We throw the term “GMO” around a lot. Especially in the health world. But what does it really mean for something to be genetically modified? And more importantly what does that actually mean for our health?

GMOs are living organisms whose genetic material has been artificially manipulated in a lab setting. This is done through genetic engineering where plants, animals, bacteria, and/or virus genes are combined in a way that does not naturally occur otherwise. This is done for a number of reasons including the ability to handle direct herbicide application, insecticide production, a longer shelf life, and the creation of new organisms. At this time, there is no evidence that the goal of increasing yield, enhancing nutrition, and advancing tolerance to environmental challenges have been met. As it stands, there is a lot of consumer doubt, confusion, and issues within the GMO industry. Evidence, however, has connected GMOs with many health problems, environmental issues, and even the violation of farmers’ and consumers’ rights.

There are currently over 60 countries worldwide that require the labeling of GMO products. If you look up the full list, you’ll notice that the United States does not appear. Although an ABC News survey conducted in 2015 found that 93% of Americans believe that GMO foods should be labeled, there have been no indications of the shift to a labeling requirement in the near future.

Aside from the labeling initiatives around genetically modified organisms, there are over 300 regions in the world that completely ban the growing and distributing of GMOs. 

Still, the United States is not included on this list. 

According to the Non-GMO project, “In the absence of credible independent long-term feeding studies, the safety of GMOs is unknown. Increasingly, citizens are taking matters into their own hands and choosing to opt out of the GMO experiment.”

GMOs are found in the vast majority of our food supply. According to the 2015 U.S acreage, the top commercialized genetically modified crops in the United States were: 94% of soy 94% of cotton 92% of corn 95% of sugar beets. Unfortunately, this is only a fraction of where GMOs hide in our food. 

With corn being one of the most genetically modified crops in our country today, it is concerning how much corn shows up in our diets often without us knowing! The two main reasons corn is featured so regularly on ingredient lists are: It is cheap. Food manufacturers are able to buy corn at an unusually low price due to the government’s special interests and subsidies in the corn’s favor. The use of corn is so widely diversified. It is used as a filler, emulsifier, sweetener, preservative, texturizer, adhesive, and much more.

GMOs found in meat is a tricky subject. 

Although genetically modified salmon has recently been sent to the market, prior to this, GMO meat was incorporated in our diets in a much less direct way. 

For example, GM alfalfa is used as animal feed for many dairy cows which contaminate most of our dairy products including milk, yogurt, cheese, and ice cream. Also, the GM feed that animals consume remains in their systems at the time of human consumption, whether it be alfalfa, corn, or soy. Therefore, we are subjected to eating these GM crops through meat and egg consumption after all. 

While there is a lack of credible human studies on the health effects of GMOs, there is plenty of evidence to recognize many of the risks associated with the regular consumption of these lab-derived food-like substances. In particular, GMOs are thought to contribute to: 

• Food allergies 
• Liver problems 
• Infertility 
• Hormonal imbalances 
• Weight gain 
• Inability to lose weight 
• Chronic Inflammation 
• Nutrient deficiencies 
• Fatigue 
• Seasonal allergies 
• Brain Fog 
• Anxiety/Depression 
• Eczema 
• High blood pressure 
• Asthma 
• Insomnia 
• Joint pain 
• Accelerated aging

The single most effective way to not participate in the experiment that is genetically modified organisms is… To avoid them! 

Ask where your foods coming from. Support local, organic farmers. Spend time researching restaurants, grocery stores, and brands. I’m not saying that it’s necessarily easy, so it important to know how to properly heal and detox from GMO consumption as well. If you think your body needs to detox, contact a skilled practitioner. Detoxing can be hard on the body, especially if testing doesn’t inform an individualized healing plan.

Schedule a Discovery Call to talk more about healing your body from GMOs or the many health concerns linked to them. 

Resources

https://www.nongmoproject.org/gmo-facts/ http://www.justlabelit.org/right-to-know-center/labeling-around-the-world/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4623834/ http://jech.bmj.com/content/56/11/813 https://enveurope.springeropen.com/articles/10.1186/s12302-014-0014-5