Overweight? Hungry? Blame Factory Farming and GMO Foods

As we enter the time of the Fall Harvest, something that I have hypothosized about to myself for years is being proven now in real studies, according to the below article.

I had always wondered if part of why the populations in developed countries were getting fatter and fatter was due in large part to the lack of nutrition in the food that people were eating. My theory was that it should contain less nutrients each year, due to poor soil that results from factory farming practices, chemical fertilizers and GMO crops, making people crave more food in order to get the same amount of vitamins and minerals which their bodies required.

I realize that as well there is a factor of less exercise on a daily basis and more watching of TV, internet, computer and video games contributing to this – but I also see plenty of people who do exercise and remain a bit pudgy and seem to crave a lot of food.

Looking for more reasons to go organic? Look no further  . . . here are some key excerpts from the article:

Overweight? Hungry? Blame “Hollow Food” « Stephen Leahy – Environmental Journalist

“According to the new British analysis of government nutrition data on meat and dairy products from the 1930s and from 2002, the mineral content of milk, cheese and beef declined as much as 70 percent in that period.”

…..

“Organic tomatoes have higher nutritional value
Organic tomatoes are twice as high in flavanoids as conventional tomatoes. Flavanoids protect against heart disease and other chronic ailments. Researchers analyzed and compared organic to conventional tomatoes over a ten year period. The organic tomatoes not only scored better, but their flavanoid levels actually increased over time. . Scientists attribute the higher quality of organic foods to the healthier soil on organic farms. See study in The Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry “

I only hope that this spurs addtional studies to be done on fruit and vegetable nutritional levels – the ones that you see listed on the sides of packages today are based on some measures taken in the 1930s. 70 years later … the soil is just not the same. Nor are farming methods, nor are fertilizers.

Of course, just wait for the Monsanto or other chemical industry-funded studies to come out saying that their Frankenfoods are somehow ‘better’ than organic …. how many weeks will it take their spin doctors to fire back on this one?

Here in France, the fight against GMO (Genetically Modified Organisms) foods is in full swing – with more protests and cutting or burning of GMO crops happening lately than ever. More people need to take a stand and become involved in this important fight to save our food supply (and planet) from the dangers of GMO crops.

Led by José Bové the movement calls on people to take it upon themselves to band together and destroy GMO crops. In a civil disobedience protest in the Verdun-sur-Garonne  a few days ago, they deposited stalks of destroyed corn plants in front of the Monstanto offices nearby : http://fr.news.yahoo.com/afp/20070827/tsc-agriculture-environnement-ogm-manife-c2ff8aa.html . Earlier in August the ‘voluntary reapers’ targeted plots of GMO corn in Janville (Eure-et-Loir) and Murviel-lès-Béziers (Hérault).

The growing of GMO corn expanded 4 times since 2006 in France – the European Union (in horrid WTO legislation funded by companies such as Monsanto) is pressuring France to accept genetically modified crops, and threatening the country with a 38 million euro fine plus additional large daily fines of over 360,000 euros if they do not comply. They are already 5 years behind on implementation of the EU regulations, due to internal protests and reluctance from the environmentalists in France to this EU regulation.

The new French durable development minister (M. Jean-Louis Borloo) is hoping to quell the protests by establishing an ‘independent body’ that will have the final say on OGM (as GMO is known in France) in the country, and which will seek to gather the opinions and recommendations of all sides – industry funded scientists, environmentalists and farmers. We shall see what becomes of this committee which is set to have its first meetings in September.

Frankly I hope that France tells the EU and WTO to get stuffed on this industry (profit) sponsored legislation and that the committee finds good proof that GMO testing has been insufficient to guarantee safety, and any studies which have been done were based on the false premise that DNA work independently – new findings show that DNA work in conjunction and in ways not previously predicted by or currently understood by science – making all prior ‘studies’ (which were short and had other poor assumptions in them to start with) on the safetly of GMO foods even more fatally flawed.

Many companies producing GMO foods argue they are trying to ‘help humanity’ by designing foods better than nature could do. DON’T BELIEVE IT. Testing of these products is funded by the companies that produce them, is short term and the FDA is not set up to protect you. Companies are motivated purely by PROFIT not by humanitarianism and as you can see from the above article, they do things such as engineering a corn that can survive the herbicide/pesticide which THEY SELL to boost sales of their nasty chemicals. What happens to you after, and what happens to the soil and the environment? They don’t care. They are making money if the corn sells.

Though Dr Mercola is a bit of a tireless self-promotor, he does make some good points on his website and his website hosts a film on GMO foods which is very informative.

By the way, there is NO labelling requirement in the USA for GMO foods – the only thing you can reliably do to avoid them is to buy ORGANIC food which as a definition cannot be genetically modified. But while you are buying organic, do not buy from FACTORY FARMED organic such as Horizons Dairy. Stop by the website for the Organic Consumer’s Association to see the latest updates on issues facing the organic foods market in the USA.

70% of the processed food found on the grocery store shelves in the US supermarkets contain GMO food. The most common GMO foods are soy and corn – their derivatives are found in nearly all processed foods.

Read stickers! The US PLU codes on fruits and vegetables that indicate GMO – these PLUs start with ‘8’ and are 5 digits long. Organic produce must start with a ‘9’ and is 5 digits long.

Grow your own food if you can in organic soil (keep your own compost organic as well), and buy organic seeds to start with and especially search out ‘heirloom’ and rare seed varieties. They are generally rare because they do not ship well – but growing them in your garden means you are supporting biodiversity and getting a taste of something that few others in the country will have. Seeds of Change is one good provider of these types of seeds.

Go organic, fight pesticide and herbicide use and fight GMO crops in any way you can! Speak with your wallets, or take up a scythe or sign a petition. Blog it. Take action.