From: Lentil Breakdown-Fork in Mouth Meets Tongue in Cheek

From: Lentil Breakdown-Fork in Mouth Meets Tongue in Cheek

How to be a Bad-Ass Anti-GMO Activist

Rally for the Right to Know, October 16, 2011, Westwood, California

So you've heard about those creepy Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) that are infiltrating our food supply? You know, the ones that are irreversibly altering some of the world's staple crops? Okay. Now what? You gonna bury your head in the soil or get off your comfy GMO cotton couch and do something? Well, before you embark on the road to bad-ass, here are 10 things you need to know about genetically modified foods. Because when you hit the anti-GMO trail, you'll be up against the big boys like Monsanto. Oh, and when you make your protest sign, be sure to spell "genetically" right. Typos, like GMOs, are just plain wrong.

Wilshire Boulevard—the road to bad-ass

1. KNOW YOUR GMO. Flounder genes in tomatoes? Cattle genes in fish? OMG! Yup, those are GMOs—when genes from one organism are inserted into the DNA of another to create traits like pest or drought resistance. They can come from bacteria, viruses, insects, animals or even humans. You've probably eaten a handful of them already today, and it's not even lunchtime yet. They're mostly in soy, corn, canola, cotton and sugar beets. Big agribusiness continues to spread these experimental seeds across the land, claiming we need them to feed an overpopulated world. Yet independent studies over the past decade show that GMOs can pose serious risks to humans, animals and the environment—from allergies and infertility to organ damage and cancer. Hungry for lunch?

Stuck in greedlock

2. KNOW YOUR FOOD. You wouldn't put arsenic in your gas tank, so why fill your bowl up with Corn Flakes? About 80% of packaged foods contain GMOs, from cooking oils, sodas, and cereals to dairy and soy products, but most people don't know they're eating them because they're not labeled. A survey showed that 93% of Americans want to know if their food has GMOs in it, but the biotech and processed-food behemoths don't want us to know because then we won't buy them. That means the onus is on us to know what all those scary-sounding ingredients actually mean. I don't know about you, but I have better things to do on a Saturday night than to wiki "maltodextrin." That's more of a Tuesday night thing.

3. KNOW YOUR ENEMY. GMO seeds brought to you by the maker of Agent Orange, DDT, PCBs and artificial bovine growth hormones. Monsanto is the huge chemical company that makes about 90% of the GMO seeds on the market. The seeds are genetically altered to tolerate high doses of their Roundup herbicide weed killer. Not only do Monsanto seeds require Monsanto pesticides (cha-ching!), Monsanto owns the patent and intellectual property rights to the seeds. That means it's illegal for farmers to save "their" seeds and are then forced to buy new ones ever year. Using bully tactics, Monsanto has planted itself in every corner of the globe, putting small farmers out to pasture. You think the financial crisis was bad? What'll happen if one corporate hog owns the world's food supply?

4. KNOW YOUR GOVERNMENT. How come the FDA approved GMOs without proper testing? Because Monsanto said they were safe. Even though FDA scientists repeatedly warned of possible health risks, the FDA official in charge was Monsanto’s former attorney, later their vice president, and now the US Food Safety Czar, Michael Taylor. Between 1999 and 2009, the top food and ag biotech firms spent over half a billion dollars lobbying Congress to deregulate GMOs and prevent labeling. Stories of strong-arm tactics, bribes and threats are rampant throughout the history of the GMO approval process and promotion of them around the world. And the head of the USDA, former Iowa governor Tom Vilsack, has approved three new GMO crops since he's been in office. Go, USA!

5. KNOW YOUR GEOGRAPHY. GMOs are now grown in 29 countries? Congratulations, Monsanto! Lobbying foreign governments and buying up seed companies really paid off! But 20 international food and conservation groups reported that GMOs have not only failed to increase the yield of any food crop, they've created the growth of "superweeds," forcing farmers to use more chemicals (cha-ching!). Tragically, over the last decade, 250,000 farmers in India have committed suicide over failed crops and insurmountable debt—the vast majority, growers of Monsanto’s Bt cotton. On the upside, over 50 countries now have GMO labeling, including Europe, China and Russia, and many are banning GMOs. After Haiti's devastating earthquake, the Haitian people unanimously rejected 475,000 tons of free Monsanto seed. Go, rest of the world!

