I love to cook, I love to eat, and most of all I love to nurture my friends by expanding their bellies and their minds in roughly equivalent proportions.
But lately I’ve noticed our food needs some nurturing too, if it’s going to keep nurturing us. Because the food we eat has evolved into something rather shocking. Before you relegate me into just another “foodie” with a “conspiracy” problem, here’s my opinion on both counts:
To me, a foodie is someone who puts on airs about food. That’s not me. I just wanna eat (and share) good stuff.
As for conspiracies, I’m way too analytical… I tend to play devil’s advocate in just about any argument, if only to keep the tables balanced, and the minds sitting around that table wide open.
So imagine my surprise when I began to see the word “foodie” associated with a different kind of person — not just someone who loves to cook and/or eat, but someone who’s woken up to what’s happening with our food… someone who’s grown more than a little concerned about how much food has been radically altered in the last couple of decades.
It’s not a conspiracy, it’s just plain and simple good intentions (feeding ourselves, feeding the world) that have run a little bit amok.
So if that’s what a “foodie” is starting to become, I’ll gladly embrace it. With both hands (knife in one, fork in the other), while doing my best to wake up a few minds along the way.
My Mission:
- To track down original, valid study sources and references wherever possible.
- To read the study, article, and related references thoroughly.
- To draw my own conclusions – based on my background in regulatory affairs and biotechnology.
- To source, organize, and clearly communicate information that helps others make informed choices.
- To be a humble resource for healthy humans all around the globe.
Got questions? I’ll do my best to answer!
Just post your question or comment below; I’ll respond as quickly as I can.
Great blog! Glad I found it — hope you’ll keep spreadin’ the word!
Thanks Ellen! I definitely intend to!
Hi. mary at gmo-free portland here. I wanted to check out your blog… very nice. i never ever go read stuff on line like this unless it’s coming up in my research or I sideline from fb like now
so i’m going to sign up for your updates by email. keep up the great research!
Just wanted to say how much I enjoy your blog. It’s so nice to have so many resources about GMOs all in one place.
Thanks very much… I’m equally a fan of what you’re blogging about too! I’ve added your Facebook page to mine, and will put you my list of future pages/blogs to promote.
I was wondering who was responsible for this website so I can use this website for my college paper. Thanks!
Taiylor, feel free to email me privately: gmoawareness at gmail dot com — thanks!
I sent you an email. thanks again
Great info! How can I get our site listed on your site? shopGMOfree.com offers only non-gmo products – its an offshoot of shopOrganic.com so most of the products were already organic. We checked our household and personal care brands for GMO’s and removed any that contained them. What’s left is over 4,000 products that are all non-gmo!
So happy you contacted me! I’ve added you to our Online Organic Shopping page… thanks so much for what you are doing to make organics available to all!
Could you please provide me with a web list or directory of manufacturers or suppliers of USDA CERTIFIED ORGANIC FRUIT AND VEGETABLE JUICES. I have read about LAKEWOOD juices and BOLTHOUSE farm juices but wonder if these are authentic NON GMO .
I thank you for whatever help you can render
regards
deven
I’ve got several resource pages on this blog that might help you: under “Shopping List” I list GMO-Free Brands (including several juice makers, though the ones shown in red text are owned by large corporations that opposed GMO labeling); next I have a “Family Owned Organics” page in that same section, which lists both Eden Foods and Uncle Matt’s as USDA Organic, (and both are still privately owned); meanwhile under the “Avoid List” I have a list of GMO Juice drinks (though I realize that’s the opposite of what you’re asking for).
Other sources: Whole Foods’ “365″ Brand juices are organic and GMO-free; and you can check the “Beverages” section of the Non-GMO Project’s website to find a list of products they have certified as GMO-free. Remember, just because a juice is GMO-Free does not necessarily mean it is grown under organic processes.
Re: Lakewood Juices, these are USDA Organic (which means GMO-free) and they are members of a separate Organic Trade Association. They address both GMOs and Organic in the FAQ page of their website. They are owned by what appears to be a private organization called “Florida Family Trust” (I was unable to find any further information on this trust organization).
Re: Bolthouse Farms, I see no USDA label on any of their juice products (if you do, perhaps you’re in a test market area?). They do offer organic whole carrot products under their “Earthbound Farm” label. They are currently in the process of being bought out by the Campbell’s Soup Company (who donated a half million dollars to prevent GMO Labeling in California).
Thank you for your reply , I certainly appreciate the response and effort will investigate further , keep up the good work
Glad I found your blog. Good job. I am interested in the same things!
Thank you for all the research you have done and putting the information in one place. I will refer your site via my facebook page foodrestlove and my blog foodrestlove.com. Thank you again.
Hi! Thanks for your website! I was on cornucopia.org and stumbled upon some Whole Foods 365 info and would hope you make a note about their product. I’ve included the website and an info snippet of it here:
For non-organic “natural” products making “non-GMO” claims, results showed that these claims cannot always be trusted. While Peace Cereal® and Annie’s Homegrown® were indeed free of significant levels of GE ingredients,35 Barbara’s Bakery® Puffins® and Whole Foods’ 365® Corn Flakes, which are both enrolled in the Non-GMO Project contained more than 50% GE corn.
http://cornucopia.org/cereal-scorecard/docs/Cornucopia_Cereal_Report.pdf
It’s a beast trying to keep up with all the info and non-info about what we have to put in our bodies!
