Starting Spring GMO Free

This week I watched a documentary called The Future of Food.

This movie really made me look differently at many of the foods Blue and I were eating. Before watching this movie I had a slight idea what GMOs (Genetically Modified Organisms) were... But, I will be honest and admit that I really had no clue how they factored into my everyday life and the impact they had on my diet...

In a nutshell, Genetically Modified Foods are foods that come from crops that were planted with seeds that have been biologically altered in a lab.

Not knowing much about GMOs I thought of them like I did those test market Olestra Potato Chips, a few years back. I thought if I saw GMO foods in the market, I would just avoid them.

For the most part, I shop the perimeter of the grocery store, cook from scratch, and eat a ton of fresh produce and whole grains. So, I thought we were doing well and eating healthy...

But after watching The Future of Food and doing a bit more research I came to the conclusion that I was very naive about the food I ate and served Blue.
Now, I am not one to just watch something and freak out with out thoroughly researching it first... and I am not going to go as far as saying that Genetically Engineered Food is really bad for you. But I will admit I am disturbed by the fact that they are not labeled and that I had no idea how much of them we are eating... or how much of them the US is producing even though they have been banned in many other countries...

For me, it wasn't just the movie... mainly it was my research... and not research from flakey websites, but from well documented sources.

Blue and I have since decided that we were going to clean out our pantry and our fridge. I feel very strongly about wasting food, but we both feel very strongly about this... From this point on, no more products containing GMOs are coming into our home with out our knowledge. Except for maybe a rare occasional Ignorance is Bliss Treat... But, even that will not not quite seem the same anymore...

Not only that, but I am no longer going to share recipes that require Genetically Engineered Ingredients... What is in my blog right now will stay..., but no more after that. This was a really big decision for us and I wanted to share it with you all.

As I consider this and look in my own pantry today to see just how many of these "Hidden Ingredients" are in there... I thought I would bring the topic up in here and ask if everyone knew how many of them were in their own home? Do you know much about them and do you feel safe feeding them to your family?

If you are not sure... Then here are a few really good resources, especially the first one.

http://www.greenpeace.org/usa/news/...d-shopping-list

http://www.centerforfoodsafety.org/geneticall7.cfm

http://www.ucsusa.org/food_and_envi...ic_engineering/

http://www.seedquest.com/News/relea...nuary/18145.htm