GEI

Organic Vs. Non GMO

By now you know that I’m an advocate for organic eating. Trust me I understand economics (well enough anyway) to know that it’s not always the “affordable” option. But I do feel strongly that it is an important issue. I say with every recipe “as organic as possible,” because I believe every bit matters. We don’t even know what we are doing to ourselves (as in mankind) with all of the crazy things we are putting into our food and therefore into our bodies. Information is knowledge… (as long as it is truthful and accurate.)

Ok, enough from me. I came across this article from a food blogger making great strides in the world. Most recently she was a part of the movement to get Starbucks to take the harmful artificial coloring out of the pumpkin spice latte (it wasn’t adding flavor). And a catalyst in getting Subway to list their ingredients and remove the dangerous chemical azodicarbonamide from their bread. Bravo! (BTW that chemical is used for making yoga mats and shoe rubber, is not supposed to be eaten, and was only in bread served in North America, not Australia, EU or the UK. Thank you FDA.)

There’s a lot of confusion and debate about what non-GMO and organic labels really mean.
The labels are very different! It’s crucial to understand the difference if you want to pick out the healthiest and safest food for you and your family. Every time we decide to buy a product, we are supporting so much more than our bodies. We are shaping the landscape of the entire food system – everything from the environment, land, air, water to the farmers themselves. And this is why I want you to know the truth about the “Non-GMO” label and what it really means.

What exactly does the “Non-GMO Project” label mean?
The “Non-GMO Project” label only verifies that a product doesn’t contain genetically modified (GMO) ingredients (or technically less than 0.9% GMOs). While that is good, it’s not the whole story about what the product contains, how it was produced, and where it came from.

But when I have a choice, I always choose organic food because of these reasons…

10 reasons why “Organic” beats “Non-GMO” every time:

1. Certified organic foods are also non-GMO.

2. Organic crops cannot be grown with synthetic pesticides, and contain much lower pesticide residues overall.

3. The most widely-used herbicide on the planet – Glyphosate (Roundup) – is prohibited on organic crops.

4. Organic ingredients aren’t processed with toxic hexane.

5. Organic crops are prohibited from being fertilized with sewage sludge.

6. Organic meat isn’t produced with growth-promoting drugs, like ractopamine.

7. Organic animals aren’t fattened up with growth-promoting antibiotics.

8. The non-GMO label claim is unregulated.

9. Organic foods prohibit many of the chemicals known as “obesogens” that trigger our bodies to store fat.

10. By choosing organic food you’ll automatically avoid most of the “Sickening 15” … Chemicals like synthetic preservatives, synthetic pesticides, growth hormones and antibiotics are not used in organic food…

For the original article and more information check out foodbabe.com

Also this Sadie’s Nest post was updated and amended from the original as Subway has removed azodicarbonamide from their bread! Hurray! Next maybe they will offer organic options?

Eating Organic

Growing up, I lived in a somewhat rural area. I often passed corn fields, most people I knew fished (this is Michigan after all,) and both sets of my grandparents had gardens. So, I had no idea that anything was different from what it said it was. A pea is a pea; a potato is a potato, etc. It wasn’t until my time at Lee University in Cleveland, Tennessee, that I had friends who talked about notions of being self-sufficient and growing their own food, when I began to realize that the food in the grocery stores I shopped at may not be what I thought. I began to learn about crazy things called Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO’s). A tomato, for example, might not do very well in the rain, so a gene from a fish that is water repellent could be introduced to the genetic make up of the tomato, which would make it superior in wet conditions. And they can even call this process “all natural,” and label your food as such; because after all tomato and fish are natural! Of course, there are all kinds of these experiments going on out there. For another example, let’s talk about soy. Soy is mass produced and in just about everything from peanut butter, to protein bars and tofu. Well, how does one grow large quantities of soy without the fields being overtaken with weeds? Easy! You just modify the soy bean with an anti-roundup gene. (You know, roundup, like the poison that you spray on your driveway. The chemical linked to all sorts of serious health issues, that warns on its own label for pregnant women not to use.) That way when the crop dusters spray the fields with large quantities of roundup, the soy is saved! Hurray! Uh, wait a minute… So, you start to think, what am I eating? What are they doing to people?

Since Owen and I were married and had our own place, we’ve been eating organic, not 100%, but a fair amount. I started with the basics, like meat and dairy. Then it was fruits and vegetables, especially those where you eat the skin, because I’m not into eating pesticide. Gradually we converted our spice cabinet and pantry items, and voila! I’m not going to pretend we don’t eat at McDonald’s on occasion and order in from our local pizzeria. But when it comes to our home we do the best we can for ourselves and our children. It just makes sense, right? I think of it as a good investment. What I am paying now, I hope to save with medical bills in the future. I strongly urge you to do the same.

If you were two, and you liked apples, you would!

If you were two, and you liked apples, you would eat fake apples…