Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs)

GMOs, maybe you've heard of them before, maybe you haven't- either way listen up, it's time to moderately inform yourself. If you ate anything today containing dairy products, or obtained your meal, snack or beverage from a box, can and/or plastic package there is a good chance you ingested some level of them into your body. If you find any of the multiple derivatives of corn listed in the ingredients on the package of your food or beverage, chances are it is a genetically modified variant of corn. The same goes for soya. If you buy your sugar from Roger's, the largest supplier of sugar in Canada, 15% of it contains a genetically modified variety of the sugar beet. If you cook with canola oil, almost 100% of the products offered in stores will have been made with genetically modified canola. If you find canola, soya and/or corn on any package, unless it says its certified organic, it will undoubtedly be a genetically modified variety. If you eat meat conventionally raised, i.e. not raised according to certified organic standards, you will have ingested GMOs. They also appear in major named brands of beer, bread, honey and vitamins. 

They are ubiquitous. 

50 countries, including almost all of the European Union, constituting 40% of the world's population label genetically engineered food. So, what's up? Why have we in North America not done the same? If 40% of the world has found cause for alarm for these new foods, should we as well?

I think it's important to first understand what a GMO is and how it is created. An organism is genetically modified through the process of shooting the gene (with a gene gun, seriously) of some desired bacteria or species into the DNA of another different species. It is a manipulation of another organism's DNA, its entire being if you will, through an entirely inorganic process, i.e. would never have occurred naturally in nature. This process differs from traditional plant breeding in that the normal biological barrier between plant and other kingdoms, animals and bacteria for instance, are broken. Take for example Bt corn. 

Bt stands for Bacillus thuringiensis, which is a soil-dwelling bacterium commonly used as a pesticide. Bt corn, a genetically modified variety of corn, contains a gene which codes for this toxin. When planted, the corn produces the insecticidal toxin in its tissues. Biotechnology companies like Monsanto and Syngenta, have designed the Bt corn to target the corn borer, who when having eaten it, its stomach will rupture and die. However, Bt corn is also fatal to harmless insects who frequent corn patches such as the monarch butterfly. So, on the outset how does this sound to you as a future consumer of this corn, eating something with a known toxin that ruptures stomachs of insects which will then be broken down and absorbed into your body? Nacho Libre couldn't have said it better... (check the video below)

 

Another variety of genetically engineered corn is called Roundup-ready corn, introduced to the market in 1998. Roundup is an herbicide developed by Monsanto. It is used extensively by farmers for its ability to kill many types of weeds. The Roundup-ready corn has been genetically altered to survive saturation of this weed killing chemical cocktail, while the unwanted plants growing around it die. Roundup works by binding trace minerals in the soil, making them unavailable to plants which then weaken their defenses significantly. It follows then, that the Roundup-ready corn itself is nutritionally deficient,  since it too is also unable to use any of the trace minerals in the soil. Trace minerals, like plants, are incredibly important in maintaining good health for us humans. 

I chose Bt and Roundup-ready corn as examples for genetically engineered food because they are pretty much in everything. Fructose, dextrose, maltodextrin, corn syrup, sucrose- these are familiar corn products we find on many processed food labels. Animal research has shown many adverse health effects as result of being fed these foods: higher cancer, infertility and abortion rates; damaged organs. As for humans, there has never been a single test done to see whether GMOs pose a risk to our health. Yet, the U.S. government approved their sale for human consumption, despite warnings from scientists citing the potential for allergies and immune system disorders as a result of eating these foods.

 Since we are dealing with an entirely new class of organisms never before encountered in the enitre span of mankind, it takes a while for changes to be noticed. It's genetic, which is dynamic and always changing. Unfortunately, we've played the role of guinea pigs, where only now after two decades can doctors begin to understand the damage genetically engineered foods incur on the inner workings of our bodies. If the animal studies are any indication, which they are, we should stop eating anything which has a GMO in it. We should also ask why we as consumers have been kept out of the dark on this information, and why our government doesn't think we should label food products which contain GMOs. Isn't Health Canada supposed to craft policies with our health in mind? 

