The EWG's Factory Four -- can you spot the GMOs?

On Monday, I wrote about the EWG's Watch List -- Foods that could be genetically engineered. Today, I want to share their list of the most common GE ingredients in food. Look out. Here are the EWG's Factory Four:

• Field corn and corn-derived ingredients. My main problem with this one is -- it seems like corn or corn-derived ingredients are in nearly everything! And in the U.S., where 90% of the corn grown is genetically engineered, it's just plain scary. Since we're the world's largest corn producer and many countries reject any GMO corn, what chances do we have in this country of not being exposed to the genetically modified corn in our food? Last year, corn was the biggest crop for American farmers (according to the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture), with most of it being field corn which is used in animal feed. But nearly 12% is processed to 
• corn flour
• high fructose corn syrup
• corn starch
• masa
• corn meal
• corn oil

If any of the above ingredients is listed in the food you eat, unless it's organic, assume you are consuming GMOs.

• Soybeans and soybean-derived ingredients. Recently, my husband switched from taking lecithin capsules (which he's taken for decades) to eating lecithin granules. Why? Because it was the only lecithin he could find listed as non-GMO. According to the EWG's report, soybeans are the second most planted American crop, covering more than 76 million acres last year. Of those grown, 93% are genetically engineered. Soybean-based products and soybean-derived ingredients are ridiculously common on the shelves of every supermarket. If the following ingredients are listed, assume they are genetically modified, unless they are certified organic or GMO/GE-free:
• soy proteins
• soybean oil
• soy milk
• soy flour
• soy sauce
• tofu
• soy lecithin

 Keep that in mind when feeding your infant soy formula. If it's not organic, it's swimming with genetically modified organisms. Yuck!!!

• Sugar. Yes, sugar. Did you know that 55% of U.S. grown sugar is extracted from sugar beets? Well, it is. And 95% of the sugar beets are genetically modified. If the sugar is not listed as "pure cane" sugar, chances are high that the product contains GE beet sugar. Thank you, FDA.

• Vegetable oils. Okay, get ready to assume, at all times, that the following oils are made from GMOs, because in the majority of cases, they are:
• vegetable oil
• canola oil
• cottonseed oil
• soybean oil
• corn oil

Approximately 90% of American oilseed production is soybeans, which I already mentioned are almost entirely genetically engineered. What about the other 10%? Good question. Those crops include

• cottonseed
• sunflower seed
• canola
• rapeseed
• peanut

Again, according to the EWG, canola and cottonseed oil are mostly from GE varieties and over 90% of corn oil is derived from GMO corn.

Scare tactics? No, simply facts. Grocery shopping is becoming more and more difficult. It's frustrating, at times overwhelming, expensive, and depressing. I, for one, have been known to break down in tears in the middle of the store on more than one occasion.

Listen, moms and dads, I know how tempting it is to simply bury your heads in the sand. But the "what we don't know won't hurt us" mentality doesn't cut it here when it comes to safely feeding your family. Hate me if you want to, but I feel an obligation to inform.

Take it for what it's worth. I do it because I care.

Even Russia is saying NO to Monsanto!

Officials in countries across Europe are demonstrating what it is like to have leaders who care more about your health than about money. Just last year, officials took drastic steps to protect Hungarians from the dangers of GMOs.

Genetically modified corn

Almost 1000 acres of maize found to have been grown with genetically modified seeds have been destroyed throughout Hungary deputy state secretary of the Ministry of Rural Development Lajos Bognar said. The GMO maize has been ploughed under, said Lajos Bognar, but pollen has not spread from the maize, he added.

Just imagine the amount of discussion involved in the ultimate decision to destroy the crops! I'm confident this was a decision that wasn't reached without much research, thought, and perhaps even a prayer or two.

Now the news is out about Russia. On Tuesday, Russia suspended the import and use of Monsanto's genetically engineered corn, following last week's study in France that prompted heightened concerns about the the health risks of eating genetically engineered foods. According to Proposition 37 Campaign Manager Gary Ruskin, "There is a giant question mark hanging over these foods and their health risks. For those of us in California, the case for labeling of genetically engineered foods has never been stronger."

Notice, Proposition 37 is not about banning GMOs. It's simply about labeling them. Yet all sorts of big corporations are fighting it. Why?? My personal frustration over this costs me sleep at times. There is an evil force at work here, and it's wearing sheep's clothing. While Bill Gates and countless others are singing the praises of Monsanto and GMOs, the rest of us are nothing more than lab rats being fed experimental garbage. It makes me sick.

I have no doubt that people I've known and loved and died because of genetically modified food they've eaten. Can I prove that? Of course not. I'm not a scientist or a doctor. I'm simply a concerned citizen who is beyond angry that the United States government is not following suit and banning the foods that Europeans are keeping out of their countries. For me, this issue is of utmost importance in the upcoming elections, yet I can't seem to find a candidate brave enough to stand up to Goliath.

This food is poisoning our children. Since GMOs were first introduced in the mid 90s, we've seen a bizarre increase in nut allergies, with genetically modified soy as a suspected culprit. According to Scott H. Sicherer et al. in Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, a protein in natural soy has cross-reactivity with peanut allergies.

Looking back to my childhood in the 60s, I don't recall anyone allergic to peanuts in my school. Peanut butter and jelly was a regular staple in the cafeteria. I took my mom's homemade Peanut Butter Fingers (delicious) for every birthday celebration throughout elementary school and every one of my classmates enjoyed them. I didn't know a single child with diabetes or celiac disease, either. The list could go on and on as to how many diseases/disorders have skyrocketed in the decades since Monsanto started tainting our food. And they have enough money to keep us in the dark. 

Here's my question: if GMOs are not a danger to us, why the campaign to keep them off the labels of our foods? Why can't the American consumers make their own choices about the food they feed their families??

Hungary cares. Russia cares. Why, oh why, doesn't America?



Additional info about the companies spending big bucks in efforts to defeat Prop 37:

Monsanto is in for $7.1 million

DuPont is in for $4.9 million
Dow Chemical is in for $2 million
Pepsi is in for $1.7 million
Coke is in for $1.1 million