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Another Reason to Buy Organic – The Link Between Genetically-Modified Foods and Fertility Problems
For people who are new to organic, the first question they generally have is “Why should I be eating this food?”
The easy response is “because organic food does not contain synthetic and toxic chemicals”.
Organic food also forbids the use of genetically-engineered ingredients, often known as GMOs (genetically-modified organisms).
Since GMOs are a little bit more complicated and a little less tangible, this point either gets overlooked or is not fully understood.
GMOs are species that have been altered, manipulated and designed in a laboratory, and foreign genes, such as viruses or bacteria, have been inserted into them.
Approximately, 80% of the food on supermarket shelves contain GMOs, and nearly all of the corn, soy and canola in this country is genetically-modified.
Heavily influenced by the biotech industry, our government has given these GM-seed companies the green light to plant pretty much anything they want. (If you think I am exaggerating, read this shocking post.)
Furthermore, no long-term safety studies on GMOs have ever been completed.
Aside from causing a litany of serious allergy problems (GE-soy caused a 50% increase in soy allergies the year it was introduced into the UK) and internal abnormalities (rats fed GM-potatoes suffered from tremendous organ damage), GMOs have been shown to cause fertility problems.
Some examples include:
– When genetically-modified soy was fed to female rats, the babies were smaller than babies that were fed natural soy.
– Testicles of rats fed GM-soy changed from the normal pink to dark blue. Mice fed GM-soy also had altered young sperm.
– Embryos of GM soy-fed parent mice had changed DNA. And mice fed GM corn had fewer, and smaller, babies.
– About two dozen U.S. farmers said thousands of pigs became sterile from certain GM-corn varieties. Some had false pregnancies while others gave birth to bags of water. Cows and bulls also became infertile.
(Source: An article written by Jeffrey Smith, the leading authority on GMOs in the U.S. Check out his site, Institute of Responsible Technology, for much more information on the risks of the GMOs.)
WHAT YOU CAN DO
Presently, the U.S. is the only developed country in the world that does not require the labeling of GMOs. This must change.
Over 40 countries around the world, including Australia, Japan, Russia, and all nations in the EU, mandate labeling but the U.S. has avoided doing the same. Why?
Because our politicians are so beholden to Big Ag and the biotech industry.
Yet, paperwork has already been filed with the FDA and a big movement is underway to change this policy. Here’s how you can help.
1) Electronically sign the petition to the FDA that would require GMOs to be labeled. Click HERE to watch the video and to learn more about the Just Label It campaign.
We only have a few more days to surpass our goal of 1 million signatures, and it is critically important that we get as much support as we can for this initiative.
2) Vote with your dollars. This means stop buying GM-food and start buying organic, non-GMO food. Not sure how to do this?
– Jeffrey Smith has put together a Non-GMO Shopping Guide. Additionally, The Center for Food Safety has a True Food Shopping Guide iPhone app.
3) Get educated and spread the word. Every single one of us has to be advocates for healthy food.
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Big Ag and biotech are deathly afraid of labeling and are fighting tooth and nail against it.
If consumers become aware that their food has been genetically-engineered in a laboratory, it could have a disastrous effect on sales of conventional, GM-food. And the demand for organic food will skyrocket.
As Americans, we have a fundamental right to know what is in our food, and this policy of not labeling GMOs needs to come to end immediately.
Not only are our rights being violated, but it is imperative that the health of our citizens be protected.
Thank you so much for supporting organic food.
