Ask AI Mark explains why he avoids GMO crops, citing environmental damage and health concerns. He points to regulatory differences between the US and Europe, and recommends choosing organic foods instead.
Now, Christina wants to know what my view is on GMO foods. Well, this is a very hot topic right now. For those of you who do not know, GMO stands for genetically modifying organism, which means any organism that has been altered using genetic engineering techniques. Growers turn to GMO crops because they address problems associated with insects or weeds that can affect their crop yield. These modified crops are engineered to either repel certain insects, lowering the need for pesticides, or resist certain herbicides like Monsanto's Roundup used for almost all soybeans, and it reduces the need for weed control, all of which makes crop production less expensive in the long run. But is it truly less expensive and is this really true? Well, here's what we know. We know from recent reports and studies that GMO foods do not meet their promise of higher yields and lower use of pesticides. In fact, the opposite is true. In a report in the New York Times based on GMO use, in Europe they banned it and it's not in use at all. And in the United States it's in heavy use. And what they found was there was no difference in crop yield and there was a 21% increase in the use of pesticides and herbicides in America using GMO and a 65% decrease in pesticides and herbicides in Europe. So that completely contradicts the argument of GMO, which is that it's for feeding the planet and using less pesticides and better for overall reduction in the use of these toxic chemicals. This is just not true. First of all, GMOs are really bad for the environment. They're creating super weeds and super pests that make it really important for farmers to use more pesticides and more herbicides. So you're not using less. For example, Monsanto's Roundup is a serious concern because shown to be carcinogenic, it actually causes cancer. And it also has been linked to birth defects, autism, a whole list of illnesses. And we're using more and more Roundup because it's not working anymore. So these chemicals are are really becoming a problem. The animals, the soil, even the people living in the farming communities, all the runoff from the farms all create a problem. And there are no long-term studies to prove that GMOs are safe for consumption. So we don't know of all the potential health consequences that eating genetically modified foods do. And I don't know about you, but I'd rather not take my chances. For example, trans fats were used for decades and decades after, 50 years or 60 years after we knew that they were harmful. and they were introduced as something better and new and improved. Well, it turned out they kill probably 30,000 people a year from heart attacks and heart disease. So we better be careful when we start introducing these things. So it's important to educate ourselves on how our food supply is manipulated and what is being sold and the stories being sold to us that aren't true. And we need to look at all that. In the US, we don't have labeling on all of our GMO foods like they do in other countries. In fact, in Europe, it's banned and they have new guidelines around GMO that ask them to voluntarily put some kind of indicator, but it can be with a barcode, it can be some really obscure way to find out. If you're shopping in the store, it's not going to say GMO, it's going to have a barcode that you can look up or some thing that you can link to, but it's not just going to say GMO, and that's because the government will not move forward and do the right thing, which is make clear labeling that any third grader could understand. So it's estimated about 75% of the food in the supermarket is GMO or genetically modified or contains genetically modified ingredients. Now, while the list is really long on what to avoid, there are four most common GMO products and ingredients to avoid. The first is field corn and corn-derived ingredients unless they're organic. Soybeans and soy-derived ingredients unless they're organic. Sugar and vegetable oils, all those are full of GMOs. All right, so bottom line, avoid GMOs and really all packaged foods and processed foods. The best way to do that is stick to real whole organic food as much as possible. It says organic, there's no GMO. If you want to learn more about this, visit the Environmental Working Group's website ewg.org, which has great information on GMOs. Check out the blog for a link to their shopper's guide to avoid GMO foods.
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