Sign translation: "I am corn and I don't want to be genetically modified."

Doing a corn dance before they're forced to dance to the corn god, Monsanto

6. KNOW YOUR HISTORY. Uprooting civilizations. Though the Mexican people oppose GMOs, Monsanto has still managed to spread its seed, wiping out many of the country's native corn strains that have adapted to local soils over thousands of years. The Mesoamerican civilization was built on corn, and it has deep religious and spiritual importance to their identity as well as their diet. Much of the heritage varieties now have GMO contamination from pollen or seed that has blown onto farms from GMO crops, forcing small indigenous farmers to leave their land since the crops won't grow without Monsanto's expensive, toxic chemicals. If the Aztecs and Mayans had subsisted on GMO corn, I'd hate to think what their pyramids would have looked like. Especially the food pyramid.

7. KNOW YOUR OPTIONS. WTF! Is anything safe to eat? If it's certified organic, it's not allowed to contain any GMOs. In addition to buying organic, look for voluntary non-GMO labels and avoid products made from corn, soybeans, canola and cottonseed (unless they're organic). The Non-GMO Project is a nonprofit organization that tests for GMO content and has created an industry-wide set of standards through a third-party verification process. You can look for their label on products and find the non-GMO-approved brands on their site. You can also download PDFs and free apps for the Institute for Responsible Technology's Non-GMO Shopping Guide and the Center for Food Safety's True Food Shopper's Guide. Are we a bad-ass yet?

Bad-asses in training

8. KNOW YOUR POLITICS. The seeds of change in California. We have a chance to get mandatory labeling of GMO food on the California ballot for the first time in 2012. But getting an initiative on the ballot is a time-sensitive, carefully orchestrated endeavor. Starting in January, we'll have about 150 days to gather up to 800,000 signatures. Meanwhile, the GMO industry is gearing up to crush us, so we have to be poised to fight their deep pockets with our bad-ass, grass-roots offensive. Just think. If GMO labeling is passed in California, it's only a matter of time 'til the other states follow. What happens in California won't stay in California.

Total bad-asses

9. KNOW YOUR PRIORITIES. A pesticide in every bite. This is the first generation that will grow up on foods spliced with genes that produce risky, untested insecticides. GMO soy, corn and cotton are grown with the Bt toxin—a built-in pesticide thousands of times more concentrated than sprays. But where does it say that on your infant formula? We don't tell corporations and lobbyists who they can buy. Why should they decide what we can eat?

10. KNOW YOUR RIGHTS. Buh bye, lazy ass. Hello, bad-ass. Still sitting on your Bt cotton couch? Well, did you know that if just 5% of the population rejects GMOs, then the food makers will stop putting them in their products? It happened in Europe. Why not here? But first we have to get them labeled so people know what GMOs are. So be a bad-ass and demand the right to know.

From: Science Newsline Medicine
http://www.sciencenewsline.com/medicine/2011100603290023.html

New Study Shows Inflammatory Food Toxins Found in High Levels in Infants

Published: October 6, 2011. The Mount Sinai Hospital / Mount Sinai School of Medicine

Researchers from Mount Sinai School of Medicine have found high levels of food toxins called Advanced Glycation End products (AGEs) in infants. Excessive food AGEs, through both maternal blood transmission and baby formula, could together significantly increase children's risk for diseases such as diabetes from a very young age. A second study of AGEs in adults found that cutting back on processed, grilled, and fried foods, which are high in AGEs, may improve insulin resistance in people with diabetes. AGEs -- toxic glucose byproducts previously tied to high blood sugar -- are found in most heated foods and, in great excess, in commercial infant formulas.

