Tuesday, February 11, 2014

You and I are why GMOs exist


Yes indeed, you and I are why GMOs exist.
And food dyes, preservatives, and additives, etc. etc. etc.
There.
I said it.


What? You cry.  I never asked for this crap in my food!
Ah, but we did.

We did it when we wanted fresh strawberries in January.
We did it when we wanted apples without any bruises or blemishes.
We did it when we demanded perfectly crunchy pickles, or beautifully colored cereals.
We did it when we asked for ultra long shelf lives and zero food spoilage.
We did it when we wanted burgers for a $1 and chicken to be cheap.

In short, while science and the food industry have made and engineered this grave new food world, we are the consumers who, in a large way, asked for it.

Did you know that organic fruits and vegetables have brown spots, and dirt, and maybe even, gasp... a bug or two! The horror of it all! A bug, you know those things that live outside where fruits and vegetables grow, might just make it into your bag o' lettuce. But you don't want that same lettuce sprayed with the chemicals that will kill those bugs, right? So... you may have to deal with dirt and bugs.

Did you know that organic meat is more bloody and smells differently? True story, that meat, which is the FLESH of animals, is, in fact, bloody. And that same meat, when not chock full of hormones or washed in a lovely ammonia solution, it smells a little more, I don't know... meaty. We bought part of a cow last year and I was amazed at how different it was. When Micah's steak was so tender he could cut it with a fork, he was sold.

Did you know that baked goods only last a week, at best? And in that week they may grow, wait for it... MOLD!  Yes, that stuff that's in penicillin and other medicines. Do you know this is why Ma Ingalls had a weekly baking day for bread? She didn't have bread on her cupboard for two weeks looking as fresh as the day it was baked. Yet, we demand it. We want that loaf to be soft, and taste fresh, and stay that way. It is a baking impossibility folks. Well, unless you add in the preservatives and chemicals.

You see, we can't have juice boxes, and individually wrapped snack packs that last for weeks, are pretty in color, inexpensive, chemical free, and healthy. You are asking the food industry to do the impossible.

So, let's all (me included) quit our whining, and put our time and money, quite literally, where our mouth is.
Monsanto may be the devil, but we are the ones asking him what he has to offer... 

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