Organic versus Genetically Engineered….
Switching to organic doesn’t have to be an overnight event but is a very important food choice today, with genetic engineering (GE) or genetic modification (GM), as a spreading concern. This is particularly important once we realize 85 to 90% of USA crops are genetically modified. USA produce, including canned goods based on it, is also a common but unlabelled GM food source in all Canadian grocery locations.
People often make their first change to organic meats due to the amount of growth hormones or antibiotics fed to animals and large-farm growing conditions. While Canada does not currently endorse growth hormones for animals, Canadian regulation does support genetic engineering of produce which is fed to both animals and humans. In addition, American sourced meat or animal byproducts, such as whey, are in Canadian stores without a label to indicate genetically engineered components and American dairy use of growth hormones for non-stop milking and weight gain…with those hormones also causing tumors in the cow’s udder. Then we feed that to our babies.
Farming and slaughter methods, in addition to genetic engineering implications, are gradually coming under consideration for health levels and ethics. While independent research has not been completed to prove the long-term impact in humans who consume GMO produce or animals, who wants to volunteer for that project? So we consider other indicators.
Many natural practitioners have helped people re-claim their health with guidance on periodic inner cleansing and increased awareness of healthier food choices, often including organic meat and produce. The resulting health improvement points to a strong possibility of truth in a prevailing theory of accumulated hormone-like effects in meat-eaters when sourced from animals raised with the addition of growth hormones and regular antibiotic use. The residual in the meat is reported to eventually act as xenoestrogens or false estrogens with adverse effect until cleared from the system.
When it comes to vegetables, fresh and organic are now important choices in order to avoid genetically modified (GM) genes. There is much controversy around genetic modification by insertion of different traits from an unlike species into another species of plant or animal through use of viruses or bacteria that serve to hide the foreign matter from an unlike plant or animal’s natural defense system in order to prevent the genetic manipulation from being rejected.
The question is, does that means of transport also hide the bacteria or viruses from a human’s immune system? Who has not been told by a doctor that no drug will help ease your cold because it’s a virus? Yes, genetic engineers of the creator companies assured us that it was impossible to cause adverse effects, that it’s the answer to the world ‘food shortage’, and that the human intestinal tract would eliminate the bacterium or virus used in genetic modifications.
And yet, according to studies performed at Quebec’s University of Sherbrooke in mid-2011, those genetic engineers were incorrect. Was that on our regular nightly new stations? If so, many missed hearing about it. In the university clinical trial, bacteria used in gene transfer from one foreign species to another was discovered alive and well in the blood of the volunteers and even in the fetus of pregnant women tested, despite the assurances that this could not happen. The lab’s confirmation of bacteria survival in human blood does tend to enlarge the importance of selecting organic food as much as possible if you want an immune system that is efficient to protect against disease.
This emphasizes the importance of reading labels and the country of source before making your choice of what you will feed your family. Back to organic then, where gradually switching to organic options as you deplete tinned goods can make it a less costly change.
You may be surprised at the response of a grocery store manager if you take a moment to call and advise you will not be back to buy their corn when you notice perfect rows of plump, identical kernels that broadcast the obvious – genetically engineered corn. Consumer demand results in supply and you’re the consumer. Provincial requests for labels on genetically engineered food have been repeatedly denied by Ottawa and this in itself, produces questions we could ask a representative before we vote.
Metal toxicity is a separate subject to become aware of, with sources being amalgams in teeth, hair dye, food in cans, soil accumulation of lead from years of leaded gas, pollution in cities and government spraying of the atmosphere to theoretically, reflect sunlight in an attempt to slow climate change. Mainstream may still deny its implications, but metal toxicity has definitely been linked to neurotoxicity and after all, how many people do you know on a tranquilizer or anti-depressant? Improved health, including mental and neurological function, for those who clear their body of metal overload is a main indicator of the marked health difference after metal cleansing.
Metal detoxification is however, an intricate process that is best embarked upon with an experienced practitioner for those who are not avid readers of health data. Experienced guidance helps you avoid re-absorption of the metals released. In short, it’s tougher coming out that it was going in!
It also serves us well to remember that aluminum from canned foods and cooking pots has been linked for some years to the increase of Alzheimer’s Disease. Yet many still use foil to bake with or cover hot foods, some even cook in aluminum pots. Many restaurants still use aluminum pots. We rarely think to ask that question before eating at an outside location. The trend today of lining food cans with plastic may help with less metal absorption, yet is still not an ideal solution because plastic residual, depending on its quality and time in the can, has been found to leach into the contents. Plastic residual in humans is linked to reproductive disorders, including infertility which ranks highest, on a global basis, in North America. Reflect on that one.
As always, it’s about moderation. Knowing of this controversy gives opportunity to limit intake of these foods and to cleanse periodically in an effort to lessen your body’s exposure.
Only by considering this information and doing your own research on both sides of the subject, will you arrive at a solution you believe right for you and your family.