Related
• More news from The Mount Sinai Hospital / Mount Sinai School of Medicine
• The Mount Sinai Hospital / Mount Sinai School of Medicine

The first report, published in Diabetes Care in December 2010, showed that AGEs can be elevated as early as at birth, indicating that infants are highly susceptible to the inflammation associated with insulin resistance and diabetes later in life. Helen Vlassara, MD, Professor and Director of the Division of Experimental Diabetes and Aging, working with Jaime Uribarri, MD, Professor of Medicine and colleagues at Mount Sinai School of Medicine, looked at 60 women and their infants to see if there was a passive transfer of AGEs from the blood of mothers to their babies. They found that newborn infants, expected to be practically AGE-free, had levels of AGEs in their blood as high as their adult mothers.

Within the first year of life, after switching from breast milk onto commercial formulas, the infants' AGEs had doubled to levels seen in people with diabetes, and many had elevated insulin levels. Formulas that are processed under high heat can contain 100 times more AGEs than human breast milk, delivering a huge AGE surplus to infants, which could be toxic.

"Modern food AGEs can overwhelm the body's defenses, a worrisome fact especially for young children," said Dr. Vlassara. "More research is certainly needed, but the findings confirm our studies in genetic animal models of diabetes. Given the rise in the incidence of diabetes in children, safe and low cost AGE-less approaches to children's diet should be considered by clinicians and families."

The work led to a second report in Diabetes Care, in July 2011, which demonstrates that a modest cut in foods high in AGEs may improve insulin resistance in adults with diabetes. AGEs were found to be elevated in most grilled, fried, or baked foods. Cutting back on the consumption of foods that are heat-processed, but without reducing fat or carbohydrate consumption, improved insulin levels and overall health in patients already treated for, but remaining, insulin resistant. The findings are a dramatic departure from standard clinical recommendations for the management of diabetes.

For four months, 18 overweight people with type 2 diabetes and 18 healthy adults were assigned to an AGE-restricted diet or a standard diet consisting of the same calories and nutrients they ingested before beginning the AGE-restricted diet. An AGE-restricted diet emphasizes poached or stewed foods, such as mashed potatoes instead of fries, stewed chicken instead of grilled chicken, and boiled eggs instead of fried eggs.

The results showed that the subjects with diabetes assigned to the AGE-restricted diet had a 35 percent decrease in blood insulin levels, well beyond that achieved by their previous therapeutic regimen. This was associated with improved markers of inflammation and a restoration of compromised native defenses. This is the first study to show in humans that AGEs promote insulin resistance and possibly diabetes. The study also shows for the first time that restricting the amount of AGEs consumed with food may quickly restore the body's defenses and reduce insulin resistance.

"This clinical study begins to expose the double role food AGEs play in obesity and in diabetes, a major concern for everyone today, particularly young children. It is especially exciting that a simple intervention such as AGE-restriction or future drugs that block AGE absorption could have a positive effect on these epidemics," said Dr. Vlassara. "The tenets of the diet could not be simpler; turn down the heat, add water, and eat more at home."

Letter from my Senator

A few weeks ago I sent a (form) letter to my US senator letting him know that I don't want GM Salmon allowed into our food supply.  The reply I got back made me realize my senator is either a) not well informed or b) in the back pocket of biotechnology business.  I've highlighted the sections I agree with in green and those I believe my senator to be wrong in yellow.

Dear Ms. B:

Thank you for contacting me about the production and distribution of genetically modified (GM) foods.  I appreciate having the benefit of your comments.

The United States enjoys the safest and most plentiful food supply in the world.  Key to our successes are production and safety practices rooted in sound scientific practices.  Among these practices, biotechnology, though still in its infancy, has the potential to help keep U.S. agriculture at the world's forefront while ensuring a safe, abundant, and affordable food supply.

