What’s in your Food? #labelGMOs #yeson37

Do you remember the days back when the cafeteria served what we lovingly referred to as “mystery meat”? The slop “way back then” was indiscernible and I can remember opting to NOT eat rather than eat something I couldn’t identify.

I think all schools had that one kid who would eat anything – whether they knew what it was or not, right?  That was Bobby in my class.  He didn’t care if it was even ACTUAL food… man that boy loved to eat.

Fast forward and where are we now?  Every day there is a HUGE probability that we are eating things and we don’t really know what is in them…  Yes, I’m talking about GMOs…

In case you don’t know – a GMO is simply a genetically modified organism. Meaning? A plant or meat product that has had its DNA artificially altered by genes from other plants, animals, viruses, or bacteria, in order to produce foreign compounds in that food. This type of genetic alteration is not found in nature. Today, as much as 85% of corn and a majority of soy in the U.S. is genetically engineered to either produce its own pesticide or withstand increased amounts of weed killer pesticide. FDA is currently considering approving a GE salmon that has been altered with an eel gene to promote faster growth. Some of our most important staple food crops are being fundamentally altered, but without proper labeling, we have no way of knowing which ones.

Now, I’m not telling you NOT to eat GMOs – you are an adult and can make that choice for yourself.  I’m simply a proponent of making educated choices – if we don’t know what’s in our food, how can we avoid it if we so choose?

50 countries with over 40% of the world’s population already label genetically engineered foods. Even China labels genetically engineered foods. So why don’t we?

California’s Proposition 37 aims to correct this.  We haven’t always labeled ingredients, calorie counts, or allergy information either, but we do now and this is information some use every day.

Granted, I don’t live in California, but my hope is that once it is adopted by one state, the others will follow suit.  This proposition is under heavy attack by big food companies and lobbyists so we have to stand up and speak for ourselves.

How can you help?  GREAT question – Help spread the word for starters.  Education is everything.

In social media, you can write about issue on your blog, tweet using #yeson37 and #labelGMOs, update your Facebook friends, donate to the campaign, and encourage everyone to vote YES ON PROP 37 in November.  You can also add a twibbon to your facebook and/or twitter profile to show your support.

It took close to one million signatures to get Prop 37 on the November ballot and it going to take one million more people to vote, donate, and talk about Prop 37 to get it passed.

You can find Prop 37 at www.carighttoknow.org and also on Twitter, Facebook,  Pinterest,  Youtube, Google+ and Reddit.

Consumers have a right to know what’s in the food we eat and feed our children, including whether food is genetically engineered. We all should be able to make informed choices, and have the ability to choose whether to buy genetically engineered food or not.

The initiative has already received early support from a broad range of consumer advocates and industry watch-dog organizations. You can view the endorsement list here.  Be sure to support these companies because we know we vote with our dollars.