Know What's in Your Food! Say No to GMOs

You don’t have to be a foodie, an advocate or a health nut to care about what’s in your food, particularly when it comes to GMOs, which affect everyone. If you’re hearing this term but have no clue what it means, it’s basically code for “science experiment masquerading as real food.” Don’t be fooled.

If you’d like to learn more about this important issue that affects us all, please join The Westport Farmers’ Market, The Wakeman Town Farm, and Right to Know CT this Sunday for:

Don't be Fooled by GMOs

Westport Inn

1595 Post Road East Westport, Connecticut

Sunday, April 1, 5:00 pm to 6:30 pm

At this event, local sustainable food advocates Analiese Paik, Tara Cook-Littman, & Glen Colello will educate guests about GMOs, their health risks, and how to avoid them in our diets. The panel will also discuss the Connecticut GMO labeling bill, HB 5117, and how to support it, then take audience questions.

Representatives Kim Fawcett, Tony Hwang and Jonathan Steinberg will also share their own views on the importance of GMO labeling.

Suggested Donation: $5 per person / $10 per family / children & students are free

Kindly RSVP to dontbefooledGMO@gmail.com to reserve your seat.

Until then, a few points to ponder:

Technically, a GMO (genetically modified organism) is the result of a laboratory process of taking genes from one species and inserting them into another in an attempt to obtain a desired trait or characteristic, hence they are also known as transgenic organisms. This process may be called either Genetic Engineering (GE) or Genetic Modification (GM); they are one and the same. Call the processes what you like, but just don’t call the results “real” food.

The initial intent of this process was to produce hardier crops and greater yields (and naturally, greater profits). The unintended consequence of messing with Mother Nature is that Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) can make you sick. Studies link GMOs with toxins, allergies, infertility, infant mortality, immune dysfunction, stunted growth, accelerated aging and death. Lab rats who ate GM tomatoes got so deathly ill with stomach lesions that the manufacturers were forced to yank the GM tomatoes from the market.

But that didn’t stop the FDA from allowing GMOs into food without labeling. Despite the fact that FDA scientists had repeatedly warned that GM foods can create unpredictable, hard-to-detect side effects, including allergies, toxins, new diseases and nutritional problems and, despite urging long-term safety studies, their pleas were ignored and today’s grocery shelves are filled with products that are genetically modified.

GMO Expert Jeffrey M. Smith, author of the #1 GMO bestseller Seeds of Deception, and Genetic Roulette, has made a career out of exposing the shocking evidence why these gene-spliced crops may lead to health and environmental catastrophes. He chronicles true stories about how FDA scientists and researchers who have tried to expose the risk of GMOs have been fired, threatened and gagged, or ignored. If you’re interested in learning more about your right to know what's in your food, Smith's engaging books are a great place to start.

Below are just a few of the studies on animals that were swept under the rug:

Thousands of sheep, buffalo, and goats in India died after grazing on Bt cotton plants

Mice eating GM corn for the long term had fewer, and smaller, babies

More than half the babies of mother rats fed GM soy died within three weeks, and were smaller

Testicle cells of mice and rats on a GM soy change significantly

By the third generation, most GM soy-fed hamsters lost the ability to have babies

Rodents fed GM corn and soy showed immune system responses and signs of toxicity

Cooked GM soy contains as much as 7-times the amount of a known soy allergen

Soy allergies skyrocketed by 50% in the UK, soon after GM soy was introduced

The stomach lining of rats fed GM potatoes showed excessive cell growth, a condition that may lead to cancer.

Studies showed organ lesions, altered liver and pancreas cells, changed enzyme levels, etc.

Scared yet? You should be!

Our kids are growing up as pawns in a game of weird science that is turning everyday foods into freakish experiments with untold future risks.

As hard as we try to make good food choices, the war to win big profits in the supermarket, where close to 80 percent of the foods on the grocery shelves are now GM, means that big agriculture companies have a vested interest in keeping us ignorant of the science fiction experiments that are being passed off as real food.

Until all GM Foods are labeled, here are a few ways to spot them:

Keep your eyes out for the five widespread GM Food Crops on the market: (1) Soy; (2) Corn; (3) Canola; (4) Cotton; and (5) Sugar Beets.  A small amount of Hawaiian papaya, zucchini, and squash have also been genetically modified to resist a plant virus. Avoid them! GMOs have been engineered to be either herbicide resistant, pesticide producing, or both.  Many dairy farms in the United states are also injecting the cows with a genetically engineered hormone called rbGH or rbST. So, how do you avoid foods that are ubiquitous? The short answer is: steer clear of packaged foods as much as possible and opt instead for fresh produce, pasture-raised meats and dairy and foods from small farms you know and trust!

Be aware that GMO ingredients have aliases and they may be difficult to spot. Some hidden GMO ingredients include; aspartame, baking soda, caramel color, corn flour, corn sugar, corn syrup, dextrose, fructose, protein, lecithin, malt, maltodextrin, sorbitol, sugar, soy sauce, soy lecithin, vitamin E, vitamin B12, and xanthum gum.  Just try find a processed food on the market without at least one of those ingredients.  Please go to www.NonGMOShoppingGuide.com for a complete list of hidden GMO ingredients and other tips for avoiding GMOs.   

Learn more about this issue from a local perspective. Please attend the “Don’t be Fooled” Event on Sunday, April 1 at The Westport Inn. Join other concerned Connecticut residents who are working together to raise awareness about GMOs and push to become the first state in the country to require labeling of GM foods. For more information or to reserve your spot, contact: dontbefooledGMO@gmail.com

P.S. Non-GMO nibbles will be served. Generously provided by Catch a Healthy Habit, Boxcar Cantina and Double L Market.

Analiese Paik is a sustainable food advocate who recently helped found the Right to Know CT campaign in support of Connecticut’s GMO labeling bill. Analiese is the founder and editor of the award-winning website FairfieldGreenFoodGuide.com. The website is Fairfield County’s premier destination for localand sustainable food resources, news and events.

Tara Cook-Littman is a Certified Holistic Health Counselor and staff member at the Institute for Responsible Technology who recently helped to create the Right to Know CT campaign in support of Connecticut’s GMO labeling bill. A former New York City Prosecutor, Tara leads seminars to help individuals live a healthful, happy, and authentic life while also advocating for improved food policy within our government and local organizations.

Glen Colello is the co-owner of Catch A Healthy Habit Cafe in Fairfield. A graduate of the Institute of Integrative Nutrition, Glen is a Certified Health Counselor and plans events that educate attendees about health and wellness.

The Westport Farmers’ Market is committed to providing fresh, local, healthy and seasonal food. We aspire to create a fun, safe and healthy community environment for education and socialization. Our mission is to increase awareness, knowledge and support for local producers focused on sustainable and healthygrowing practices.

The WakemanTown Farm Sustainability Center is an organic demonstration homestead open to the public. The Farm is a model facility created to educate the community with local healthy food production, responsible land stewardship, sustainable practices and community service orientation.

The Westport Inn has been certified as a Connecticut Green Lodging Facility by the Connecticut State Department of Energy and Environmental Protection.