Genetically modified is a term most people have heard of but what exactly does it mean? How do you know if a product is genetically modified? How many products are genetically modified? I decided to find out.

According to the GMO Shopping guide:

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Genetic Engineering (GE) or Genetic Modification (GM) of food involves the laboratory process of artificially inserting genes into the DNA of food crops or animals. The result is called a genetically modified organism or GMO. GMOs can be engineered with genes from bacteria, viruses, insects, animals, or even humans.

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(from effects of gm foods)

Cultivated Genetically Modified Foods - From bacteria (E. coli) and fungus, fruits and vegetables to animals, genetic manipulation is becoming more and more common in our society. In the US market now, 60 to 70% of the processed foods are genetically modified. In 2006, United States GMO crops reached just shy of 135 million acres, with the total global area exceeding 250 million acres!¹

There are several reasons this unnatural genetic manipulation may affect you.

Agro-chemical companies and the government are planning to charge farmers fees to grow their GMO crops, thereby negatively affecting the economy and environment. Processed consumer goods made with GMO ingredients - The bio-chemical industry is fiercely going after two crops, corn and soy, because of their high demand for use throughout our processed goods and biofuel industries.

For companies to increase and control the yield of these crops, it would mean controlling a large part of the processed goods and biofuels markets. It would also mean considerable profit as they can patent these crops and technically OWN THEM!

http://www.globalhealingcenter.com/genetically-modified-foods.html

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Foods can be altered to resist pesticides, to produce more quantity, to change the variety and the list goes on. These GMO’s (science experiments ) are found in so many more foods than I ever could have imagined. Most “name brand” foods Kraft, Post, Pace, Prego, Aunt Jemima, Duncan Hines, Betty Crocker, General Mills, Pillsbury, Hungry Jack, and Lean Cuisine just to name a few, contain GM ingredients. I don’t know about you but the thought of eating foods which may contain HUMAN GENES is just appalling, not to mention unappetizing.

Genetically modified foods can be found almost worldwide, but there is a difference between the GMOs in the US vs. most other countries; the ones found in the US DO NOT HAVE TO TELL YOU THAT THEY CONTAIN GMOs.

the Federal government has declared it's their choice to determine what is good for you and what foods are safe for your consumption (EFFECTS OF GM FOODS)

According to the GMO shopping guide stay away from the “Big Four”

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Most GM ingredients are products made from the “Big Four:” corn, soybeans, canola, and cottonseed, used in processed foods.

(shopping guide)

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The lists of products and ingredients in this article are so overwhelming, they would be virtually impossible to remember. Follow the link and be sure to always shop with this guide. You can even get this shopping guide application for your iphone ( as much as I hate cell phones) . This guide, like most other things in life may not be perfect ( errors can and do occur in the real world) but it is somewhere to start.

If you don’t have time to read/ print the shopping guide be sure to stay away from all corn products ( corn flour, cornstarch, corn meal, corn syrup, corn masa) , all soybean products unless stated that the product is “certified organic” (these products are forbidden to contain GMOs), all canola products (especially products which may have been fried in canola oil) and anything containing cottonseed oil. Look for products which are made from wheat, rice, or oats instead of corn. Buy milk which states on the carton No Rbst or growth hormones. Look for fish that says it is wild not farm raised (fed from gm feed). Buy certified organic eggs and if you love your beef, make sure it comes from grass fed cattle not corn fed like what you find in your regular grocery store.

http://www.responsibletechnology.org/DocumentFiles/144.pdfhttp://www.responsibletechnology.org/DocumentFiles/144.pdf