My source for this information comes largely from a great movie called "Genetic Roulette" by a man named Jeffrey Smith. He has been an outspoken advocate on the dangers of GMOs and tracked the corrupt relationship between the biotech industry and government. Go see it for yourselves, you won't be disappointed. Well you probably will be, because it's all very angering and saddening information, but you will be informed. Here's the trailer for the movie:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EeewlOBHPR4

Easy solution to avoiding all this GMO garbage available in sweet and salty treats- don't eat it, buy organic, grow your own food, shop at farmer's markets or find a CSA to get involved in like my friend's Taylor McPherson, he'll hook you up on some very tasty vegetables. Here's his website with his info: http://www.ferndalefarms.ca/

Delayed Update

And 6 months later the farming adventure has ended... for this year of 2012, but the bigger adventure and dedication to a lifestyle/profession in farming has only just begun. My gosh I've meant to write about what's been swirling around in my head for far too long now. The last 4 and a half months I have been working on a farm in Chilliwack- Forstbauer Family Natural Food Farm, http://www.forstbauer.com/Farm/Welcome.html, a family who's been farming for roughly 30 years in British Columbia, legends in mine and many others eyes. You can find their delicious produce, dairy, berries and beef at at least 8 farmer's markets throughout the lower mainland at the height of the growing season, and then at at least one in the winter, possibly two.

So, if you haven't been going to farmer's markets, why not start this year by checking out the winter market at Nat Bailey stadium in Vancouver starting this November 3rd. Tell em' I sent you (this will not get you any deals, but why not try and see what happens?). For your information, everything they sell is Biodynamic/Organic certified and of the utmost quality and flavour.

Let's backtrack now. I left Duncan at the end of May on good terms with John and family. It was a very positive experience living and working there. I met some pretty neat people, discovered visionary writers, grew a deeper appreciation for nature,  learned much about growing, cultivating and taking care of vegetables and ultimately myself. When you're staying in a new place away from friends and family doing something you're not used to, it will always be for the better in the end on many levels. You may not realize it initially, but with quiet reflection, hopefully you do.

I think the most important thing I've absorbed from staying on these farms is the appreciation for the amount of work that goes into growing organic food. Do you enjoy carrots? When you pick up a bunch of carrots for say $3 at the farmer's market, are you aware of the amount of time that was spent tenderly weeding them, harvesting, bunching and then washing them? The answer: alot. Since no chemical sprays are used to combat weeds, weeding is done the old fashioned way with two hands and an endless amount of patience. There was one four day stretch where all I did was weed carrots. And they don't get weeded just once; typically a row- a 140 foot row, 3 to a bed, 20 rows wide- of carrots will be weeded 3 times over the season. And there were plenty of carrot patches that got weeded over the summer.

Sometimes the weeding can be enjoyable and almost zen-like. Other times you are cursing the demands of these sweet vegetables and their need to be weeded. Weed control is huge. It is almost like a magic trick that nature plays on you- one day you see a few tips of weedy greens poking out of the earth, your desired crop looking strong amongst them, the next day those tips have bolted and are now jockeying for territory, threatening the livelihood of your favoured veggie. Plus, to boot, weeding is very taxing on your muscles. You have to rotate the positions- alternate left then right leg crouching, walking like a crow; sitting on your bum; on hands and knees; sometimes just on knees. That's weeding. I'd say carrots demand the most love and attention, the other crops will put up with a little neglect at first.

The harvesting, bunching, washing then boxing of carrots is also labourious but it comes with the rewards of freshly picked carrots to munch on while doing the work. Nothing tastes better than a fresh, sweet carrot plucked straight from the ground. Okay, you might find some examples to contradict what I just wrote, but when was the last time you got to enjoy this act? I'm not talking about store bought, flavour lacking carrots trucked from across the continent, obviously. There is a massive difference between those fellas and the kind that are grown on organic and biodynamic farms. 

So, send some love to the person you buy your food from at a farmer's market, CSA or even friend by chance who's sharing his homegrown food with you; they worked hard to to bring it to you, to feed you;
the most basic need we all require.

Photos! From a simple camera on a simple phone!

If you'll notice this photo shows two rows to a bed, nor is this patch 20 rows wide as I described earlier.This area was the exception that rule, and some of the greenhouses... However these rows are all very long and time consuming when weeding.

Leeks in flowering mode. They're fun to walk amongst and peer into the little hubs of insect activity taking place on each flower head.

This is somewhere I don't remember in the pole bean rows. You're looking at a bunch of buds who have yet to push out little beans. I hung out here, picking upwards of 200 pounds of them a day for close to a month.
I sorta resented doing the work at first, then came to enjoy it. Funny that.

My vantage point among the bush beans. Compared to pole beans, they are less enjoyable to pick; however with headphones on and bumping tunes to inspire you, they're not so bad.