The perilous trip to the market

Did you know that over 60% of grocery store offerings contain genetically modified ingredients?

Did you know there was a farmer in Nebraska that gave his cows the option of eating GMO corn or regular corn? The cows wouldn't eat the GMO corn. Also see this report on a study done by Russian scientists about feeding GMO feed to animals. It has a negative impact.

Did you know the two biggest GMO products are soy or corn based?

I went to the FDA's site and found this published report from 2000:

The following processed foods tested positive for being genetically modified (September 1999). The tests were not "safety tests;" they were only to establish the presence of unlabeled genetically modified ingredients.

* Frito-Lay Corn Chips
* Bravo's Tortilla Chips
* Kellogg's Corn Flakes
* General Mills Total Corn Flakes Cereal
* Post Blueberry Morning Cereal
* Heinz 2 Baby Food
* Enfamil ProSobee Soy Formula
* Similac Isomil Soy Formula
* Nestle Carnation Alsoy Infant Formula
* Quaker Chewy Granola Bars
* Nabisco Snackwell's Granola Bars
* Ball Park Franks
* Duncan Hines Cake Mix
* Quick Loaf Bread Mix
* Ultra Slim Fast
* Quaker Yellow Corn Meal
* Light Life Gimme Lean
* Aunt Jemima Pancake Mix
* Alpo Dry Pet Food
* Gardenburger
* Boca Burger Chef Max's Favorite
* Morning Star Farms Better'n Burgers
* Green Giant Harvest Burgers (now called Morningstar Farms)
* McDonald's McVeggie Burgers
* Ovaltine Malt Powdered Beverage Mix
* Betty Crocker Bac-O's Bacon Flavor Bits
* Old El Paso Taco Shells
* Jiffy Corn Muffin Mix

Additionally, the following whole foods have been genetically engineered and approved for commercial sales:

* Canola Oil
* Chicory, red hearted (Radicchio)
* Corn
* Cotton
* Papaya
* Potato
* Soybean
* Squash
* Tomato

Source: Union of Concerned Scientists

Handout 1: List of Possible Genetically Engineered Products

Example 1: Cake Mix

* A familiar and popular brand of cake mix
* Sold in supermarkets
* Used for many years by a broad mix of consumers
* Traditional ingredients, such as flour, that is now being made from wheat that has been genetically modified to tolerate a commercial herbicide.
* The genetically modified wheat makes it easier for farmers to control weeds, and thereby increase crop yields and lower consumer prices.

Example 2: Corn Oil

* A familiar and popular brand of cooking oil
* Sold in supermarkets
* Used for many years by a broad mix of consumers
* Made from corn that has been genetically modified to resist insect pests.
* Process that extracts the oil from the corn, which involves heat, destroys the corn's DNA so there is no DNA in the cooking oil.
* There is no way to tell whether the oil was made from genetically engineered corn or conventional corn.

Example 3: Canola Oil

* A new brand of cooking oil
* Sold in supermarkets
* Has a claims that it contains more lauric acid, an unsaturated fatty acid that is less likely to raise cholesterol, than other canola oils.
* It has more lauric acid because it is derived from genetically engineered plants.
* There is no protein or residual DNA in the cooking oil, but because it is nutritionally different from other canola oils, it must state on the label that it is "high lauric acid canola oil"

Example 4: Flavr SavrTM Tomato

* New strain of tomatoes produced by genetic engineering
* Sold in the fresh produce section of the supermarket
* The genetic engineering inactivates an existing gene in tomatoes that makes them go bad after they ripen.
* These tomatoes can stay in the field to ripen longer before they are picked. They also stay fresh longer on the grocery shelf than other tomatoes.

Example 5: Vitamin A rice

* New strain of rice produced by genetic engineering
* Sold as a household staple and intended to be a significant part of the diet
* The genetic engineering takes a gene that produces Vitamin A from a harmless strain of bacteria and puts this Vitamin A gene into rice.
* The resulting rice can be a significant dietary source of Vitamin A and has the potential to reduce Vitamin A deficiencies cheaply and effectively.
* Vitamin A deficiency is a leading cause of blindness, mental retardation and other diseases.

Example 6: Genetically modified salmon

* New strain of farm-raised salmon
* Sold in fresh fish counters of supermarkets, public fish markets and to restaurants
* Salmon engineered to grow faster to reach market size at an earlier age
* Modified a gene that regulates growth hormone levels. When it is sold, the salmon does not contain higher than usual levels of growth hormone in the meat.

