Thursday, February 21, 2013

This Mom is Thankful for Frankenfood

Yes, I work for farmers who choose to grow genetically modified corn and soybeans. I am able to read research defending the benefits of modified crops to farmers, the environment, and ultimately the growing human population. I also have friends who work for Monsanto, as well as other seed companies, who sell and market genetically modified hybrids. I smiled when I saw that environmental activist Mark Lynas changed his position from condemning genetically modified foods to celebrating them. But in the end, I am NOT defending GMOs or “Frankenfoods” for these reasons. I have a better one.

I have witnessed a huge shift for the better in our food system in the past few years. I see more people interested in food and wanting to know how it is produced. I see more people wanting to purchase food from small, local or organic farmers, and this shift is providing a wonderful opportunity for those willing to provide these foods.  Others want to produce their own food, which is also a step in the right direction to foster future food security.

Having options is good for both the consumer and the producers. Competition is good for business and the economy. I don’t necessarily like that it takes people screaming with fear to have this change happen, but nonetheless, we are moving in a great direction for agriculture. I will continue to share as much information that I can to help others make informed decisions.

And I am sure there are many out there who do not or will not share my glorified opinion of GMOs, and I am fine with that. If someone is looking for non GMO, I will gladly point them in the direction of an organic farmer. I want to see them prosper as well.

5 comments:

  1. I just want to THANK YOU for your website. Just found it today and it is exactly what I needed to encourage me in feeding my family. I grew up with my Dad as a farmer and now a feedyard manager. I get tired of all the criticism for CATO animals because I see my Dad's love of animals and great care he uses to feed his cattle. I am so glad to see a Mom out there who supports our conventional farmers. I support what you are doing! Thanks again!

    Also wanted to share a great book for feeding your family...It's called "Secrets of Feeding a Healthy Family" by Ellyn Satter (ellynsatter.com). This amazing lady has helped me begin to feed my family better with a balanced approach. Maybe it could help someone else!

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    1. Thanks for the encouragement and sharing the book!

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    2. What of European research, amongst many independents studies here in USA and abroad, pointing to GMOs Carcinogenic properties, and how in lab animals they can damage internal organs, shorten lifespan, and affect fertility? What of mentioning how Monsanto will air proliferate their seed, and benefit from polluting others' organic crops through cross pollination to later sue them for theft, seize their assets and run them out of business: a truly criminal practice.

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    3. To: Anonymous. There is a large amount of popular, incorrect information that tries to tie GMOs to various health problems. In fact, GMOs have been studied extensively by credible scientific organizations (as well as numerous independents and non-profits) around the world, and the overwhelming consensus is that GM food crops currently on the market are just as safe as their non-GM counterparts. The few studies that try to show otherwise have been exposed as being incorrect. The cross-pollination and lawsuit issues are in fact not at all how they are most often portrayed in the public arena. They involve what are often complex patent law issues which are quite common across nearly all corporations and have nothing to do with the safety of GMOs. We all want corporations to be accountable and just, so when we work towards achieving that goal we need to have accurate and reasoned judgments about the facts. Still, I recognize that these issues are very dear to the hearts of people, and while they often bring up strong emotional responses, taking the time to examine the facts is essential. I have found it important to talk to my friends and relatives about the safety of GM food crops in order to relieve their minds, it gives them one less thing to worry about in an often troubling world. If you are interested, a few good resources to learn more are: http://www.biofortified.org/ ; http://kfolta.blogspot.com/ and for videos: https://www.youtube.com/user/greenstatetv/videos

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  2. Kudos for bringing this blog and taking this great approach to educating folks about GMOs. I've recently studied the issue extensively and have been quite impressed about the quality of information available, if only one is interested enough to do the homework. I also appreciated your YouTube video, it is important to let people know that simply arguing in order to prove you are right does not often work well towards bringing others to a correct understanding concerning the science that overwhelmingly demonstrates the safety of GM food crops.

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