Food, Inc. and the Genetic Manipulation of Our Food

Friday night, Justin and I watched the documentary film, Food, Inc. It is an interesting, eye-opening and frightening documentary about the world of modern farming and the corporatization of our food supply. The film explores:

• Industrial chicken, beef and pork farming and how current practices are increasing the risk of exposure to e-coli and salmonella.
• Why genetically modified foods are not required to carry a GMO label.
  
• How seeds are being genetically modified, then patented.
• How and why farmers who prefer traditional methods of farming are losing their farms.
• The future of our food supply.
• How it's a very realistic possibility that in the future, all seeds used for crops will be controlled by corporations and genetically modified in some way.
  

Perhaps what was so scary about the film is that it's a few decades too late. GMO crops are making a lot of people a lot of money and once that happens, there's no going back. There's a saying that goes something like this.

"When they came for the Jews, I did nothing. When they came for the blacks, I did nothing. When they came for the Hispanics, I did nothing. When they came for the Asians, I did nothing. Then when they came for me, nobody was left."

I fear that this is going to be the case with our food supply. It's possible and probable that in our lifetimes, no naturally produced foods will exist. Our only choices will be to eat GMO foods because there will be no alternatives, no non GMO seeds or animals left. Then what? Do we have a new branch of science that focuses on genetically modifying humans so they are resistant to the diseases and illnesses GMO foods create? Sounds like science fiction, but how many sci-fi novels and TV shows have accurately predicted our future?

After the film, we looked at our container of Silk soymilk. It used to advertise "no GMO ingredients." That label is now gone, perhaps since 80% or 90%, I can't remember the exact number, of all U.S. soybeans have been genetically modified. Scary.

Then at the grocery store, we found a container of soymilk that advertised being made from GMO free soybeans. Cool or maybe not. I trust labels about as much as I trust salespeople, so I thought about this one for a moment and wondered.

Since advertising is what it is and the FDA doesn't require GMO labeling, then wouldn't it be legal for a company to genetically modify seeds and then claim that the actual finished product, the soybeans, corn, potatoes, tomatoes, etc. was not genetically modified?

And worse, GMO foods haven't been on the market for that long so there have been no long-term studies on their safety. There have been some short-term studies which have had some pretty freaky results.

All of it makes me wonder if this is why so many kids are getting sick so often, why so many more people are getting cancer, diabetes, obesity, heart disease, inflammatory conditions and are having issues with food allergies and intolerance. I mean seriously, before the mid 1990s who'd heard of gluten intolerance? Now the grocery stores have a special gluten-free section. Could this be from pesticides, herbicides or the genetic manipulation of our food? Could it be that our bodies can't recognize what we're eating anymore because it's not natural? Just a little food for thought.