I think most people want to eat better but the problem is that it is not always easy. There are just so many options to pick from. Organic vs Conventional, Local vs Foreign, Fair Trade, and now GMO Free. That is a lot of things to consider when trying to pick a single item. Multiply it but what you normally buy in a week and it can almost be too much to even start. But here's the thing....I may not always buy organic and I don't always buy local but I absolutely want to be buying GMO free everything.
I have analyzed our food and know what contains GMO ingredients. Over the next month I am going to be finding replacements for at least 5 items on our list. It is going to take some research because products with GMO ingredients are not labeled. To add one more layer of complexity I am going to try and make sure I do not select replacements from companies that actively tried to defeat Prop 37, the GMO labeling initiative in California.
Anyone want to join me this month? What is the best GMO free product that you have found?
I like this!
ReplyDeleteI'm doing Arbonne's "30 days to feeling fit" in February (though I started in January to get the full 30 days!) and have been really trying to watch what I eat. Finding 5 things that I eat/buy on the regular, and replacing them with non-GMO varieties is a great idea.
With my produce, I generally try to focus first on buying local/from a CSA. We learned a while ago that some CSA's aren't certified organic, but that is only to keep costs down. They do practice growing organically, but are not certified due to the expense of maintaining that. They wanted to keep prices down for their customers. They let you come visit the farm once every month or so, and you can see what all is going on. It's neat.
I don't know about their crops/GMO crops, if it's organic, it's not *supposed* to be GMO, but I think we all know how that goes.
I find the whole GMO issue very depressing. I want to be GMO free but since companies aren't required to label their products ... I have no way of knowing. We try to stick with whole foods but that, of course, is no guarantee since many crops are grown with GMO seeds. In truth, I really can't believe that anyone would vote down a system which simply allows us to know what's in our food so that we can make our own choices. Hopefully it'll change and people learn a bit more!
ReplyDeleteGreat challenge! I'd love to hear what your top 5 to replace are. I am not sure which products in my house have GMO's, so maybe I could recognize some things on other people's lists.
ReplyDeleteSam - if they are a 100% certified organic farm then they would be GMO free. If you are able to visit them then I would straight up ask them if they have any crops that contain GMO's.
ReplyDeleteI too find the GMO issue to be depressing. It is just so hard to know where to start! Eating lots of whole foods is a great start :) I'm focusing non produce products first because I feel like it is easier to find information on this than it is to find out about each farmer (especially this time of year).
ReplyDeleteNatures Path Toaster Pastries. Awesome sweet indulgence for the kids!
ReplyDeleteWould love to know your top five foods too!
ReplyDeleteI buy non-GMO soy products, but there's no way of knowing if potatoes and tomatoes sold here are non-GMO, which is really troubling.
Got here from Meet and Greet Monday, by the way. :)
I'm not sure which 5 I will tackle first. I am just going to play it by ear based on what we need to buy each week. #1 is done and posted (baked beans). I thought maybe ketchup was done but I posted the results of that on FB.
ReplyDeleteCan you talk to local farmers Sara to find out if their tomatoes and potatoes are GMO free?
I so need to do this too! Thanks for the inspiration. I look forward to reading how this works for you. I included the link in my Snow Day Reads" over at MNN: http://www.mnn.com/family/family-activities/blogs/snow-day-reads-to-get-your-through-the-big-storm
ReplyDeleteThanks Jenn!
ReplyDeleteI would love to do this too. I find it very overwhelming though. I still need to figure out which of our foods have high fructose corn syrup and nix those. I never considered baked beans and GMOs! I started making my own a while back more so to eliminate another source of BPA, but I don't always buy organic beans.....
ReplyDeleteI find it overwhelming too Kristina. That is why I started small with 5 items. Chip away a bit at a time!
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