It is now more important than ever that you read labels and commit to memory the list above to avoid eating experimental foods. I am not saying that they will harm you, however, if they are not good for animals, how good are they for you?

The FDA does not require labeling of GMO foods for consumers unless they pose a health risk. Everywhere else in the world GMO ingredients must be labeled. Is Monsanto in charge of the FDA? We need to be able to determine for ourselves if we want to consume experimental foods. If they are not disclosed on a label, how can we know for certain what we are eating? When you begin reading labels, you will notice some companies have elected to tell you that the ingredients they are using are non-GMO ingredients. We need to convince the FDA that the lebeling is necessary on all food.

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Some Good News

The FDA has heard our plea! They have extended the deadline for consumer commenting to June 25, 2007. Please tell everyone you know to go here: Don't Mess with Our Chocolate!

This is a grass roots effort. We need you and everyone you know to contact the FDA and let them know not to change chocolate. I cannot imagine what vegetable oil instead of cocoa butter would even taste like! Yuck!

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Chocolate, chocolate and more chocolate

Chocolate, originally uploaded by foodchronicles.

Go over to my other place and find out why I'm drowning my sorrows in this.



I'm making something good with this. Tomorrow I'll post finished pictures.

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Spinach Salad

Spinach Salad, originally uploaded by foodchronicles.

This is one of my favorite lunches. A spinach salad. It has green apple slices, candied pecans, bacon a bit of sliced chicken and a blue cheese dressing. It is the best. My companion had a bowl of chowder, we shared the crab cakes.

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It's really time to stop the FDA

In a Washington Post article today we find this.

Can we all agree they are not working for us anymore. Their excuse is that they didn't have enough money to execute their jobs correctly. Evidently we will be hearing from the FDA that they need their budget increased. Hopefully, but not likely, congress will tell them sorry, no money for you! Only a government agency could do a job as bad as this and still be in business. If the private sector poorly presents their product to the public, the public speaks and they're out of business. Not a government agency. We just give them more taxpayer dollars!

Please read the article. Please contact your government representatives. Please urge them to stop the FDA! TODAY! They're having a meeting tomorrow to discuss the recall situation.

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It's Earth Day Baby

October 25, 1969: Cartoonist Ron Cobb designed the ecology symbol and published it in the Los Angeles Free Press. In December, Hunter reproduced the symbol in his Vancouver Sun column. It became a symbol for our generation. I was a freshman in high school. It was a new concept, embraced by all of us. A good friend decided at that point to become an ecologist. We embraced the "love mother earth" program whole-heartedly.

It is one of the reasons I am so confused when I read what giant corporations are doing to food. These corporate heads were part of that generation. What has happened to them. Is their greed so strong that they think genetically altering plants, patenting them, and "owning" those patents can replace nature? It is that greed that we must fight. How?

I was taught the phrase "Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without" as a child. It is the foundation of my life. It is my "necessity is the mother of invention" mantra. There is always something more that can be done with something before it is committed to the bin.

It now is evident that we must do the same with plants that become food. How? We begin by growing our own food. Plant a garden. Just the mere act of growing a garden keep us out of our cars and on the street looking for a bargain. You haven't tasted a tomato until you've grown your own. Purchase seeds from non-gmo companies. This list provides links to an enormous amount of seed companies dedicated to organic and non-gmo seeds.

Once your garden is planted go to the next step: save seeds from that garden. This page is written for elementary age children. But it is not so fundamental that we can't all learn something about collecting and saving seed for our gardens each year. Please take a look at it.

If you cannot grow your own garden, visit local farmer's markets. Purchase from local growers in your area. Eat fruits and vegetables in their season and learn to can for times when they aren't. Canning isn't difficult, but it is always more fun with a few friends to help. Co-op the cost of fruits or vegetables and take a day where everyone gets together to can and share the result. If you can on a regular basis, teach someone else how to can.

Once you've eaten the food, wasting little, then compost it. I know this is a difficult task for those city dwellers out there. However, there are small composting information available all over the net. A good one is Barb Finnin video pod talking about composting in your apartment or small homes. Go watch it, it is full of good information.

These are just a few ideas on how to "love your mother" and give a bit back to the earth.

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MINI cookies

MINI cookies, originally uploaded by 89AKurt.

I stumbled upon this photo from a friend in AZ. He's got a great little red MINI. He is also an architect and does some very creative things in his off hours. He designed this cookie cutter in 05 and I still haven't convinced him to give it to me!

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