Barbara H. Peterson
There is a new movement afoot that is all about people taking matters into their own hands regarding GMO labeling. Instead of waiting and begging the corporate government to actually require that genetically engineered foods (GMOs) be labeled as such, do it yourself!
The Label It Yourself (#LIY) campaign empowers people to make educated decisions about what is in their food, without waiting for government or corporations to do it for them. (Label It Yourself)
Now this is something I can really get behind. It is something that we all can do that is cheap, easy, and an immediate solution to the growing problem of not being able to recognize GMOs in our food supply. Why do I think this is important? While shopping the other day, I looked at the grocery cart of the woman in front of me at the register. Every thing in her cart included some form of GMO. Everything, without exception. The man behind me had a cart full of things labeled “natural,” and by the looks of him, he appeared to actually think that he was eating healthy. The sad part is, everything in his cart contained GMOs also. They didn’t know. Ignorance is the capital of predatory commerce.
If the ingredients of a product are any of the following, the product is likely to contain GMOs and therefore SHOULD be labeled:
- Anything that contains: NON-ORGANIC corn, NON-ORGANIC soy, NON-ORGANIC canola, NON-ORGANIC cottonseed
- Animal products (meat, dairy, eggs) that are not organic can contain genetically modified hormones and were probably fed GMO food!
- Most chemical additives to food are made from GMO corn and soy.
- Sugar! Much of the sugar in the US is made from GMO sugar beets, including brown sugar.
Here is a partial list of high-risk ingredients:
Corn syrup
Corn starch
Corn oil
Cornmeal
Fructose
Dextrose
Glucose
Soy meal
Lecithin
Isoflavin
Tofu
Soy Protein Isolate
TVP (textured vegetable protein)
Vitamin E
Xanthan gum
Tempeh
Vitamin B-12
Baking powder
MSG
Yeast extract
Modified food starch
Vegetable Oil
Cottonseed Oi
Canola Oil
Aspartame
Food Colorings
DOWNLOAD YOUR LABELS HERE!
Tags: agriculture, Barbara H. Peterson, Farm Wars, farmwars, food, genetic engineering, GMO, gmo labeling, Health, truth in advertising
I had written to Bobs Red Mill about whether their xanathan gum product was derived from organic corn a few months ago. This is the reply from their customer service rep. Andrey Gorban:
“Thank you for your e-mail. The microorganism that makes the Xanthan Gum we sell is actually fed wheat starch during the growth process, not corn. The wheat starch does not come from organic wheat though. In case you’re gluten free and wondering about the use of wheat in a gluten free product; by the time wheat is broken down into a starch and is consumed by the microorganism, there is no gluten left over.”
So given that there are no gmo forms of wheat as of yet, i think that that their Xanathan gum is safe to consume.
Not surprising, Isaiah. The National Organics Program, which has the USDA certified organic label, as well as the Non-GMO Project, are both PROCESS BASED. In other words, nothing is tested unless there is a reason to believe contamination has occurred. There is no GMO threshold for USDA certified organic, and a .9% threshold for Non-GMO Project certified, and no testing of finished products whatsoever. So, it all boils down to a crap shoot. A roll of the dice. I like to call companies and ask if their products contain GMOs. You can usually tell from their responses if they are actually true blue in the Non-GMO area, or are faking it.
I recently saw that the Kettle Brand chips found in many chain stores in Florida declare they are made with Non-GMO ingredients. However, I just looked at the ingredients which contains yeast extract and garlic powder which is on the list above. What gives?
New Roots Herbal, a Canadian company, makes a great E supplement. Firstly if you take an E supplement it should have all 8 forms, and of course it should also be non-GMO.
I have also confirmed that Now’s K2 supplement is made from Non-GMO fermented soy.
New Roots Herbal’s website – EDIT, their website is currently down which is a shame because it has a great letter from the owners. The product though looks like this – http://www.regenesis.ca/cart.p.....ct_id=3642
Sherry,
Organic nutritional yeast is a good source of B 12. Here is a site that sells it with some info. I haven’t purchased and cannot attest to the company’s reliability. Just using it for research material.
http://shop.kaiafoods.com/Prod.....Yeast+4+oz
I just read an article by Mike Adams saying older people (like me)
should be taking B-12.
