Sea lice, a type of crustacean that finds captive fish on farms to be an easy target, have become huge problems for the industry. And the increased prevalence of these crustaceans due to fish farming is being blamed for reduced numbers of wild pink salmon, as well as the species that eat them, including bears, eagles, orcas and others.
Lethal viruses that are known to spread from fish farms are being detected in wild populations. Salmon leukemia virus is said to act like HIV, in that it depletes the immune system leaving animals susceptible to other infection. Infectious Salmon Anemia Virus (ISA) is also known as salmon influenza. It’s highly lethal Piscine reovirus, which degrades salmon’s heart health, causing heart attacks and preventing salmon from swimming upriver.
Toxic Antibiotics, Pesticides & Other Chemicals
Concentrated levels of antibiotics, pesticides and other chemicals used to fight infection are found in farmed fish. The effects these practices have on our environment are only beginning to be understood. One study found that a drug often used to kill sea lice will also kill other marine invertebrates, and contaminates waters at least up to half a mile away.
Many farmed fish are being fed genetically modified corn and soy. Some report that in China farmed fish are often feed animal feces. One report from the USDA from 2009 stated,
[It] is common practice to let livestock and poultry roam freely in fields and to spread livestock and poultry waste on fields or use it as fish feed.”
Carnivorous Fish Farms Eat Too Much Fish
Many fish require a fish-based diet, and can require much more food than they produce. Now anchovies and herring and other small prey are being dangerously overfished to the brink of extinction in order to meet the growing demands of aquaculture. Tuna and salmon consume up to five pounds of fish for each pound of body weight.
We have caught all the big fish and now we are going after their food,”- Oceana
It’s been shown that every pound of farmed salmon needs five pounds of smaller fish to feed it.
Oceana blames aquaculture for declines in whales, dolphins, seals, sea lions, penguins, albatross and many other species.
Rather than relieving pressure on wild fish, growing these large carnivores [salmon and tuna on fish farms] requires a steady supply of prey that are caught and ground into oil and meal. As the industry grows, it is straining the existing supply of prey fish, putting additional pressure on populations that cannot supply the demand.”
Toxic, Diseased, & GMO Farmed Fish Escape
Many fish farms use netpens to confine fish in open waters. These systems are susceptible to being ripped from predators and due to storms. In the North Atlantic region alone it’s said that two million farmed salmon escape their farms each year. The result is that at least 20% of wild salmon caught in the North Atlantic are actually of farmed-fish origin. Farmed fish that escape will breed with wild fish and compromise the gene pool. Embryonic hybrid salmon, for example, are far less viable than wild salmon, and the resulting adult hybrid salmon routinely die much earlier than true wild salmon. This also harms predator populations that rely on fish like bears and orcas.
More Fat, but Less Omega 3s and Other Nutrients
Farmed salmon, for example, is much fattier than wild salmon, but it contains FAR LESS healthful omega-3 fats and less protein. The omega-3 levels in farmed salmon keep dropping with each new study.The International Fishmeal and Fish Oil Organization (IFFO) says that today’s farmed fillet contains as little as half of the omega-3s the fish had less than a decade ago. Salmon farmers in New Zealand were caught overstating the omega-3 fat levels of their fish.
Farmed salmon that is high in omega 3s get their higher levels from being fed fish oil. Like with the prey fish, the demand for fish oil is outstripping supply. This practice is becoming too expensive, and many fish are being fed cheap GMO oils to fatten them up.
Farm-raised tilapia is one of the most highly consumed fish in America. Studies show that tilapia has very low levels of beneficial omega-3 fatty acids and very high levels of inflammatory omega-6 fatty acids that may cause an “exaggerated inflammatory response.”
A report published in 2003 by the Environmental Working Group found that seven out of ten farmed salmon purchased at grocery stores in Washington DC, San Francisco, and Portland, Oregon contained PCBs at levels that raise health concerns. It’s a safe bet that these statistics have only grown worse as plastic continues to pollute our planet.
It’s said that farmed salmon are likely the most PCB-contaminated protein source in the U.S. food supply chain.
Farmed salmon are fed contaminated fishmeal. Farmed salmon are fed from a global supply of fishmeal and fish oil manufactured from small open sea fish, which studies show are the source of polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs, in most farmed salmon. In three independent studies scientists tested 37 fishmeal samples from six countries, and found PCB contamination in nearly every sample.” – Environmental Working Group
Chinese farmed fish accounts for about 60 percent of farmed marine products worldwide. China is the leading provider of farmed fish to the US. If you’re buying tilapia, it’s probably from China.
Tilapia in China’s fish farms, are fed pig and goose manure — even though it contains salmonella and makes the tilapia “more susceptible to disease.”
In Vietnam, farmed shrimp bound for the US market are kept fresh with heaps of ice made from tap water that teems with pathogenic bacteria.
