Genetically modified organisms, or GMOs for short, have been in the news frequently.
They aren’t labeled. They make you fat. Yet, 85% of corn and 91% of soybeans are genetically modified.
What is GMO? Plants and animals that have been genetically engineered in a laboratory.
These plants and animals are so different from what we find in nature, they are considered new organisms. How new? Enough to be granted patent protection from the US government (thanks to a lot of money from Monsanto). The big problem is that MOST of the food available at the grocery store includes genetically modified organisms, or GMOs.
This is worrisome because our bodies are so complex we don’t really know how they work. For example, until recently we thought that 80% of human DNA was junk, and served no useful purpose. We even termed it “junk DNA.” That idea was proven false this year when it was found that this junk “DNA” is actually essential, since it controls of the expression of our genes (when, how, and to what degree they are used throughout our lifetime).
So, since we don’t even know how most of the DNA in our cells actually works, it’s pretty clear that we don’t have a clue what will happen when our daily diet is laced with genetic sequences that have been concocted in a lab.
Given a fear that GMOs are doing us harm, there’s been a push to add a label foods that use GMOs (like a large and growing number of countries do).
Big Agriculture naturally opposes this. They don’t want to release this information. They fear that if customers were able to make informed decisions based on whether foods used GMOs or not, they would select the ones that don’t use them even if they were more expensive.
They are right. As a result, they spent one million dollars a DAY in marketing and advertising to defeat a proposition in California for transparent labeling.
This is a great example of how the global system gets into trouble
GMO seeds were released wholesale into the US food supply without much testing in 1996.
This is clearly another example of fooling around with a insanely complex system regulators don’t remotely understand.
We’ve seen this before, e.g. in the Financial industry, when a HUGE, sleepy, but functional US mortgage market was “improved” by “innovative” securitization, and it blew up the economy.
We’ve also seen the establishment make terrible errors with our health, like when margarine was sold as a healthy replacement for butter and it ended up killing millions of people prematurely. It took the FDA until just a couple weeks ago to finally change rules on trans fats.
There is cause to worry that we may already be seeing problems from this.
There has been a spike in the number of kids with allergies to foods and kids with immunological problems (thyroid, etc.) since 1996. So far, while the connection to new GMO proteins is suspected, it hasn’t been categorically proven yet.
Obesity rates have also DOUBLED since 1996.
So what happens when the bubble pops?
It’s simple. People turn inward during any turbulent times.
During the financial crisis, the average person decreases spending and increases savings.
During an emotional crisis, an average person will seek support from people in their inner circles – families and friends.
And during a food crisis, they’ll begin turning to local production.
There are numerous actions you can take. Talk to a farmer at a local farmer’s market to order directly, join a CSA (community supported agriculture) or begin to produce your own fruits and vegetables.
The government will be too late.
Food corporations will advertise “healthy” foods laced with GMO and other cheap ingredients to boost their own profits.
You are the only one that can make sure you are prepared when bubbles pop. We know it’s coming, why wait any longer?
