So...about GM...

Here's a recap of the August 29, newsletter, in case you missed it!

Specials and Recommendations

Have you tried one of the rarest coffees in the world? CoffeeAM.com is featuring its Organic Galapagos Island Estate coffee. They roast their Galapagos beans to have a medium body. This is a well balanced coffee with an intriguing finish. To sweeten the deal, you receive a half pound of this coffee free with every purchase.

And meat eaters: Niman Ranch is offering a variety of summer specials. Take its sweet Italian sausage, for example, on sale for $7.95. Holding themselves to the high standards set by artisanal sausage makers, they use carefully selected herbs and spices. No nitrites added! This sausage has balanced sweet and savory notes from ingredients including toasted fennel seed and a touch of black pepper. Its mild flavor makes it one of the most versatile of sausages, perfect for grilling or as an ingredient in Italian dishes, stuffings, soups and more.

In the world of organic wine, Cellars Wine Club has added a 2005 Snoqualmie Riesling and a 2005 Snoqualmie Gewurztraminer, both at $10.99. This is in addition to their selection of Bonterra organic wines.


Feature Article: Genetically Modified Foods
One reason for many of us to choose organic products is uncertainty over the effects of genetically modified, or GM, foods. This article from the College of Naturopathic Medicine UK and Ireland goes through what GM food is, how and why it's modified, and how you might avoid it if you want to. It's quite a long article, so I'll include the first few paragraphs and a link so you can read the rest if you would like.

With the introduction of the first genetically modified tomato to the commercial market in 1994, there has been great debate over the use of GM foods in our community.

The argument for these foods has been put to us from the companies that have created them, scientists and some farmers, and the argument against these foods comes from environmentalists, health care professionals and the concerned consumer at the end of the chain. Research for and against the safety of these foods is varied and the results seem relative to the view of the people creating the research. The long term effects of these foods on the health of animals and human consumers, and on the health or our environment, are yet to be established.

GM foods were originally created to bypass the relatively slow process that farmers and horticulturists were using to cross breed different strains of plants. Scientists soon realised that through gene therapy, they could bypass the breeding stage, and create plants with the qualities that they wanted in them. This is done by removing or adding specific genes in the DNA sequence of plants. This then switches on specific qualities in a plant or switches off undesired ones. As consumers and farmers we were told that these new breeds would reduce pesticide use, and increase yield due to the creation of strains that would be more disease and weather resistant. We were told that the larger yields would contribute to a greater abundance of food therefore creating less poverty and hunger. We were told that these foods would be perfectly safe and that they would not affect our health or the health of the environment. That was the marketing ploy behind a huge company that has profit as their motivation. In truth, GM foods are a booming business that earns the creators of these seeds trillions of dollars in profits a year. The aims of these companies are to create an ongoing increase in revenue to their pockets. But what cost is that to us as health consumers and the environment?

With the introduction of GM foods, the truth of the matter started to become more apparent. Crops could be created that meant they do not self-seed again for the next season. This then creates a market for repeat buying of the GM seed as the farmers have to buy the seed again for the next year, instead of using their own harvest. This may be perfectly acceptable in some large farming communities, but what does that pose morally, ethically and environmentally for nations that are hardly affording to grow the first crop? Is the creation of a super-breed then good for the health of the community or good for the wallets of the company that created the strain of plant?

For the rest of this article, click here.