Read more: http://www.motherearthnews.com/sustainable-farming/labeling-genetically-modified-foods-zm0z12jjzphe.aspx#ixzz22jhdAhWc
I came across this article on Mother Earth News that reminded me of something rather funny. At least, I find it funny now. It was actually kind of disturbing at the time. I was taking lithium for bi-polar disorder a few years back and my family and I had gone to WalMart. Let me say first that lithium did not quite work the way it was supposed to. Anyway, my husband picks up a peach and calls to my attention how large it was. This peach was huge! All of a sudden I start ranting, quite loudly and to the embarrassment of my family, about growth hormones. It didn't help that they were grown locally either considering we have tons of chicken farms here. So this tirade went on and on about them using "growth hormones in the chickens and fertilizing the peaches with chicken shit" and "the growth hormones leaking into the peaches" and "that's why girls are going through puberty at an earlier age and getting bigger boobs". I even pointed at my large chested daughter as an example, the poor thing. Needless to say my husband pulled me out of there quickly and I'm not taking lithium anymore.
When you think about it though, it's not really that farfetched. Especially after reading articles like this. The FDA doesn't care what the people want. They are only concerned with making big corporations happy. Big food corp. is most likely paying large sums of money to the FDA to keep the labels off their foods. Nothing would make a pack of tomatoes more appealing than a big gleaming "Genetically Modified" label and nothing would scream "buy me!" more than a "Grown with Growth Hormones" label.
What's even more disturbing is that big food corp. can lie to us based on FDA standards. Some foods can still call themselves "natural" even though they've been genetically modified or claim 0 grams trans fat when there's partially hydrogenated oils in the ingredients. Hydrogenated oils ARE trans fat. The FDA has given them enough leeway so that as long as it's under a certain amount, they can still "claim" zero.
As long as big food corp. is happy making their money off our ignorance, then the FDA is happy to appease them and line their own pockets. The only time the FDA seems to listen to us little people is if we make a big enough uproar. Then it's only to make it look like they're actually doing their job "protecting" us.
There's a petition on Just Label It to tell the FDA we have a right to know what's in our food.
such TRUE words!
ReplyDeletei try to get OUT of the habit of running to walmart...it's convenient though, sort of close to home...and they have everything...only bad thing is...everything they have is either NOT made in the USA...made cheaply...and the produce has no flavor at all.
i never thought about WHY young girls seem to have reached puberty so much sooner than when i was a kid. i guess i HAVE wondered about it...but what you say about eating the foods with growth hormones!!! wow!! that makes so much sense. scary!! (i wonder if i start eating that stuff NOW...at 58...will i actually get some boobs!??)
anyway...i noticed you're 'following' me...so i came to check out your blog and will follow you too!
Unfortunately where we live doesn't have a lot of options other than WalMart or Food Lion. There's a few sporadic produce stands and a farmer's market about an hour away. I would love if we had a Whole Foods Market close by.
DeleteIt does make you wonder about growth hormones but I'm sure if any studies have been done the FDA have made the findings inaccessible. Boy sometimes I sound like a conspiracy theorist. Lol. And I didn't get boobs til 30something. Never know, could be 10yrs of DE produce. We've started eating only Harvestland chicken. It's hard to switch to strictly organic produce because it's so much more expensive. I'm working on growing my own produce. It's cheaper and the only way to know your foods are grown naturally.
And thank you for following me. Hopefully I keep your interest :)