It's Been A While, But...

This just came to my attention: http://www.whydontyoutrythis.com/2013/06/usda-forces-whole-foods-to-accept-monsanto.html?m=1

This is truly disappointing for a company we are supposed to trust to provide us with organic, non-GMO foods.
This is really, really upsetting and it makes me so sad to know that the government is rooting for Monsanto.

Why don't we have a say in what we eat?

Change of Plans

Hey everyone, I apologize for the delay.

A change of plans has come about, and instead of stopping my blog entirely (due to the fact that I am no longer in Boulder), I have decided to continue. I will be posting on foods and brands that I come across that represent the Non-GMO standards, as well as locations across Los Angeles, CA that help our cause!

I graduated in May 2013 from CU Boulder, and I am now in my home away from home in Los Angeles. I have realized that healthy eating and the push for Non-GMOs is a bit of a hot topic here in LA, and people see it as a trendy thing to strive for to drive customers. Yay!

Anyway, I hope this doesn't deter anyone from reading my blog, but I hope the information I have already provided has given some insight into how to go about avoiding GMOs in Boulder, CO! I miss beautiful Colorado already.

So for now, here's my "Product of the Day," something I'd like to get started on! Enjoy!

All different flavors, though I like the 'natural' best!

Zico Coconut Water boasts a premium product that is packed with 5 types of electrolytes, and as much potassium as a whole banana! It is also (obviously) gluten-free, lactose-free, and dairy-free--and honestly quite tasty. 

Unfortunately, it seems that Coca-Cola has recently finished purchasing the shares of Zico Coconut Water, so we'll have to watch out for changes in manufacturing. Zico currently boasts a Non-GMO product that is made from 100% Indonesian coconuts, while also maintaining an environmentally-friendly bottle that we don't feel guilty about.

Let me know what you think!

The True Food Network

I found this awesome source while on the look-out for ways to avoid GMOs. The True Food Network "works to protect human health and the environment by curbing the proliferation of harmful food production technologies and by promoting organic and other forms of sustainable agriculture."

I urge you to check out this link, as there is only so much I can summarize! This list gives us a compilation of major supermarket brands that don't use GMOs in their products! The list is divided up by brands that are entirely non-GMO, those with some non-GMO products, and those with no known organic or GMO brands.

The grocery store brands that don't use GMOs:
Whole Foods brands 
365 Everyday Value
Trader Joe's 

The grocery store brands that use some GMOs:
A&P
AholdUSA
Bashas'
Bi-Lo
Costco Wholesale Group (Kirkland brands)
Delhaize America
Giant Eagle
Harris Teeter 
Hy-Vee Food Stores
Kroger Co.
Meijer
Nash Finch Co.
Price Chopper Supermarkets
Raley's Supermarkets
Safeway (Oh no!)
Schnuck Markets
Spartan Stores
Supervalu
Target, Super Target
Wal-Mart Stores
Wegman's Food Markets
Wels Markets
Winn-Dixie Stores

The grocery store brands with no known GMOs:
Aldi
Ingles Markets
Roundy's Supermarkets
Save Mart Supermarkets
Smart and Final 

Click the image below to download the True Food Network's Supermarket Activist Kit!

They also have a 17 page PDF that you can print out and take with you when you go shopping--it talks about the 4 ways to avoid GMOs at the store and lists brands that don't have GMOs. The first way, as we know by now, is to buy organic. The second tip is to look for labels that profess a non-GMO product. The third way is to avoid buying "at risk" products because they are mostly GM in our food supply--things with corn, soybeans, canola and cottonseed-- what some people call the "Big Four." The fourth way to avoid buying GMO foods at your local store is to take this guide with you. 

The list of products is extensive, especially the section on non-GMO dairy!

Taken from the PDF

Taken from the PDF

...And if you don't feel like printing out their entire guide, there's an app! It really can't get any more convenient than that! 

A little more info...

There has really hardly been any testing on the effects of GMOs on humans, but almost all lab animals exposed to GMOs have had negative reactions in one way or another. I thought this graph was helpful in seeing a variety of illnesses caused by GMOs in these animals. 

Chart thanks to Mercola

While we're being educational, I also am attaching this YouTube video. I personally follow a blogger who reports on Mike Adams, "Health Ranger" and reporter on Natural News. This video reports on the effects GMOs have on our organs and also talks about how Monsanto literally says: "There is no need to test the safety of DNA introduced into GM crops" and that there is "no need for, or value in testing the safety of GM food in humans." 

The rest of the video goes on to talk about the recent study called "Exogenous plant MIR168a targets mammalian LDLRAP1: evidence of cross-kingdom regulation by microRNA." This means that microRNA "has now been found to pass from the foods through digestion into your blood and then to attach onto your organs." There, it "modifies the function and the expression of those organs. This is groundbreaking science. This nullifies the safety claims of Monsanto." 