Underscoring the immense size and slow response time of the federal government, biotechnology development, and the development of GM foods, continually outpaces the standards of federal agencies that regulate and monitor food products.  Several federal agencies, including the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), have a role in the development, production, and marketing stages of the entire U.S. food supply—whether traditional or GM.  Any plant or animal product intended for human consumption must undergo strict scrutiny by the FDA and USDA.  Additionally, the USDA must review and approve all GM crop varieties—subject to further examination by the Environmental Protection Agency—before planting.

As you know, food containing GM plant varieties is now commonplace.  The Congressional Research Service estimates that nearly 70 percent of the U.S. food supply contains some form of GM crop variety—most notably corn and soy-based ingredients used in many processed foods.  However, a small category of dairy products is currently the only GM food product derived from animals to be approved.  Although questions were raised about the safety of meat and dairy products derived from cloned animals, the FDA has concluded that these products are as safe as meat and dairy products derived from naturally born animals.  Cloning technology does not alter the genetic makeup of an animal, but rather generates an exact copy.  The FDA is currently developing guidelines for monitoring the marketing of cloned and other animal-based food products with the help of the USDA and the biotechnology industry.

Additionally, questions have been raised regarding labeling requirements for GM foods.  No government regulation exists to compel food manufacturers to label a product that contains a GM variety, however GM food products are subject to all existing USDA and FDA safety and labeling requirements.  Moreover, the USDA has determined that cloned animals will not qualify for the USDA Organic marketing label.

I appreciate having the opportunity to represent Texans in the United States Senate, and you may be certain that I will work to ensure that decisions concerning the development, production, and marketing of our food supply continue to be rooted in sound and safe scientific practice.  Thank you for taking the time to contact me.

Sincerely,

JOHN CORNYN

United States Senator

517 Hart Senate Office Building

Washington, DC 20510

Tel: (202) 224-2934

Fax: (202) 228-2856

http://www.cornyn.senate.gov

What's In A Name???

So why "Food for Thought?" Simply because that's what I think about so much these days. But not because I'm hungry or anything. I think about food, and our food supply, because over the last couple years I have become more aware of what's in it, where it's coming from, and just how bad it's become.

How did this journey begin?  Well about 2 years ago my husband decided that he was going to try Sari Mellman's Nutritional Program for Applied Immunology - I know it's a mouth full.  When first described the program to me I was quite skeptical, but the more I learned about the it the more intrigued I became.

It starts with a blood draw. -- When I've told people that they all ask if it's the "Blood Type Diet."  No it isn't. -- They take your blood and test it against a series of foods.  Then they return a list those foods your system reacts to along with a list of foods you should be able to eat with out problem, and on what day you can try them.  Are you confused yet?

Think of it like this.  When you start a baby eating solid foods you give them one thing, say peas.  After that first day of eating the peas you wait a couple days to see if the baby has any kind of reaction to them  If they don't then you know they can keep eating the peas.  If they do, you don't give them the peas again.

Just by being on this program I think about food every day, because even seasonings need to be introduced one at a time. Processed foods, forget it!!!  Because this diet is so individualized, every single ingredient needs to be "challenged" before it can be eaten on a regular basis.  Oh, and another thing about this progam... they suggest, wherever possible, to eat organic, because the chemicals (pesticides, herbicides, insecticides) need to be "challenged" too.   If I wasn't a label reader before, I certainly am now.

Okay, fast forward to last spring.  I was talking to my dentist about, I don't even remember.  (Probably something about corn.) He told me to go look on YouTube for videos about Monsanto.  So I did.  Boy did that freak me out.  What I started learning about GM/GE (Genetically Modified/Genetically Engineered) foods made me so upset.

Over the last few months I've read a lot on the internet, "Liked" several pages on Facebook, read some books and even watched videos & DVDs all about GMO foods that we, as a society, are eating and don't even know it.  Our wonderful U.S. government is allowing big agro businesses use us as guinnea pigs in their food experiements.

That in a nutshell is why I've been thinking about food so much.  And that is why I've decided to name this blog "Food For Thought: What This Momma Is Thinking"