Where the heck am I going to get organic B-12. Maybe I’ll check
Herbal Healer Academy. My husband does all the shopping and
isn’t concerned. He is in his 70’s and has rarely seen a doctor
for anything. I’m constantly having surgery for one thing or the
other and I’m the health nut…go figure
About the Labels…Since the food belongs to the store that bought it, it is their property. If you are affixing labels you are defacing their property. I’m not sure what the laws are (probably different by the state but the chain stores span multi states which might make it a Federal matter). The “post it” campaign was different because they peel right off. Labels don’t come off so easy. I would imagine the stores would take action to protect their sales. Great idea but be careful and remember they all have cameras.
I wrote a letter made copies for every grocery manager near me telling them I have moved 90% of my business to a health food store and educating them on GMO’s and all the nasty stuff I won’t eat.
P.S. The thing that struck me is that the genetic engineering process for the formation of B12 results in the formation of cyanocobalamin. Is it the same for methlycobalamin? I don’t know, but it seems likely. Anyone else know about this?
I looked it up, and could not find any info about methlycobalamin being genetically engineered or not. This is what I did find: How Is B12 Manufactured? Photo Credit Jupiterimages/Comstock/Getty Images
Vitamin B12 is one that is not produced naturally by the body, so it must come from diet or the taking of supplements. Vitamin B12 typically comes from animal products, such as meat, milk or eggs. The two groups of people most likely to have a B12 deficiency are people over 60 and vegans.
Ingredients
The main ingredient in Vitamin B12 is the mineral cobalt. Other items in the B12 molecule are oxygen, nitrogen, carbon and phosphorus. Also needed before the manufacturing process can begin are bacteria or Streptomycetes. According to Microbiology Procedure, the most common form of commercially manufacturing vitamin B12 is through the use of members of the Propionibacterium family.
Initial Steps
The process for the synthesis of vitamin B12 is quite complex and often involves the use of genetically altered organisms for the process. After fermentation takes place, the cells containing the vitamin must be separated from the device that was used. This is done through the use of filters if Streptomycetes were used as the fermentation agent and by using a high-speed centrifuge if bacteria was used.
Final Steps
Once the cells containing the vitamin have been separated from the fermentation devices, the cells are typically heated or mixed with acid. Various cyanide mixtures will them be added, which will result in the creation of cyanocobalamin. The cyanocobalamin is then treated with Phenolic solvents and water, which acts as a purifying agent. The final step is to treat the purified cyanocobalamin with water-based acetone solutions, which will result in the crystallization of the vitamin.
Read more: http://www.livestrong.com/arti.....z1odT8KsKD
how about a poster for our shopping trolley or bags?
if it don’t say NO GMO
into the trolley
it won’t go!
;-)
bloody brilliant idea!
if it doesnt say it is NOT GM Free then the assumption is that it has GMo OR theyre so slack with source of supply you dont want to eat it anyway..if they cant tell you at least what country their ingrdients were sourced and produced by now..they are NOT doing their QC.
* Whole Foods has lost well over 75% of my business after I learned they were in cahoots with Monsanto’s enforcement bureau. Subsequently, their ill-constructed defense didn’t wash the RoundUp off their public image, but it did force me to begin my very first garden plot. Now, at least our lettuce & spinach is chem-free!
Modified Food Starch and Xanthan Gum are widely used in baked goods, which my supplier-mentors suggest I learn to master. These, and similar emulsifiers (soy proteins, corn syrup) are nearly uniformly distributed across the shelves at Kroger and Whole Foods.
What we really need is an aggressive campaign to distribute simple non-removable red dots that read GMO. Once armed with a sufficient supply, a handful of people could rapidly educate the masses and embarrass the heck out of the ‘buyers’ (read a-holes) at these thoughtless distribution networks…
I have the same question as J English. I would hope to think that we are still in the clear with methylcobalmin?
This is an awesome idea!!!
“Vitamin E or tocopherol can be produced by chemical synthesis or extracted from maize, soy beans, cottonseeds, rice or wheat germ oil.” (http://www.gmo-compass.org/eng.....min_e.html) and… “the chemical synthesis of vitamin B12 is extremely difficult and labour-intensive. For this reason, bio-technical processes are largely dominant in its production. It may be assumed in the meanwhile that vitamin B12 is manufactured as a rule with the aid of genetically modified microorganisms.” (http://www.gmo-compass.org/eng......docu.html)
Why is Vitamin E and B12 considered”GMO”