In the abstract of the study, "we report the surprising finding that exogenous plant miRNAs are present in the sera and tissues of various animals and that these exogenous plant miRNAs are primarily acquired orally, through food intake." 

Adams asks the quintessential question: if we are what we eat, then "what happens when you consume plants that have been altered--artificially concocted--in a laboratory by profit-driven scientists working for the most evil corporation in the world?"

Thoughts? 

In the News: Boulder Banning of GMOs

Organic Consumers Association links us to this article written by Dr. Mercola, an osteopathic physician who runs the website Mercola.com, which is dedicated to natural health from a MD perspective. 

In November 2011, 250 Boulder County residents gathered to discuss GMO crops on county-owned land. Their support, along with the support via the recommendation from Boulder's Food and Agriculture Policy Council, led to the official phasing out of GMOs on our open space. 

Voted 5-4 in support of the council's recommendation to ban GMOs, all 16,000 acres of county-owned land currently using GMOs will be forced to change back to the traditional use of non-GMO seeds! Farmers had petitioned to use GM sugar beets and were turned away after the clear opposition of any use of GMOs in Boulder County. 

The Boulder Daily Camera quotes John Nibarger, Parks and Open Space Advisory Committee member, "There's the voters' side of this, and there's the farmers' side of this...I think we heard rather strongly...(that a lot of voters) don't want to see GM crops."

Check out this article to read more in detail. 

Another interesting recommendation is the Citizens Cropland Policy, which would consider allowing farmers to grow GMOs--but only if they can prove that the benefits outweigh the risks; a task no one seems to be able to do! The policy does call for a GMO ban, but also calls for studies to be done on county cropland soil to see if any health concerns can be attained from the results of soil testing. The boards ended up slightly changing the policy that officially mandated the banning of GMOs:

"Many of the policies in the (Citizens Cropland Policy) reflect what was the starting point for [Cropland Policy Advisory Group] discussions...The majority report (in the draft policy) reflects the changes from a single voice to the chorus of voices that was the intention of the policy development process." 

One organization to check out, called GM Know, posted a bullet-point list of the "guiding principles" of the Citizens Cropland Policy. Some of the highlights include focusing on annual testing of soil quality, "regenerative agricultural practices," ban of GM crops on Boulder County Open Space (BCOS), ban of pesticides glyphosate and neonicotinoid, and management of sustainable livestock grazing practices.  

GMO-Free Boulder

GMO-Free Boulder is "The campaign to rid Boulder County of GMOs (Genetically Modified Organisms) on our public land, in our school lunches, and anywhere else that is tax-payer funded. We are not the human feeding experiment." 

Their website highlights a major problem in Boulder County: the companies who hold the patents on certain seeds are trying to plant GMOs on Boulder County Open Space. The purpose, according to GMO-Free Boulder, is for corporate gain by means of selling these GMOs in the international commodity market. Monsanto is trying to forge their way onto our lands by ensuring control of our agriculture. 

Luckily for us, we Boulderites don't stand for this kind of corporate control and GMO-Free Boulder is an effort towards raising awareness and giving "a voice to the 71% of voters in Boulder County who want GMOs prohibited on public land."

One of the major repercussions for allowing GMO seeds on our open space is that wind carries the seeds and contaminates organic farms that are doing everything they can to stay far away from these patented seeds. Then the farmers who unknowingly are growing GMOs because they blew over from a neighboring farm can get sued by these seed patenting companies like Monsanto for using the seeds without permission. 

GMO-Free Boulder and thousands of local Boulderites have lobbied towards the labeling of GMO foods and banning the use of GMO alfalfa that "would have destroyed the organic dairy farm industry in Boulder County." 

Monsanto had a stroke of luck in 2011 and was allowed to grow GMO sugar beets on public land, and in 2012, "GMO-Free Boulder will continue campaigning to rid GMOs from both public agricultural lands as well as public school lunches."

I love this quote by Ziggy Marley on the top of GMO-Free Boulder's website:

"Genetically Modified Organisms are not something I would feed to myself or my children. The struggle for humanity today and in the years ahead is the struggle to remain free, and especially free from Genetically Modified Organisms as food. Without knowledge, information, choice and a say in society about our food and our land, our basic freedoms are denied. Our lives and our children's lives, the life of earth, plant and seed are today in our hands." 

Below is a video of a Boulder Rally against the use of GMOs (listen to the lyrics of the background music--very relevant!):

GMO-Free Boulder gives us the chance to sign the petition for Colorado legislature to support the labeling of GMOs--I signed it, did you?! 