Bloomberg also notes that at the same company “there’s trash on the floor, and flies crawl over baskets of processed shrimp stacked in an unchilled room.”
In May, ABC News bought 30 samples of imported farmed shrimp from across the country and had them tested for antibiotic traces. The result: Three of the samples contained detectable levels of these dangerous antibiotics.
According to a recent study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a quarter of the food-borne illness outbreaks caused by imported food from 2005 to 2010 involved seafood — more than any other food commodity.
Fish To Avoid and the Better Seafood Choices
Bivalves, such as oysters and mussels, can be farmed in an environmentally conscious manner because they are “filter feeders,”; they actually make the water in their ecosystem cleaner, and they are much easier to contain due to their lack of mobility. But, this means that the environment bivalves grow in should already be fairly clean, or else the seafood can transfer pollutants and other toxins to the consumer.
Alaskan salmon is not permitted to be farmed. Sockeye salmon cannot be farmed. Atlantic salmon comes from fish farms. Farmed salmon is rife with chemical contaminants ranging from pesticides and antibiotics to PCBs.
In restaurants, mislabeled salmon will typically be described as ‘wild’ but not ‘wild Alaskan.’ This is because authentic ‘wild Alaskan’ is easier to trace. The term ‘wild’ is more nebulous and therefore more often misused. In many ways it is very similar to the highly abused ‘natural’ designation. – Dr. Mercola
Atlantic Flatfish, including sole, flounder and halibut, are high in contaminants and they have a long history of being radically overfished. Pacific halibut is a safer and more environmentally friendlier option.
Almost 90 percent of catfish comes from Vietnam – a country with loose regulations on the use of dangerous antibiotics and other chemicals. Like catfish, Pollock is a mild, white fish with a delicate flavor that’s naturally low in mercury. Look for pollock from the US, Canada, and Norway which provide the most eco-friendly harvesting.
Eel, also called unagi, is primarily farmed in China. A powerful carcinogen called nitrofuran, and many other drugs and pesticides, are used to control disease in eel farms. Eel also has plenty of mercury and cancer-causing PCBs. Squid is an eco-friendly alternative to eel.
Imported & Farm-Raised Shrimpis one of the dirtiest seafood sold. Chemical residues, antibiotics, and an assortment of other contaminants have been found in farmed shrimp. While avoiding imported, farmed shrimp can greatly reduce your exposure to contaminants, it’s important to note that 70 percent of domestic shrimp comes from the Gulf of Mexico. With the recent oil spill, this raises concern for the health of these shrimp stocks. Your best bet is MSC-certified wild-caught Pacific shrimp from Oregon.
Atlantic bluefin tuna is said to have the highest levels of mercury and they have plummeted to near-extinction levels. The eco-friendly tuna varieties (like albacore or yellowfin) areproblematicc as well. Oceana collected 1,215 samples from seafood vendors from 2010 to 2012reported that 59% of fish labeled tuna is not just mislabeled but it is almost entirely compromised of escolar, which is not likely a fish we want to be eating:
To be frankly and bluntly specific — and I’m sorry for this — consumption of escolar causes explosive, oily, orange diarrhea. People have reported that the discharges are often difficult to control and accidents can happen while passing gas.” – The Kitchn
A good alternative to tuna is the Atlantic mackerel or try sardines. They both are high in omega-3s, and they don’t have the high levels of mercury and other contaminants that tuna accumulates.
Tilapia from overseas fish farms have a bad reputation due to the aforementioned practices, but tilapia farmed in the U.S. and Canada typically use closed recirculating tank systems that alleviate many of the problems like water pollution and fish escapes. In Ecuador, tilapia are typically farmed in low-density freshwater ponds, which eliminate overcrowding and reduces disease. Tilapia are fed a mostly grain-based diet, so they don’t deplete prey-fish resources.
American Diet Is 61% Ultra-Processed Foods, Study Shows Link to Cancer
A study from the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that 77% of grocery store purchases were made up of processed foods, with about 61 percent of purchases being “ultra-processed” foods. This indicates that the average American ingests more than 1,000 calories a day of processed foods. In the UK, they fare slightly better, with a study showing 51% of their diet is made up of “ultra-processed” foods.
Ultra-processed foods are foods with man-made ingredients, food additives invented by food technologists.
Research by global nutrition experts shows how our food has evolved from real food too salty, refined, artificially flavored, chemically preserved foods like sugary cereals, industrially-made breads, desserts, sugar-laden microwaveable meals, instant noodles, reconstituted heavily processed meats, and sweetened (or chemically sweetened) soft drinks, etc.
A new study that’s making waves in the medical community shows that a 10% increase in consumption of ultra-processed foods correlates with a 12% increase in overall cancer rates and an 11% increase in breast cancers. The study, led by researchers based at the Sorbonne in Paris, looked at eating habits and the medical records of nearly 105,000 adults.
