I think everyone had heard of Monsanto. They were becoming the monster of the ages. Sued by countries and farmers everywhere; they were the profiteering, poisoning mega-giant, successfully putting small farmers out of business and watching cancer rates soar.

Monsanto and genetically modified crops were in the news but also protected by the US government. Other countries banned GMO’s. Starving countries turned down their seeds. A genetically modified seed is one that has been altered in the lab to have herbicides built into its structure, effectively allowing it to be doused with Round Up constantly. I don’t have to tell you what damage this does to our cellular system, the farmers that use them, and the environment. However, they are the norm now, and where it was limited to soybean, corn, and canola crops, it is now taking over many more.

If a seed is cross pollinated with a nearby farmer’s seed, they will be taken to court for having GMO seeds, even if the farmer had no intention of cross pollinating his crops with Monsanto’s seeds. As the court cases loomed against Monsanto, and lawsuits and health findings rose higher along with community outrage, Monsanto disappeared.

Monsanto was bought by Dow Chemical, the makers of pharmaceuticals and herbicides, among many other things. The name was dissolved but the product remains.

Thanks to citizens speaking out, the USDA now requires GMO’s to be labeled, however, the name has changed.

At 7 CFR 66.13(c), the National Bioengineered Food Disclosure Standard (the Standard) includes a mandatory compliance date of January 1, 2022. By this date, all foods entering commerce must be labeled in compliance with the Standard.

USDA

Bioengineered is the new phrase, but you might have difficulty noticing the labeling at first. It has a pretty new symbol that looks deceiving to me. Isn’t it pretty? So, maybe you start noticing this symbol, but the companies also have the option to simply put on a QR code which takes you to a list of ingredients, namely GMO’s. They really tried to make it as difficult as possible for the consumer to get this information and to understand it while still complying with government regulations.

It is important to avoid bioengineered products for so many reasons: the increase of disease thanks to our food system (interesting correlation between pharmaceutical companies and chemical companies being one and the same, isn’t it?), the problems with monocropping (let’s not have another Dust Bowl, shall we?), the rampant use of poisons that affect ground water, animals, air pollution, and our children, just to a name a few.

So keep an eye out for the tiny, pretty plant symbol and the mysterious QR code. Look for labels for the GMO Project and Certified Organic, as these will ensure that we are not consuming bioengineered products. It can be very overwhelming, so we just do the best we can. It is worth it for our own health and environment and the generations that follow. There will be arguments on both sides. There is a lot of money involved here and big farmers depend on GMO seeds and almost the entire animal agriculture system uses GMO feed to fatten up animals for cheap. Make sure you also buy from a company that does not sell GMO seeds for your own garden. We all can make a difference, as small as it may seem, our voices together are heard by what we buy. And support small farms if you have them!