As parents, we want nothing but the best for our children. We are bombarded by products touting the benefits of being ‘all natural’ or ‘green’.  While our goal is very simple: to make good choices for ourselves, our family and the planet- the means to get there is anything but simple. How do we sort through it all?

If each of us had all the time in the world to devote towards finding what’s truly green we quite possibly still wouldn’t have all the answers-there’s just that much information to process. There are times when I just want to let my kids be kids, but inside I’m panicked about the Popsicle they are eating that has synthetic colors or flavors or I think about the toxic cleaning products that are used in their schools. It could all drive me insane if I let it.

Over the years I have gathered a few tips and strategies that have helped me stay sane while on my green journey.

1. Take small steps. Find what works for you (and that might not be what works for me). Start with your living space and then add when you feel comfortable. This year I made a mid-year resolution to eat local, sustainable food. If each of us commits to making small, simple changes in our lives, together we can create a healthier, safer space for living and ultimately a healthier planet for us all.
2. Don’t take on more than you can handle. This is a tough one for me-I like to say yes to everything. Focus on changing one or two things-maybe change your cookware or commit to using less plastic. Keep it doable and realistic.
3. Find community. Your community could be family, friends, online, local or beyond. It doesn’t matter. It always helps to be surrounded by like-minded folks for support, sharing and discussing.
4. Ditch the self-judgment. We can’t do it all and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. Guilt and self-judgment are harmful rather than helpful. Find self-compassion and be grateful for all that you are able to do. Whatever you do it is making a difference.
5. You are not alone. We are a community, all striving to make the world a better place for our families and others and together we will make a difference. You aren’t the only one feeling overwhelmed and guilty (trust me; I’ve been there many times!).
6. Everything in moderation. Again-we can’t possibly do it all so we do what we can. If this means eating organic some of the time, but not all of the time THAT’S OK! Years ago I used to freak out when someone offered my kids snacks that had high fructose corn syrup (HFCS). Now, since I know they’re not eating HFCS most of the time I’m ok with an occasional deviation. It’s important to realize how completely normal and unnecessary all of your guilt and self-judgment truly is.
7. Find your voice. Ask for change on a larger scale. This can be done by joining organizations like Healthy Child Healthy World, which are working to protect our children from toxic exposures. Call or email your representatives and let them know how you feel about the toxins in toys, personal care products and food.
8. Acceptance. Focus on what you have done-not what you are unable to do.
9. Don’t get discouraged. There are days when I wake up and wonder if I’m really making a difference. Are my kids healthier and safer because of all we’re doing? Is the world a better place because of the small changes I’ve made? Deep down I know the answer is yes.
10. Remember every small change makes a difference.

What are your tips for handling toxic information overload?

Now that we know the dangers and risks associated with GMOs we need to find practical ways to avoid them. We are the consumers and boy are we a powerful bunch.  Our pocket books can do some of the talking, since food buying power has a tremendous impact on our food system.

If we continue to support sustainable farmers we are sending a message loud and clear to those producing foods that are NOT sustainable -letting them know that we don’t want and won’t stand for foods with GMOs.

Here are a few tips to avoid GMOs in food:

• Buy a share directly from a farm (CSA) that is USDA Certified Organic. Ask if they sell produce that is non-GMO.  To find a local CSA look here.
• By food that isn’t processed-opt for whole foods that are certified organic.
• Grow your own food using organic heirloom seeds.
• Shop at your local farmers market and don’t be afraid to ask the question: “is your food non-GMO?” To find a local farmers market check here.
• Look for food labels that say “non-GMO” or “GMO free”. There seem to be more and more companies willing to label their products, although not required.
• Buy wild fish rather than farm raised and meat that was 100% grass fed. Fish and livestock are many times fed GM feed.
• Avoid aspartame as a sweetener-it is derived from GMOs.
• Know which foods are most likely to contain GMOs:
  • Corn, soybeans, dairy, meats, canola and cottonseed oil and sugar beets.

