Tag: gmo

Knowledge Evolves

a REVERSIBLE poem about nutrition

by Joe Disch

(Read top to bottom for the “standard advice”, then from bottom to top to update it!)

Our elders’ wisdom is finally being reconsidered

Modern foods are healthier

No longer do we simply accept

The habits of those who came before us

Now we have learned the scientific wisdom of a diet based on

Whole grains like wheat, corn, and rice

We’ve given ourselves the “diseases of civilization” with

Saturated fats and cholesterol

According to scientific studies,

What’s the better choice?

Refined seed oils like canola, corn, and soy

And we understand we should avoid

Red meat – studies have confirmed it time and again

Everyone knows about the importance of

“This good nutritious breakfast, fortified with 8 essential vitamins and minerals”

We no longer expect to start our day with

Eggs  (especially the yolks – full of cholesterol your body makes even if you don’t eat it)

If there were a single most nutritious food, what might it be?

Modern low fat, pasteurized, homogenized dairy products

Many people don’t do well with

Things like whole, full-fat dairy foods – especially raw milk due to the live cultures

Some are better adapted to what might not be a good choice for others

Listen to your body

Common sense really

Eating fat is

What makes you fat

A higher carb diet is

So obviously

As nature intended

Insulin stores any extra carbs before they can cause damage

When you eat heavily of grains and starches

“Calories in, calories out” is just the simplest math

Your body is so smart

It’s important to portion your plate to meet your body’s energy needs

We now have too many people to feed the conventional way

Soil is becoming depleted of nutrients

Chemical inputs and genetic modification

May in fact be the only viable solution to replace

The gentle dance of traditional, restorative, organic agriculture

Well intentioned ideas sometimes can’t keep up with the realities of life

Move, play, laugh, love

Be sure to get plenty of sleep

Stay hydrated with clean healthy water

Eat a variety of healthy foods, including lots of vegetables

Unless we want to get sicker and sicker

We need to think about where we came from as well as where we’re going

Lessons are learned, and knowledge evolves

(Now read from bottom to top for a different perspective)

“Knowledge Evolves” Copyright 11/25/2015 by Joe Disch. Visit madisonpaleo.com for more of Joe’s work. Not intended as nutritional or medical advice. Offered as an artistic perspective on opposing viewpoints. Permission granted to republish as is, as long as this paragraph is included in its entirety. Links/canonical tags appreciated where appropriate.

Genetic engineering is not paleo

GMOs are so not paleo.  Grok didn’t consciously meddle with the genetics of his food sources through selective breeding, and he certainly didn’t use chemicals or viruses to insert specific genes from one species into another.  The former was born of the age of agriculture, and the latter only within the past generation.  Companies such as Monsanto are working to gain and hold market share by developing and patenting varieties of food crops that produce their own pesticides, or which can survive heavy applications of existing ones (which they also produce) – or which possess various other “desirable” traits.

Is this genetic tinkering harmful?  There is much controversy, but a lot of people think it is. Many nations around the world have banned genetically modified organism (“GMO”) derived foods or greatly restricted their use.  About 50 countries currently require GMO ingredients to be disclosed on product labels.  The United States is not yet among them, but there is a large and growing movement to pass this country’s first GMO labeling law: Proposition 37, “The California Right to Know Genetically Engineered Food Act.”What are the potential risks in growing and eating these foods?  GMOs haven’t ever been proven safe. In a sense, we’re all part of the experiment.  The FDA, for its part, conducts no independent testing of GMOs, saying they are “not substantially different” from non-GMO foods.  I’ve never had a great deal of trust in the FDA, largely due to the “revolving door” between the regulatory agency and the food industry.  A wide variety of interest groups are concerned about a plethora of risks: cancer and other health issues, reduction of global genetic diversity, the creation of super bugs and super weeds, soil degradation, even the private control of entire food groups.

Already most non-organic US corn, soy, cotton and sugar beets (the basis of many sweeteners and additives used in processed foods) are genetically engineered. So is the feed given to many of the animals we eat. In fact, 75 – 85% of the processed food in grocery stores contains unlabeled GMOs.

Opposed to labeling what’s in your food are corporations like Monsanto, Dow, BASF, and food conglomerates like Pepsi and Coca-Cola – who along with others have donated nearly $33 million to defeat Prop 37.  Why?  If the law passes in California, some manufacturers have admitted that it may as well be a national law. They don’t want “this product contains GMOs” on their labels, so they will reformulate their products. If they do it for California (with an economy the size of many small countries) they may as well do it for all of them.  Early voting on Prop 37 begins on October 9. By November 6, this initiative will have passed or failed.

My friends know I’m not one to seek new government regulations or mandatory anything.  I take a pretty strict constitutionalist/libertarian view, preferring to let the free market work and consumers to exercise their power non-coercively.  I don’t think it’s the business of the government to decide what is good or bad for us.  But I do think protection from fraud is a legitimate function of government, and I see the current “marketing” of GMO foods as a massive fraud.  Unless told otherwise, a consumer should be entitled to assume that “tomatoes” are tomatoes as typically understood and found in nature, with roughly the same nutrition profile, allergenic potential, etc.  It should be safe to assume that the tomato’s DNA hasn’t been adulterated with fish genes, for example, or altered to allow the plants to survive massive doses of an herbicide that the seed company also holds the patent for.

I don’t think we should (or need to) ban the development, production, or sale of these products.  I do support the requirement that it be disclosed when food ingredients are so altered.  If you do as well, you can sign this petition asking the FDA to require disclosure of GMO ingredients.  But honestly, California Prop. 37 probably has more hope for success.  Regardless of how much (or little) you choose to ask the government to protect you, I hope you’ll vote first with your dollars and buy foods as close to their natural state as possible.