Why I’m such a FREAK when it comes to GMO’s
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Monthly Archives: September 2013
Why I’m such a FREAK when it comes to GMO’s
If you’ve been following me on twitter lately, you may have noticed my focus going from running to running my mouth off against GMO’s. It has upset some twipsters, but only 2 of the 60,000 I have following me have truly bumped heads with me on it.
In the following blog I am simply going to tell my story, and maybe rattle off just a few tidbits of information available on the subject. If you are so inclined, you can seek more information on your own. I’ve put links throughout this blog that will take you to places to learn the truth about GMOs. And in the end, you can draw your own conclusion.
I have a Masters degree in Veterinary Science. During my years working on that degree I had the honor of working with some amazing scientists. Like many students, I was disillusioned into thinking that most research had the sole purpose of discovery, cures and evolving science. Along the way, and while working after receiving my degree I became aware that it is not. Research is more about keeping students and post-docs employed and making the givers of grant money happy.
At most facilities that do scientific research, especially universities, PhD’s seek grant money from places like pharmaceutical and biotech companies. That money is used to perform research on things like new drugs, vaccines, and so on. But more than anything, that research money keeps labs going. It pays for the lab techs, the grad student’s stipends, and the post-doc’s pay. Without that money, people lose their jobs. Many labs are run solely on grant money.
You learn very quickly that you better come up with the results the company providing the funding wants, or they may take their business elsewhere. That is all I’m going to say about that. And by the way, it was while working in an immunology lab that I made the decision NOT to continue vaccinating my children.
I left research to raise my kids. I simply could not work in a field doing research I didn’t agree with.
Fast forward almost 10 years. I am a mother. I am an avid reader of all things related to nutrition, fitness, health, medicine, science and running. I am a self proclaimed nutrition guru. My brain is packed full of alternative and non-alternative medicine, and can tell you what to do for your IT band injury. But along the way, I learned about the corruption of our food. It is nearly impossible to investigate nutrition without finding yourself on the dirty path that our food has taken to the modern day.
As a person who has first hand experience working in research, I do not bat an eye when I am told things like “Monsanto didn’t allow it to be published.” or “He lost his job because he tried to publish his research.”
Everyone says, “Show me the peer reviewed research!” or “The FDA says there is no difference between natural crops and GMO crops.” But they are so misinformed.
Monsanto has spent millions of dollars educating the public about how safe their products are. They have millions to do just that. The small groups of scientists and citizens who know better don’t have millions to counter those commercials.
And as far as the research, well, thanks to the FDA, GMO’s don’t have to be tested for safety. Our FDA is a messed up and overworked agency. They don’t have time to test every new product on the market. If a company believes that their new product is generally recognized as safe (GRAS), they don’t need to test it. If you want to create your own GMO product, you can put it on the market with no testing tomorrow.
Yes, Monsanto has paid for some testing. The studies were crap, they’ve ‘proven’ GMO’s are safe, big surprise. And they will stand behind those crappy experiments until the dead cows they killed come home. Independent scientists and countries where it is banned have done research that proves otherwise. But I don’t need testing to know GMO’s are bad.
Seeing reports that entire herds of animals died after eating GMO cotton stocks–that’s telling. Seeing the results of studies where mice die at twice the rate when fed GMO feed as compared to their control mice eating non-GMO– that’s telling. The fact that wild animals won’t eat GMO crops…that says a lot. And the fact that cows, squirrels, pigs, sheep, bison and rats will choose natural over GMO feed when offered both, that speaks volumes to me. I can do that very experiment in my own back yard, and see the proof.
There are a slew of illnesses out there that are believed to be linked to GMO’s. Allergies, stomach issues, reproductive issues and developmental issues to name a few.
GMO’s do not help farmers, they are not going to end world hunger and are not good for the planet (ask the 60% of butterflies that die when their milkweed is exposed to GMO pollen). They increase the amount of pesticide needed, they don’t increase yield potential but reduce it over time, they create super-weeds that are resistant to herbicide, they can cause health issues and are less nutritious than natural foods (all information and scientific documentation can be found in the links provided).
I can go on and on…
But above all, I strive to feed my children the very best, least toxic food I can find. And I am trying to support all actions that make our planet a better place for them to live. That said, I don’t feed GMO’s to my children. I buy organics, because that is the only way to know the food is GMO free and I fight for the labeling of GMOs.
If you want to know more, check out some of my links. I also suggest watching the movie, Genetic Roulette , The World According to Monsanto, Food inc. or if you are into reading, these books are extremely informative and site the research all those people beg for: Seeds of Deception, The World According to Monsanto, The Unhealthy Truth, One Mother’s Shocking Investigation Into America’s Food Supply–And What Every Family Can do to Protect Themselves, (all of these links go to Amazon, not because they pay me…I wish, but because you can see the reviews and read the back cover).
And by the way, being GMO free makes me run faster! When you are healthy, you really do run faster:)
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