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GMO, Non GMO and Organic: What's all the fuss?

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In the mid 90’s we began to hear the term GMO as it referred to our foods that we could buy in the supermarkets. It was a bit precarious to some and quite ominous to others, including myself. As a chiropractor, I always look at things natural through a certain critical lens, always appreciating the magnificence of universal and innate intelligence. Nature never seems to fail in finding a way to persevere and nature doesn’t seem to ever need any help in its life quest, but nature can struggle with interference.  Since the 1970’s my wife and I have had a keen eye out for chemical toxins in the food chain such as DDT, seven, Chlordane and other popular herbicides and pesticides. We chose long ago to buy organic and local and avoid commercial food processing such as flour bleaching and dairy pasteurizing. At the Seaside Wellness Center we always encouraged our patients to do the same. We aligned ourselves with natural food co-ops, buying clubs and even teach to this day, food and food preparation classes and workshops. As time marched on through the 70’s and 80’s we couldn’t  help but notice how difficult it was to access the quality of foods that we desired. It became all but impossible to find certified non-pasteurized milk and organic vegetables. Keep in mind that before all the chemicals, most fruits and vegetables would have been considered organic. For instance, a private orchard that was never sprayed. As we entered the 90’s it became obvious, with all the new chemical treatments of commercial crops, that we were going to have to stretch ourselves to keep it “natural”.

Natural, the word, was suddenly being used by every commercial and processed foods company in America. Kraft, Campbell, Nabisco, General Mills, Post, Egg companies and dairy companies. Suddenly everything was natural. What say? It just became weird. I realized quickly that the food industry was embracing this word “natural” because they could and because it acted as the perfect distraction to what they were being allowed to get away with. They could legally call just about anything natural, but they were not required to properly label foods that had been exposed to chemical pesticides or herbicides. The next step in this deception was far more sinister. Food producers were also not required to label GMO foods and it was easy to get away with in the public’s mind eye. After all, who didn’t appreciate apples with no spots that didn’t turn brown so quickly when you cut them up for your crudite. And who could say no to those giant strawberries? How about those potatoes and my God the corn. Bigger, better and no corn worms. It was magnificent, or was it?

I am happy to say that we stayed on our “real natural” course and for the most part rejected the GMO products at the grocery stores and continued to find sources of local and organically grown fruits and veggies. Dairy, however was harder and harder to find. Just like the cider mills couldn’t sell non-pasteurized cider the farmers couldn’t sell non-pasteurized milk. The small family farm was all but gone in America by the mid 1990’s. Tragedy had befallen us, all because the rural life of inner America was suddenly bankrupt and those family farms that were so good at maintaining their autonomy were gone. Where would we buy our food, became the pressing question. Fortunately we were never alone in our quest to eat non-tainted foods. There were well established small organic certified farms that were cropping up all over the place. People with a similar vision had ample opportunity to obtain land from dairy farmers and it was a happening. Also forming up were some very impressive advocacy groups like Cornucopia and the Weston Price Foundation. Milk became a permanent problem in North Carolina as the state mandated pasteurization, but learning to live without dairy wasn’t much of a problem as soon as organic almond milk became available. To me this evolution in farming practices was the only viable answer to the giant out of control big agricultural concerns. As the organic seal became more available the general population became more bamboozled by big agriculture and their convenient collusion with our supposedly protective EPA and FDA.  The GMO industry was changing for the worse and the toxicity was astounding.

Fast forward 20 years and here we are, lost in GMO world. There is clinical data to show relationships between every health concern from autism to cancer. It seems unbelievable that these products and the dangerous associated chemicals such as glyphosate (roundup) are still predominating our agricultural system. For an extensive look into the harm that has been done and the harm that continues, please watch the very informative documentary GMOs Revealed. In this documentary it is revealed that glyphosate is also being used to dry down non GMO wheat crops. No labeling is required, so even if you are buying non-GMO labeled foods you may still be exposed to glyphosate the herbicide poison.  My advice is to follow Cornucopia and stay informed on a regular basis as to the organic world and buy organic. Find local organic producers of vegetables, fruits, eggs, dairy and meats and buy local where possible. If you can’t find local organic, then look to stores that sell organic and spend your dollars on those products. Big corporations respond to market forces. When you take dollars out of the poison food industry and place those dollars in the organic food market you are now part of the solution. The less we buy GMO foods the faster they will be marginalized. Stand up! Speak out! Get involved!

Dr. John E. Weisberg

 

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