March 2, 2010

GM Foods and Children...


GM foods, are Genetically Modified Foods. Basically this means at the beginning there is a seed and the seeds can be 'genetically modified' with chemicals or whatever, to get the desired result of the manufacturer. A good example of this is round-up ready seed. GM animals are animals that have been bred to FIT a certain "make-up". They are pumped with whatever chemicals to make them grow in this area, not in another. They are fed with genetically modified food.

The end result? A great looking plant or animal! RIGHT?!

Well, if you go beyond the plant or the animal, you will see what I mean. In an on-line article put out recently by Dr. Mercola, you will see how much these GM Foods effect our children under 2! Their little bodies are growing at an incredible rate. We give them milk (from a GM cow, fed GM grain). We give them formula (comprised of GM corn or soy). They eat baby food, made from GM fruit, veggies, and grains! It's bad enough that we consume this ourselves, but when we feed them to our kids who are developing at a high rate... well... You can read about it for yourself HERE.

I am personally wanting to make the change from GM foods to organic (to homegrown) foods. But, for us, we aren't made of money! You know what I mean? So the change is going to be gradual. Right now, I buy organic carrots (when they go on sale $1!) and organic potatoes. These are 2 veggies that actually grow IN THE GROUND an soak up TONS of things from the soil, not just nutrients but chemicals! Those are 2 things I will never go back on.

Fruits and veggies that grow above ground are probably SPRAYED with chemicals to keep bugs away, etc. So, if you don't have organic or homegrown fruits or veggies, soak them for 10-15 minutes in water and white vinegar. Then gently wash them. This should help a lot of the chemicals to come off, but not all.

My long term goal on this is to grow my own fruits, veggies, milk and meats. Growing these and then canning, freezing, or dehydrating these items will help us save LOTS of money on groceries. In turn then, I am going to spend a little more on organic items I cannot yet produce, like flour or other fruits and veggies I cannot produce. Still keeping my budget low, but getting good foods into the bodies of my growing children.

A LONG while back, when I started trying to do this, my husband asked what they big deal was (before he started actually doing some research on his own!). I told him, if I had to watch my CHILD suffer with Juvenile diabetes or cancer, it would KILL me. I want my children to live happy, carefree lives. I don't want our days filled with hospital visits and pills.

It all comes down to what is important for you. If convenience is important, some may go to the store and trust everything on those shelves... But, health and life and happiness is important to me. LIVING an external life, not an internal one. Not worrying what is happening with MY body because I am too sick, but being able to focus on others (external). I know we cannot control everything that happens to our bodies (environment, etc), but, we can do our best to take care of what the Good Lord gave us!

I'm gonna give it a shot! How about you?

4 comments:

Jennifer said...

GM foods scare me. Unfortunately it seems we can't escape from it. They are everywhere and in everything. We just have to do the best we can. We enlarge our garden every year and put up as much as we can for the winter. Like you, money doesn't grow on trees around here and I have to pick and choose what organics I buy. It really is scary what is happening to our food supply here in the US>

Unknown said...

I think most people think GM foods as just another type of hybrid like farmers have been doing for years. Not so. GM foods are where the DNA level of the plant has been disrupted by inserting the DNA of some other living thing - sometimes from the animal kingdom rather than the plant kingdom. This is a perversion of God's creation. It's interesting that in Leviticus, God told the Israelites not to plant different crops in the same field (Exodus 19:19). While this had a spiritual application, I'm sure it also provided them protection as well. What have we done to our food?

We eat almost only organic living foods because of the GM issue. I want to be as sure as one can given the circumstances that we are not eating GM products. As a result, we also give our chickens Organic feed. It comes down to pay now or pay later.

Anonymous said...

If you have Netflix there is a Movie called "Food Inc" It is on the watch it now.
It is a documentary that explores the food industry.
It is really eye opening how much goes into our food supply.
Kim

Jon G. said...

That same Leviticus chapter 19:19 forbids mixing different kinds of fabric, but I'm not giving up my poly cotton blends :)