Hello! Well, I have to say I’ve got a few thoughts about this. First, it’s an awesome report!!! I love seeing reports that go into so much detail, as I’m one of those who likes to dig down to the last bit of data wherever possible.
Second, I’m dismayed to see that Whole Foods 365 brand corn flakes — considering they proudly proclaim their 365 brand is GMO free — tested positive. I personally don’t shop at Whole Foods because I prefer the more “local farmer” and “non-organic is an anomaly” philosophy of my co-op, I prefer smaller businesses to larger corporations, and because there’s been a fair amount of questionable press about Whole Foods over the years on a variety of issues (I personally feel their “label everything in five years” announcement, while honorable on the surface, feels more like a media blitz than a measure of true dedication).
My biggest takeaway from this is how to deliver the message appropriately. I’m always thinking about the “audience.” With that in mind, I’m concerned that this much data would completely overwhelm the average busy mom — the one who’s responsible for most of the family’s shopping and food preparation, who has 200 other things to do besides read a report.
So if it was me, I would sum it all up with a simple take-away: always buy USDA Organic; the term “natural” means zilch. Want more data? Read the report. (But I am still going to add a Note to both instances I mention Whole Foods on this blog.)
This is such a great blog! I’m so happy that I found it. I’m tempted to re-blog every single article. LOL! Thank you for all the time it has taken to put this research into one place.
MJ thank you *so* much for your comment. It means a lot. <3
Many organic certified and non-GMO certified shops sell on Amazon.Com.
And Costco is carrying a longer and longer list of USDA Organic products these days.
Hi. I would love to connect. What part of the world are you in?
The U.S. part.
Good Work! I would love to talk with you about giving your message more exposure through our magazine Please contact me asap
Hello there, thanks for your blog. I’m new. Not new to healthy living. I was shopping at T.J’s the other day, and had a conversation with them about their label being ‘GMO free.’ I was highly skeptical. If this is in fact true, then why not label their products as such? They started to mumble something…and I was like, CYA? Meaning, they can be held liable if in fact they touted something as GMO free, but it really wasn’t. I think they’re a bunch of money hungry, scammers.
Hello! You are not the first I’ve heard of who tried to get a more clear answer from Trader Joes without much luck. I really wanna believe they are doing the right thing, but there are a few yellow flags for me. You might be interested to read what I wrote about this very subject just a couple months ago… http://gmo-awareness.com/2013/02/02/is-trader-joes-organic-gmo-free/
Hi there, I’ll be “Marching Against Monsanto” here in a few weeks and I was hoping to create flyers/pamphlets/brochures to quickly inform others about the cause. Your post, “Monsanto’s Dirty Dozen” is a truly eye opening read and I was hoping to use this information within the brochure…with your approval of course. I’ll be sure to give you credit as well!
Ash, big kudos to you for handing out this information on your march! Thanks so much for requesting permission. To use this article in print (either in part / excerpts or in whole), please add the following at the top of the article: by GMO-Awareness.com If you wish to include our little green and red “no GMO” logo, you are welcome to obtain the graphic from our Facebook page. Last but not least, if you have the room at the end of the article, we would be most grateful if you would consider including a link to our Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/gmo.awareness.usa Thanks kindly!
Great info. You might enjoy my Organicular Blues post, – after reading your top ten list, maybe I should have named it the Monsanto Blues, and I see I might have missed a few chapters – the diet cola one is most obvious.
http://personalhealthfreedom.blogspot.ca/2013/05/the-organicular-blues.html
tracy
Awesome video of the march in LA last weekend, cut over “Save The World” by Swedish House Mafia!! Check it out: http://youtu.be/nrq0jyCi0Qs
Great job on this! I reblogged this to CouplandTimes.com but it didn’t show up. Do you need to approve the reposting? Do you see my comments on the reblog?
Hello Stewart! There are no settings preventing you from reblogging (in fact our Monsanto post has been reblogged about a hundred times so far); maybe it’s just a hiccup on your server or blogging platform. Thanks so much for helping to raise awareness!
Thanks for the reply. It shows up on wordpress.com but not on my site, which is a wordpress installation on another host. Mysterious computer stuff no doubt. I guess I’ll just post the link so that my readers in Coupland, Texas can see it. By the way, I am amazed at the amount of research you must have done to put that together. Very well referenced. I’m sure I’ll be reposting more of your stuff. I’m working on helping the folks in this rural community get educated on important issues. So far, I have been pleasantly surprised at how well informed most of my new friends are. Moved here last year to establish a new homestead with my son and his family.
Thanks for such a kind compliment… I’ve tried to find as many articles, links, and peer-reviewed studies as possible and organize them into various resource pages that work for *my* brain… it’s always good to know it’s working for others too.
Big kudos to you for your efforts to raise awareness and best of luck to you in your new home.
I would like to reprint your article, but I always like to ask permission……..here is the site it will be on…………www.TNETimes.com
Rita Mills
Rita, you are so kind to ask. You are warmly welcome to reprint… thank you for helping to raise awareness!