Are you trying to limit your intake of genetically modified foods? These are some products you’ll want to look out for…
Genetically modified organisms, or GMOs, are any living thing that has had its genetic material altered in some way through human scientific interference.
GMOs undergo a form of gene therapy under lab conditions whereby segments of DNA are spliced, rearranged or removed altogether. You may have been eating genetically modified food for years and not even know it.
Here are some foods you’ll need to avoid if you’re looking to sidestep GM foods.
You probably knew about…
1. Sugar beets
2. Potatoes
3. Corn
4. Tomatoes
5. Golden rice
6. Soybean
7. Honey
8. Animal feed
9. Oils
10. Flax
11. Papayas: 77% of this Hawaiian grown crop is genetically engineered.
12. Milk: Ah, RGBH (recombinant bovine growth hormone)! This GE variation is an injection into dairy cows to increase milk production and has been for sales to humans in the European Union, Canada, New Zealand, and Australia. In the US? 40 percent of our dairy products contain the hormone.
13. Corn on the cob: Sure, 90% of corn produced in the US is genetically modified… but most of that corn never goes to humans. Sweet corn — the stuff that we eat — was GMO-free until Monsanto released its first GE harvest of sweet corn.
14. Squash and zucchini: Often, these two are fine but approximately 25,000 acres of crookneck, straightneck, and zucchinis have been bioengineered to be virus resistant.
15. “All natural” foods: Well, you don’t have to avoid these food labels, but you also should not assume that means no GE foods. There is currently no mandate on what a “natural” food is and that won’t change until the Food and Drug Administration resolve the pending class action suits against General Mills, Campbell Soup Co., and the tortilla manufacturer Gruma Corp.