Tips for avoiding GMO products
Everything natural is healthier. Yet today we live a refined existence. We frequently see news on television and social media about the genetic modification of foods.
There are GMO foods. What is a GMO? A new organism produced by copying the genetic traits of one living thing and transferring them to another organism that does not naturally carry these traits is called a "Genetically Modified Organism (GMO)."
These are processes applied to genes in vegetables, fruit, and plants for purposes such as extending shelf life, increasing production yield, altering flavor, delaying ripening, enhancing aroma, and making the plant resistant to harmful microorganisms. Debate continues over this genetic modification process, which is fundamentally driven by economic interests.
SOMETHING TO CONSIDER...
Genetically modified products are not new; insulin for diabetic patients is obtained by taking the insulin gene from pigs and transferring it into a bacterium; the substance called aspartame, used as an artificial sweetener, is produced from GMOs; and many vaccines, the hepatitis B vaccine foremost among them, are also made using GMOs. However, these are genetic interventions carried out for medical and therapeutic purposes. One must consider just how necessary the work being done on vegetables and fruit really is!
Although there is not yet sufficient research on this subject, scientists have no doubt that foods containing GMOs are harmful to human health. Since the gene is inserted directly into the plant, it is frequently pointed out in health-related criticism that those who consume these foods will also be at risk. The web of life is interconnected like a chain, and a genetic modification made to the organism at the very bottom of that chain indirectly affects every level above it.
Unfortunately, although GMO seeds are banned in Turkey, the importation of these products is not adequately monitored. With seeds used in traditional farming, a new crop can be grown again the following year using seeds from the previous harvest. In GMO farming, this is not possible; producers are forced to buy new seeds from companies every single year, which is the economic dimension of this debate. The privatization of DNA — a material that belongs to all of humanity — is a source of concern and controversy...
Tips for avoiding GMO products:
-Buy organic products
-Look for the "GMO-free" label
-Avoid risky ingredients (those containing corn, soy, canola, and cotton)
-Genetically modified fish, poultry, or farm animals have not yet been put up for sale. However, there are many non-organic products made from animals fed with GMO grain products. Choose 100% grass-fed animals and wild-caught fish instead of farmed fish.
-Most sweeteners, and sugar and chocolate products made with them, contain GMOs. Choose GMO-free sweeteners, sugar, and chocolate made with 100% cane sugar and organic sugar.
-Watch out for soy lecithin in chocolate and corn syrup in sugar products.
You can find more information on this and similar topics in my book "Beautiful, Happy, and Healthy."