Benfits And Drawbacks To Eating Green
Joe, an Australian business man, and Phil, an American truck driver, meet at an Arizona truck stop. This unlikely pair has the same rare auto immune disorder, both are taking lots of medication, both are overweight and sick, and both are aware of their mortality. One man is on a healing crusade and the other is inspired that there might be hope. To witness their extraordinary journey, juicing their way to health and wholeness, watch Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead, or their website www.jointhereboot.com.
As I watched their extraordinary passage to health, I recognized myself on the other end of that health spectrum; I had healthy eating habits, I liked my veggies, and I enjoyed exercising, and yet I suffer from malnutrition. My body lacks vital nutrients from the leafy greens. Recently, I have taken up juicing, drinking raw milk, and making kefir, and my body feels fabulous. My eye sight is improving, skin abrasions and joint pains are diminishing, and over all, life feels pretty good.
For two different reasons, the three of us needed a solution and the answer was the same: more nutrient rich food. It heals, and yet the more I probed I was shocked that this was not the entire story. I am curious: do you know what you are eating? Not all foods are equal. Most would think I am referring to organic versus non-organic – was your food grown using pesticides? In fact, I am referring to genetically modified organisms (GMO). Have biotech companies injected foreign DNA in to the plants DNA forcing the plant to make proteins that make it resistant to herbicides or manipulating it to make pesticides?
Are you and your family eating organic veggies? If you aren’t, did you know pesticide use has doubled over the last decade and herbicide use is up 237% over the past two years, according to Charles Benbrook, using USDA statistics? Or that 70% of processed foods in your local Coop have genetically modified ingredients, according to www.responsibletechnology.org, Jeffrey Smith’s website? Did you know that reputable scientists have found in numerous studies that in one generation mice consuming GMO foods are smaller and sicker, and in three generations, they are sterile? Or that former Monsanto lawyer, Mike Taylor, originally hired by the Bush administration and again by Obama’s, now oversees FDA policy? Did you know the FDA has determined ‘they are not aware of any information showing foods derived by these new methods differ from other foods in any meaningful way’? It is now illegal to label GMO foods.
No matter what part of the health spectrum we reside, fruits and veggies heal. Yes, most fruits and vegetables are GMO free. Soybeans, corn, canola and cotton are almost all GMO crops. While I am not interested in juicing pesticide rich foods, especially not GMO’s – we should be free to chose. But we can not choose what we don’t know. Let your dollars speak; tell your local grocery store, your favorite restaurants (most use GMO oils) that you want to eat GMO free. Tell your Representatives, GMO food’s need to be labeled. Europe is GMO free, McDonalds in Europe is GMO free, America can be GMO free, too. Learn more about GMO’s from www.responsibletechnology.org. Here’s to healthy choices for everyone
