A Shopper's Guide to Avoiding GMOs

We’re all looking for ways to improve our health. The effects of GMOs has been on my mind a lot lately. It can’t be a coincidence that since we started genetically modifying our food that the health of our nation has declined — increased obesity, heart disease, and cancer, to name a few. We need to make a return to eating whole, organic foods, and stay far away from anything that was modified to withstand the pesticides used on the crops (unless you LIKE eating pesticides). If the task of avoiding GMOs seems overwhelming, the good people at Whole Foods have put together a comprehensive, easy to read guide!!

To quote Inigo Montoya (from The Princess Bride), “Let me ‘splain. No, there is too much. Let me sum up.”

• Eat Organic.

• Look for the Non-GMO Project Verified seal.

• Eat your fruits & veggies. Most fresh produce is non-GMO; sweet corn, Hawaiian papaya, edamame, zucchini and yellow summer squash are the only produce items currently grown commercially from GMO seed.

• Check the source on meat, eggs & dairy.

• Consider the additives.

• Most frozen fruits & vegetables (except those listed above) are non-GMO.

• Go for dry grains, beans, nuts & seeds.

• Choose wild-caught seafood.

• Drink responsibly. All wine and beer labeled either “organic” or “made with organic” or “Non-GMO Project Verified” must use non-GMO yeast. Wine grapes and the grains used to make beer are not typically GMO.

Eat lots of these! Here are just a few of the MANY fruits and vegetables that have NOT been planted from GMO seed in 2013:

• Carrots

• Onions

• Potatoes

• Grapes

• Avocadoes

• Broccoli

• Lettuce

• Leafy greens

• Tomatoes

• Berries

• Bananas

• Cucumbers

• Peas

• Celery

• Melons

• Apples

Happy shopping, friends! (And don’t forget to chew your food…)