More ideas on how to help

• Demand that all GMO foods are required to be labeled.
• Sign the Organic Consumers Association’s Truth-In-Labeling Petition
• Support current legislation to stop GMOs as listed on SaynotoGMOs.org

Bottom line: Take the time to investigate where your food is coming from. Keep your family safe by asking the right questions and educating yourself on the issues.

Do you try to avoid food with GMOs?

Sources: Healthy Child Healthy World

The FDA and others in the food industry claim that genetically modified (GM) foods are safe, properly tested, and necessary to keep the world well fed. The American Academy of Environmental Medicine is among many that don’t agree.  There have been no long-term safety studies of the effects of GMOs. We are opening up a big can of worms by allowing GM crops into the world.

The effects of GMOs really haven’t been studied properly in humans. It’s pretty scary to imagine what they are doing to us since we DO know what GMO’s are doing to lab animals:

• Mice eating GM corn for the long term had fewer, and smaller, babies
• By the third generation, most GM soy-fed hamsters lost the ability to have babies
• More than half the babies of mother rats fed GM soy died within three weeks, and were smaller
• Rodents fed GM corn and soy showed immune system responses and signs of toxicity

One of my favorite courses in college was logic. The basic premise of a logical argument was to take a general premise and deduce a particular conclusion. Take GMOs for example: the general premise is that animals are getting sick from GMOs and from that we can deduce that humans will get sick from GMOs. The FDA might need a refresher course.  One would think that the results of those animal studies would at least raise a red flag that just maybe GMOs aren’t safe, but clearly those studies weren’t enough. GM crops continue to grow and the risk for human and animal illnesses continues to rise.

How many times have you heard someone say: “I don’t remember kids having food allergies when I was growing up”?  Maybe GMO’s are the cause or at least a factor in this surge of food allergies, environmental allergies, ADHD and other diagnoses.

• 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

A study out of the University of Sherbrooke, Canada, recently found Bt toxin (a toxic insecticide which comes from certain genetically-modified crops) in human blood samples for the first time.  All women involved in the study had been consuming a typical Canadian diet which, like in the US, is filled with GM materials and toxins.

The evidence is mounting, showing GMOs aren’t safe.  Yes, the long term effects are unknown, but before long I have no doubt that there will be “new information” released further proving that GMOs are dangerous.  While we’re waiting let’s just stay as far away from GM’s as possible.  And FDA-please stop testing on those poor, helpless animals.

Whenever I can I buy organic. Part of the reason being-organic foods, by definition, can’t contain genetically modified organisms (GMOs). But genetically modified corn, soy and other crops have become such common ingredients in processed foods that even one of the nation’s top organic food retailers, Whole Foods, says it’s been unable to avoid stocking some products that contain them. 

The Obama Administration has recently pushed to deregulate quite a few genetically modified foods including plums, sugar beets and alfalfa and has done so with the blessing of governmental agencies including the USDA, which continues to support deregulation of these crops. This deregulation creates a real risk for cross contamination.

What is cross contamination?

The cross contamination of crops refers to the crossing over of genetically modified genes into conventional, or non-GMO plants. Pollen from GM crops and trees can contaminate nearby crops and wild plants of the same type (except for soy, which doesn’t cross-pollinate).

Alfalfa

One of alfalfas primary uses is to feed our organic livestock. Alfalfa is a wind-pollinated crop. That means rather than primarily by birds or insects, pollen is simply spread by the wind.  Neighboring farms can easily take on unwanted traits of the GMO crop by cross-contamination by the wind blowing the pollen from one farm to another. If organic alfalfa becomes contaminated with GMO alfalfa then our organic livestock will be eating GMO feed.

The result: GMOs will make maintaining organic feed next to impossible.  The organic meat at the market could have been fed feed contaminated by GMOs.

Plums

This time of the year the shelves at my local market are bursting with fresh produce. Plums are one of my favorites. But I’m worried: plums are at risk for similar cross contamination. Even though the USDA claims that steps will be taken to prevent contamination, cross contamination is inevitable. The reality is that bees and other insects are able to travel long distances between trees, sometimes stopping for pollen or food at a GM tree and other times at a non GM tree. The constant swapping and stopping at a mixture of farms will inevitably cause cross contamination. It seems as though it is impossible to prevent.

