For those who know me, I am an avid label reader, a label detective is more like it. If I do not know what the ingredient is (meaning can’t pronounce it), I will look it up to find the source where it came from, find out its side effects in how it affects our bodies. I have to read our labels since we eat gluten, soy, dairy and recently corn free. I have been against GMO products since I first learned about it several years ago, thanks to Dr. Mercola, a local MD who practices alternative medicine. What is a GMO you ask? It is a Genetically Modified Organism. And if you want to learn more on what it is, check out this video from that was beautifully spoken about: GMO Labeling

You see, California is looking to pass a bill that will label our products as GMO and if it passes it will set precedence to the other 49 states to perhaps pass a bill that will better inform us, the consumers, on what is in our foods. It is called Prop 37 Right now California has an initiative on the ballot to label genetically engineered foods in packages. It’s Prop 37. #Yeson37 means that packaged foods companies have till January of 2014 to relabel everything on grocery shelves. If your head is spinning, don’t worry, mine does too when I read all the info out there, especially when it comes to GMO. It is why I am super excited to announce that I am a part of the GMO Evagenlist team.

Say #yeson37

Roughly 70% of our foods that we eat is a GMO product. You should be concerned… In fact, Leah Sedgie of Mamavation™ wrote a fantastic post on how GMOs are affecting our health. (Why re-create the wheel?)

What I am here to tell you are the top GMO Foods and foods that are being tested to be GMOd:

1. Tomatoes – While this no longer qualifies, it is good for you to know when the first GMO food was first introduced. In 1994, genetically modified tomatoes hit the market in the US as the first commercially available genetically modified crop. GM tomatoes have since disappeared. But still marks the importance of the history and the beginning of a GMO food symbol in the first GMO crop.
2. Soybeans – the majority of the soybeans in the USA and Canada are GMO. In fact the GMO seeds have spread (through weather, birds, bees..) that they have affected many of the organic soybean farms and can no longer qualify for organic farming methods. Soybeans are also fed to our cattle, chickens and pigs for feed and is being known as an endocrine disruptor. New studies suggest that eating large amounts of soy’s estrogen-mimicking compounds might reduce fertility in women, trigger early puberty and disrupt development of fetuses and children. Soy Protein Isolates are also a cheap filler in may packaged foods, but also difficult for children under 12 to digest.
3. Corn – corn is used for fuel and is used in food products. The one that is the most concerning is High Fructose Corn Syrup, which is used in just about every packaged food product including salad dressings, ketchup, cereals, breads, crackers and I have even seen it in applesauce. It is also used in animal feed to help fatten up the cattle and used in many gluten free baking. Recently, myself and my son have tested to be corn intolerant. When I gave up the corn and corn by-products, his sensory issues decreased and my weight dropped 5lbs in less than 2 weeks and I feel way less bloated and fatigue. This is not medical advice, just stating how it has changed my family. Corn is being known to keep weight on and cause weight gain.
4. Canola – a cousin to the wheat stalk, canola is known for the oil it produces. There is a growing concern that much of the canola seed has been contaminated by GMO seeds and these organic farms can no longer claim organic canola, same situation for those soybean farmers.
5. Sugar Beets – while France produced the largest sugar beet crops, USA is not far behind with 95% of the seeds used in the USA are GMO.
6. Papayas – since instilling GMO Papaya’s in Hawaii, 75% of the papaya crops are GMO
7. Alfalfa – Alfalfa is now “GMOd” and has been freely released by the USDA on the environment, and since alfalfa is also used as feed for many livestock animals, we should be aware what it is doing to these animals…

Yes, we deserve to know if it is GMO

8. Rice – “Unless the rice you buy is certified organic, or comes specifically from a farm that tests its rice crops for genetically modified (GM) traits, you could be eating rice tainted with actual human genes. The only known GMO with inbred human traits in cultivation today, a GM rice product made by biotechnology company Ventria Bioscience is currently being grown on 3,200 acres in Junction City, Kansas — and possibly elsewhere — and most people have no idea about it: Source: Experimental Rice Being Grown in Kansas with the rise and demand of gluten free foods, rice is a main staple in gluten free goods.
9. Potatoes – I have read many times that potato farmers plant a separate organic potato garden for their families to eat. Scary? Yes, and it is also on the dirty dozen list according to the Environmental Working Group.. just another reason to buy organic. While the potato is not on the GMO list, it is being tested in Europe.

Why should you care? Here is a scary fact: Did you know that the chemical gas used to kill Nazi prisoners is still being made today as a pesticide for eradicating insects and small animals?!?!

Still not convinced? Here are 19 studies that link GMO foods to organ disruption
Dr. Mercola sites some fantastic articles and studies in his post, you should take the time to read it

What I want to do is make you think long and hard about the food you purchase, you put into your mouth and how it “nourishes” your body. The health risks of consuming GMO is beginning to mount and it is scary. The increase in food allergies, cancer, disease, obesity, diabetes, fatty liver disease, autoimmune disease, autism spectrum disorders, infertility, the reasons are “unknown” but remember, every single morsel of food you eat has a short and long term effect on every cell in your body. How it functions, how it heals. Got a joint pain that has been bothering you for quite sometime? Don’t think it is food related? Unless you have played in the NFL and beat your body up playing sports, think again. The foods that we eat give us vital trace minerals and vitamins needed to help support the only body we have been given to live a healthy life. To move freely, to think clearly to speak fluidly. Healthy, unengineered foods is what heals us, supports us, gives us life. Pass the word and help support the CA Right to Know, #Yesto37

And also check out the FREE Non-GMO shopping app to have right at your finger tips.