‘Examples of NOVA Group 4 foods include “mass produced packaged breads and buns; sweet or savoury packaged snacks; industrialised confectionery and desserts; sodas and sweetened drinks; meat balls, poultry and fish nuggets, and other reconstituted meat products transformed with addition of preservatives other than salt (for example, nitrites); instant noodles and soups; frozen or shelf stable ready meals; and other food products made mostly or entirely from sugar, oils and fats, and other substances not commonly used in culinary preparations such as hydrogenated oils, modified starches, and protein isolates’ – in short, many of the foods sold in supermarkets.” – BMJ 2018;360:k322
GMO Arctic apples are being sold on Amazon. There is no notice that the food is GMO. There’s nothing illegal about this; GMO foods do not have to be labeled.
If you’re wondering what they look like and what to watch out for, here they are:
Arctic apples have been genetically engineered not to brown. They are devoid of the enzyme that causes apples to oxidize when the flesh comes in contact with air. Retailers, restaurants, and other foodservice sectors have expressed interest in using the GMO apples. Expect to see them in hospitals, restaurants, schools, vending machines, and anywhere you may see presliced apples.
Right now three new genetically engineered, non-browning apples have been approved: Golden Delicious, Granny Smith, and recently the addition of the Fuji. Gala apples are next. Only Goldens and Granny trees have been in the ground long enough to produce fruit in commercial quantities by next fall.
In the 1980s supermarkets were even more concerned with proper shape and size of produce than they are today. Consumers expected carrots to be a particular size, shape, and color. Anything that didn’t fit the image was sold for juice or processing or animal feed, or often simply thrown away.
There are “true baby carrots” and then there are the processed “baby carrots” we normally see in stores. True baby carrots are just young carrots harvested before the root reaches its mature size. Some say they are sweeter this way. Some even think they’re healthier. These carrots aren’t nearly as common in grocery stores, but when you see them they often still have their stalks. What we typically see labeled as “baby carrots” in those small plastic bags are full grown carrots that would once have been rejected and wasted.
Broken and misshaped carrots that are not pretty enough for consumers were discarded, leaving farmers with as little as 30 percent of their crop to sell. Mike Yurosek was tired of this waste. He took his ugly reject carrots and used a potato peeler to reshape them into small pieces. Yurosek then scaled up with an industrial green bean cutter to quickly whittle the carrots into the well-known sizes we still see today. 1
How Are Baby Carrots Made Today?
The industry calls them “baby cuts.” They are no longer simply rejected carrots. These baby cuts you see in supermarkets come from carrots have been specifically bred to be smaller in diameter, and to be a bright orange without color variation, and they are also raised to have considerably sweeter than regular carrots. 2
These baby carrots are planted closer together than traditional carrots and they are harvested in about 120 days. But before packaging, the carrots are cut and peeled and scrubbed, then they get the infamous chlorine bath. But the amount of chlorine in the water is not really anything to be alarmed about. It’s likely that every time you eat out at a restaurant you will consume more chlorine than when eating baby carrots.
Grimmway Farms uses a chlorine solution on all its carrots — organic and non-organic — to prevent food poisoning, before a final wash in water. Grimmway says the chlorine rinse is well within limits set by the EPA and is comparable to levels found in tap water.” – Fox
The minute amount of chlorine in our water for washing carrots is nearly 90% less than the chlorine level in normal tap (drinking) water.” – The Truth About Baby Carrots
What’s the Concern?
Baby carrots are no longer a byproduct of the carrot industry, so buying baby carrots no longer helps to reduce food waste.
The chlorine is problematic but if you eat out at restaurants, even healthy ones, you’re getting plenty of chlorine in your food. If you shower without water filtration, you’re breathing it in.
The problem is that the food is processed. People think they are getting fresh carrots, but they’re not. The life force energy of the food is gone (the chlorine bath allows the food to last longer, and some may have additional preservatives). The enzymes are done. And the peel, which contains the highest concentration of nutrients, is gone.
Eating baby carrots is eating processed food, but it’s not the worst choice one could make. As poor food choices go, this is probably the best of them. I have been I situations where I was very hungry and the only food choice I saw that would not make me sick were baby carrots, and I have eaten plenty.
But the best carrots for you are unprocessed, unpeeled, un-messed-with carrots. Vitamin C and niacin are most concentrated in the peel. A little more than half of the phytonutrients are found in the peel. 3
Five Random Carrot Facts
Carrots come in orange, white, yellow, red, and purple
Cultivated carrots are usually about 88% water, 7% sugar, 1% protein, 1% fibre, 1% ash, and 0.2% fat
The world’s largest carrot producer is China, accounting for over 45% of the global output
The voice of cartoon character Bugs Bunny reportedly did not like carrots
