This week has been super crazy for me. I’ve been cooking and baking nonstop for the blog while also juggling outside job opportunities and you know, figuring out the general direction of my life. No big deal. Despite my busy schedule, me and Netflix just have a bond that I can’t ignore. GMO OMG has been on my queue for weeks because well, I knew it was going to be good, and I wanted to give it the full attention it deserved.
It’s a documentary that follows director Jeremy Seifert as he looks for answers to how GMOs affect our health, our planet, and our freedom of choice. It’s fascinating, informative, funny, terrifying, and will really make you think about your food choices. I decided to focus on a few of the facts that I find most interesting from this film, but I highly recommend you watch it for yourself to get the full effect.
Before I begin, what exactly is a GMO (aka genetically modified organism)?
“Organisms in which the genetic material (DNA) has been altered in a way that does not occur naturally. “
-World Health Organization
There’s 2 types of GMOs:
- Pesticide Producers kill insects. Example – Monsanto’s BT Corn, where a gene from a naturally occurring bacterium is inserted into the DNA of corn. The modified corn produces a toxin that’s lethal to insects.
- Herbicide Resisters are weed killer immune. Example – Roundup Ready Soy, where the DNA is altered with a soil bacterium’s genes to make the plant immune to the weed killer called Roundup. Farmers douse their fields with Roundup to kill every weed and unwanted plant, but even when coated in herbicide, the soy plant remains unharmed.
The European Union first established labeling of GMOs in 1997. Several states in the U.S. have tried to make GMO labeling mandatory in the past, but Monsanto has threatened to sue them or has spent millions of dollars to defeat them. And now the Dark Act has passed, which blocks the USDA from implementing mandatory GMO labeling on foods. That means we as consumers will be in the dark about what’s in our food and how it’s grown.
Here’s 10 more reasons why GMOs suck and what you can do about it…
1. Haiti Knows What’s Up
Haiti is the poorest country in the western hemisphere and suffers from poverty, hunger, and malnutrition. Their devastating 2010 earthquake didn’t help things, and yet when Monsanto offered the country 475 tons of GMO seeds, Haiti said thanks but no thanks. They lovingly refer to Monsanto seeds as “poison.” In one Haitian town that actually accepted some of the seeds, it ruined their crop and cost them money so they stopped using them. Protestors went as far as burning the seeds to show their disgust for Monsanto.
