The movie gmo omg is a documentary about one father’s journey to learn more about GMOs that I stumbled upon during my first week of my Whole30 reset. What Jeremy Seifert learned along the way was shocking to me, and will likely be shocking to you, too. This is totally an “I thought I knew what was in my food, and I was wrong” moment. Most of the information in this article is taken from gmo omg. Its my starting point to learning, and I will be doing further research on the topic.
What Are GMOs?
According to the World Health Organization, “genetically modified organisms (GMOs) can be defined as organisms (i.e. plants, animals or microorganisms) in which the genetic material (DNA) has been altered in a way that does not occur naturally by mating and/or natural recombination. The technology is often called “modern biotechnology” or “gene technology”, sometimes also “recombinant DNA technology” or “genetic engineering”. It allows selected individual genes to be transferred from one organism into another, also between nonrelated species. Foods produced from or using GM organisms are often referred to as GM foods.” There are two types of GMOs:
- pesticide producers that kill insects
- herbicide resisters that are immune to week killers
Because these are technically poisons (pesticides and herbicides), other countries have refused gifts of GMO seed (like Haiti after their most recent earthquake), while others have outright banned GMO cultivation (like France, Germany, and Italy) and GMO imports (like Algeria, Peru, and Russia). Source: Genetic Literacy Project GMO FAQ
Places like South Africa, India, and Mexico are protesting the use of the GMO seeds. Shouldn’t we be more aware of these in the US? Lack of regulation and political control by the companies who manufacture the GMO seeds contribute to our lack of knowledge about what is in our food.
What Foods Have GMOs In Them?
According to the movie, 80% of all processed foods contain GMOs. 80%!!! Holy kraut!! Jeremy Seifert contacted Whole Foods and was told “If its not organic, it probably comes from animals fed GMO products.” It breaks down like this in the US:
- 85% of all corn grown are GMO
- 91% of all soy are GMO
- 88% of all cotton are GMO
- 90% of all canola are GMO
- 90% of all sugar beets are GMO
According to the movie, 165 million acres of GMO “foods” are in the US, with 420 million acres worldwide. That’s a lot of GMOs!!
Are GMOs Good or Bad?
According to the movie, most studies available have been done by the companies that produce the GMOs, and they refuse to release the raw data to the public. Non-GMO Project states in their GMO FAQ that “Most developed nations do not consider GMOs to be safe and have significant restrictions or outright bans on the production and sale of GMOs. The U.S. and Canadian governments, though, have approved GMOs based on studies conducted by the same corporations that created them and profit from their sale.”
Some of the arguments for pro-GMO are that they can produce more crops per acre than organic farmers, and therefore it will help feed the world as well as create profit for farmers. One farmer stated, “You have to trust the regulators and scientists.” But if the regulators and scientists are being paid by the companies looking to make a profit from the GMO seeds, are we really being told the truth?
Non-GMO Project Editor, Ken Roseboro stated in the movie that consumer education is key. There are big time negative impacts on our health. He mentioned that GMO corn is actually registered as a pesticide and wonders how it is possible that this is considered food? I have to agree with him. It doesn’t seem to me that the regulators and scientists are helping to keep us safe. They are helping to keep making money for the GMO seed companies.
The Rodale Institute created a 30 year side by side comparison study that was peer reviewed. They found that organic yields matched conventional GMO yields, and that in times of drought, organic performs better.
What about those farmers trying to make a profit? I WANT farmers to make a profit. They work hard and provide me and my family with food. Profit is my way of thanking them. That being said, GMO seed companies control the pricing of seeds and whether or not farmers can reuse seeds the following year. According to a seed vendor in the movie, GMO corn seeds are about $350 per bag of corn, but were about $80 per bag 10 years ago. The companies do not allow farmers to save seeds to replant, because they are patented. So each year, farmers must get rid of the seeds they have and purchase new seeds. In order to survive, these farmers must have high yield crops. The problem is that as we mess with the DNA of these seeds, they have a more difficult time dealing with things like drought or flood. Weeds and bugs are adapting to the GMOs and becoming super weeds and super bugs. Eventually, if we rely on GMOs, we may have little to no food crops in the US. Doesn’t seem like any kind of profit going on here.
Labeling Politics
In 1992, the FDA said that GMOs are considered GSAF (Generally Safe As Food). The GSAF standard is usually reserved for food items that have gone through rigorous scientific testing and have been proved overwhelmingly safe. According to gmo omg, these foods have not gone through testing. You can blame politics.
Dennis Kucinich, public servant from Ohio, stated in the movie that we don’t know the effect of GMO consumption. Shouldn’t we take a precautionary principal – give people a choice with education and information? He has been a strong proponent of labeling bills during his time in Washington, D.C. I admit that I don’t know much about his other policies or ideas, but I’m on board with this!
In general, the GMO seed companies get highly involved in the legislative process, including state processes, not just federal. Some states have started to get labeling bills passed, but they have lawsuits up against them from the seed companies. These are lawsuits about LABELING. We are not talking about even changing the seeds – we just want to KNOW what is what! As for changing the seeds, according to the movie, the American GMO seed companies make non-GMO seeds for the European Union. Why won’t they make them for the US?
- Civil Eats has a great article from July 2016 about the federal labeling bill being signed by President Obama called Congress Passed a New GMO Labeling Bill, How Will It Work?
- However, according to Thompson Coburn LLP, Update: GMO Labeling Regs Are Back In Limbo dated February 2017.
- Civil Eats also has another great article entitled 5 Things to Know About the DARK Act
Action Steps You Can Take
- Use the Non-GMO Project website and app to educate yourself about what’s in the food. (Heart smiling? Check!)
- Look for labeling – you can find it some places. (Heart smiling? Check!)
- Be aware of the dirtiest of dirties: corn, soy, cotton, canola, sugar beets. (Heart smiling? Check!)
- To get politically involved, check out the website Just Label It for more information and ways to take action. (Heart smiling? Check!)
For me, this is a slow adaptation of buying non-GMO. I still have a lot to learn, but the fact that studies are showing mixed results (depending on who funds them), I will continue to err on the side of caution and label watch like a crazy fool. What are your thoughts on GMOs? Are you avoiding them? How? Do you have a good resource for me to check out? What did I miss in this article that can make it better? I look forward to hearing from you! Leave a comment after the related posts show below. I appreciate you! Thank you!
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