"That we, the members of the Colorado General Assembly and the people of Colorado, officially declare and recognize universal support in federal labeling of genetically-engineered organisms in food prior to sale."

Damn right we do! I read through the petition and thought it would be useful to show you the most salient statements presented:

1) WHEREAS, Following the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (USFDA) approval of the use of genetically-altered material in food in 1992, the growing of genetically-engineered (GE) crops – primarily soybean, corn, alfalfa, cotton, canola and sugar beet – has increased exponentially; and

2) WHEREAS, The Center For Food Safety filed a lawsuit claiming the USDA had violated the law by licensing Monsanto’s GE sugar beets without performing the required study; and

3) WHEREAS, A federal judge ordered that Monsanto’s sugar beet license be revoked until the study was completed; and 

4) WHEREAS, Monsanto’s GE sugar beets comprise more than 95% of the total U.S. sugar beet market; and 

5) WHEREAS, The consumer has a right to know that sugar made from GE sugar beets is genetically-modified; and 

6) WHEREAS, GE foods are currently banned in 50 countries; and

7) WHEREAS, Many companies such as Kraft and Nestle already reformulate their products without GE ingredients for the European Union due to labeling requirements adopted in the EU despite assurances from the U.S. Government that GMO wheat, soy and corn were safe; and 

8) WHEREAS, According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, 93% of 2010’s soybean crop was genetically-engineered, and according to the Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA), GE ingredients are present in about 80% of all conventionally-processed food in the United States; and

9) WHEREAS, Despite widespread agriculture and food industry acceptance of GE organisms, significant public concern (recent polls show more than 90 percent of Americans support GE labeling) exists in respect to the human health and environmental risks associated with the genetic engineering of crops; and

10) WHEREAS, Consumers have the right to know what is in their food in order to make informed choices about whether or not to purchase GE food; and

11) WHEREAS, The U.S. Patent Office is now awarding patents for GE seeds, reversing a century-long policy forbidding patents on living things; and

12) WHEREAS, The county of Boulder, CO has already adopted policy to support federal labeling of genetically-engineered foods; and

I must say, despite the lack of transparency on GMOs and our food system, it does make me happy to see that awareness really is starting to gain traction. I know we live in a city that seriously values health more than most places in this country, but hey--someone has to start saying "No!" to GMOs! 

Go Boulder! 

Whole Foods

Whole Foods Market is always a great option--expensive, but you know they support a healthy lifestyle! During Non-GMO Month in October, they supported the anti-GMO movement by featuring hundreds of verified products from the Non-GMO Project and they continually reiterate their support for labeling efforts like California's Prop 37 and Washington's Initiative Measure 522. 

Some tips Whole Foods gives us for avoiding GMOs:

• Go organic! The USDA National Organic Standards do not allow genetically engineered seed and ingredients in the growth and production of organic foods.
• Look for the Non-GMO Project Verified seal, which indicates the product has passed a third-party verification program indicating that a product has been produced according to best practices and procedures to avoid the intentional use of GMO ingredients.
• Buy 365 Everyday Value® organic food products and plant-based non-organic 365 Everyday Value® food products -- both sourced to avoid genetically engineered ingredients.

Here is also a link from Whole Food's website to see the list of verified products stores in your area carry!

Be warned, however, Whole Foods does not label all of their GMOs by any means, so make sure to look for Non-GMO Project Verified products, and be sure to buy organic whenever you can. Many people assume that because Whole Foods is a health food store, they must label things like GMOs or simply not sell GMO products at all. Like the Whole Foods spokesperson says in the video below, unless a store is entirely organic, almost every market in the country sells products with GMOs. 

The problem highlighted in the video is that many Whole Foods customers aren't aware of the fact that there are GMO products sold at Whole Foods, and that their claim on the side of the Whole Foods building "Nothing Artificial...EVER!" is false advertising, as GMOs are in fact artificially created. Libba Letton, Whole Foods executive, handler of investment relations and director of food safety, makes a somewhat ridiculous statement in the video: "I don't think that Whole Foods does anything to try and make people think that we don't have food with GMOs in them." I think if Whole Foods really is committed to being "America's Healthiest Grocery Store," they should consider the effects of GMOs and consider the fact that people want to know what they're buying! 

If this is how Whole Foods sees themselves ("...finest natural and organic foods...maintain the strictest quality standards in the industry...unshakeable commitment to sustainable agriculture..."), they should make GMO labeling a priority and try to support farmers who are trying to steer clear of GMO seeds. 

In one of my previous posts, I took a picture of what to look out for in Whole Foods stores to make sure what you're buying is Non-GMO Project Verified!