The result:  Organic and conventional plum trees will no longer be truly organic and they won’t be able to market themselves as such.

Bottom line: The introduction of GM crops creates a real issue of cross contamination which could ultimately destroy many organic farmers businesses and places our organic produce at risk of extinction.

Will you continue to eat fruits and vegetables that may have been contaminated by GM crops?

It bothers me. We have the right to know what’s going into our food-don’t we? Yet In the US the FDA doesn’t require the labeling of GMOs in food ingredient lists. If we take a look at our friends in the EU and other countries -GMO labeling has been the norm for years. GMO labeling was introduced in the European Union to give consumers the freedom to choose between GMOs and conventional products. That makes sense.  But in the United States we don’t have that freedom.  We are in the dark-having to surmise whether or not our food contains GMOs.

A recent MSNBC Health poll asked the question, “Do you believe genetically modified foods should be labeled?” Nearly 90 percent of respondents, representing more than 9,000 votes, answered “Yes”. There is no question that the public desires and expects transparency in food labeling. We want the freedom to choose between a food containing GMO’s and one that doesn’t.

The FDA is maintaining their position, dating back to a 1992 statement from the Food and Drug Administration, that there is no reason to believe GMOs “differ from other foods in any meaningful or uniform way.” No mainstream regulatory organization in the U.S. has opposed the introduction of GMOs.

According to the Los Angeles Times:

“The FDA has the scientific and nutrition expertise to establish food labeling and to assess food safety,” said Ab Basu, the Biotechnology Industry Organization’s acting executive vice president for food and agriculture. “You can look at the FDA website and see that if the corn is substantially equivalent to corn produced conventionally, there is no reason to label it as being any different.”

If the FDA is so positive that GMOs are safe then it would make even more sense for them to support labeling of GMO products. They could proudly display their position on food packaging with a label that reads “Certified to Contain Healthy GMOs” (sarcasm intended).

Even the well known health food store, Whole Foods, claims that they can’t ensure that all the foods they carry are not genetically modified. Though Whole Foods stands by its own brand as GMO free, so many processed foods that come into their stores contain GMOs. Whole Foods if having a difficult time keeping their shelves stocked with foods they can promise to be GMO-free.

The failure of the American government to mandate GMO labeling not only bothers me it makes me mad. It feels surreal to live in a country that is so secretive about our food products.

Does that make you mad?

Think about what you’ve eaten this week. If you’ve eaten any processed foods that weren’t certified organic (guilty!) then they probably contained Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs). Today over 70 percent of corn and 90 percent of soy are genetically modified, and these two crops form the basis of a typical American diet.

Let’s talk GMOs

Genetically modified organisms (also called GM, GE or GMOs) refers to crop plants that are consumed by animals and/or humans that have been tweaked or modified in a lab to boost desired traits such as: the ability of the plant to produce its own pesticide, disease resistance and improved nutritional value. These results have no health benefit, only an economic benefit to the company producing them.

GMOs are being engineered to resist certain chemicals. That enables them to be sprayed with heavy duty pesticides and herbicides without much effect, while the rest of the plants in the field die. The result is large amounts of weed killer ends up in and on our food supply and ultimately on the shelves of our supermarkets.

Food with GMOs looks and tastes the same, but it’s not the same. Food producers have been altering and messing with our food with the blessing of the FDA, but without our permission.

What foods contain GMOs?

Sit down for this one: most of your food could contain GMOs. The next time you go to the supermarket take a look at the labels of some of the items you are planning to buy. If soy and corn are listed as an ingredient, then chances are the product contains GMOs.

The list of possible foods containing GMOs is long –so long that it’s almost impossible to list everything. Unless you are buying 100% organic items, you may never know if your food contains GMOs. The only way to avoid GMOs is to eat only 100% organic foods or foods labeled GMO-free. All other food has a high likelihood of containing genetically modified organisms.

Why should we be concerned?

There are many reasons for concern:  GMOs aren’t labeled, they are untested and they are on the shelves of almost every supermarket in our country. We have no idea what GMOs are doing to us; they could be making us sick or messing with our immune system. Whatever it is, it isn’t good.

Does that make you mad?