You’re probably familiar with the word GMO by now. But do you know what it means and why people, like yours truly, are so worried about their existence? Ok so no it’s not an acronym like LOL (lol on that though).
GMO stands for genetically modified organism. This is literally and practically mad scientists shit going down.
Did you know that its estimated that GMO’s are in 80% of our food chain? At least 90 percent of the soy, cotton, canola, corn and sugar beets sold in the United States have been genetically engineered.
This is quite worrying because according to the National Library of Medicine, when organisms are infused with foreign genes into their genetic codes it can lead to harmful effects to the original plant base. Meaning that the GMO’s will take over and lead to the eventual extinction of the original plant organism.
OK. thats pretty bad. You want to know why? The Institute of Responsible Technology put forth a quote detailing the harmful effects of GMO’s:
“Genetically modified foods have been linked to toxic and allergic reactions, sick, sterile and dead livestock, and damage to virtually every organ studied in lab animals”
AND then we have the fact that the American Academy of Environmental Medicine (AAEM) urges doctors to prescribe non-GMO diets for all patients. They cite animal studies showing organ damage, gastrointestinal and immune system disorders, accelerated aging, and infertility. Human studies show how genetically modified (GM) food can leave material behind inside us, possibly and most probably causing long-term problems.
Ok, is there any proof that this is actually happening?
Numerous health problems increased after GMOs were introduced in 1996. The percentage of Americans with three or more chronic illnesses jumped from 7% to 13% in just 9 years; food allergies skyrocketed, and disorders such as autism, reproductive disorders, digestive problems, and others are on the rise.
There is another, HUGE problem with GMOs:
They are killing our most important food pollinators, the honeybees. (Not only the bees but also birds and butterflies and all other insects) Scientists have found that the increased use of a class of pesticides known as neonicotinoids and Montsanto’s own herbicide Roundup is the primary cause of Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD), the ongoing killing of honeybee colonies.
Who makes the neonicotinoids?
Syngenta, Bayer CropSciences and Dow Agrosciences.
Who’s using them, and why?
Companies like Monsanto, Bayer, Dow Agrosciences are using them in the herbicides, pesticides and seeds they sell to farmers who grow genetically engineered crops. Crops that eventually end up in our food, or in the feed used to fatten up animals in factory farms-animals. Oh, you can also buy them for your garden, so your neighbour might be a user too.
It’s simple math: No bees, no food.
Or at least, no apples, cherries, onions, celery, cabbage, and a long list of others, including almonds and blueberries which, according to the American Beekeeping Federation, are 90-percent dependent on bees for pollination. Insects such as bees pollinate 80% of the food we eat.
Estimates are that nearly a third of the honeybee population has been wiped out since 2006!!!
There’s still hope if we act now. The Non-GMO Project issued a statement: “In more than 60 countries around the world, including Australia, Japan and all of the countries in the European Union, there are significant restrictions or outright bans on the production and sale of GMOs.” Isolating America as one of the only developed Western nations to still be using GMOs.
We can save the bees, birds, butterflies-and ourselves-by driving GMOs, neonics and Roundup off the market.
Let’s make the Great Transition to organic agriculture and gardening, before it’s too late.
A beautiful way you can be an eco-warrior for our pollinators is to make sure that you plant bee and butterfly friendly flowers in your yard, window boxes or on your balcony. Just check out this post from our friends at Happy DYI Home on 25 different flowers that will do just that while looking pretty at the same time 🙂
If you are interested in learning how to know more about GMOS, check out this post on how to decode (they made it tricky of course) the new GMO labels as well as this post on easy steps to take to avoid GMOS.