49. GMOS: A LOOMING DISASTER

Since Dr. John McDougall is one of my favorite doctors, I decided to search for what he writes about the genetic modification of our food supply which has now been going on for several years.

I was not surprised to read that he does not think genetically modifying our food is wise. He advises people to do their best to avoid eating it. Like many others, he calls the food “frankenfood” because it is synthesized by inserting the DNA of one species of plant or animal into an entirely different species. This allows human beings to do what nature cannot do. Dr. McDougall thinks this is “unnatural, unhealthy and unethical.” He writes on the subject on his website: GMO Foods: A Potentially Disastrous Distraction.

Dr. McDougall thinks it is only right that GM food should be labeled, but in the states where the issue has been brought to a vote, it has been defeated by the efforts of Monsanto and the organizations supporting genetic modification. In the U.S., Canada, Argentina and South Africa, labeling is voluntary. It is mandatory in Europe, China, Russia, Japan, Australia and New Zealand. Seventy percent of the food on our supermarket shelves is genetically engineered, so to avoid eating this kind of food, Dr. McDougall recommends buying no processed food and always buying certified organic food.

The foods to especially omit are the most prevalent GMO crops: sugar beets, soy beans, canola, cotton, corn, tomatoes, aspartame, dairy, papayas, potatoes and rice.

There are many voicing concern that genetically modified food causes illness. It has been linked to leukemia, liver toxicity, kidney failure, gut inflammation, weight gain and many other health problems. Dr. McDougall says that there is little real proof, which makes the main concern what we may discover 50 or 100 years from now. He writes, “No one wants to be part of the experiment that proves or disproves, decades from now, the ultimate safety of genetically engineered foods.”

As we might expect, Dr. McDougall writes in his article that a far greater problem than the GM food is our consumption of animal products. Many diseases have been brought by animals such as mad cow disease, listeria, E-coli and various others. The greatest by far is heart disease and stroke, with heart disease being our number one killer. I think most of us know the saturated fat in meat, dairy and eggs is probably the number one culprit.

Omitting animal products from the diet will also eliminate a lot of GMOs because most feed fed to animals is genetically modified. According to Dr. McDougall, 80 percent of corn and 70 percent of soybeans grown in the U.S. are fed to animals which are destined to be food on our tables. Every person who chooses to omit animal products and eat plant food cuts the demand for those crops.

Dr. McDougall wants us to eat vegan, which will help our own health, the health of our animals and the health of our land, and it will automatically lessen the production of genetically modified food. That is a powerful argument for the plant-food diet.

One more project that will contribute to this better life could be put on our list right now: MAKE A GARDEN NEXT SPRING! 

TWO-BEAN TOMATILLO TAMALE PIE
FILLING
1 T olive oil
1 large onion quartered and thinly sliced
1 T agave nectar
1 medium red bell pepper sliced (1 1/2 c)
1 15-oz can pinto or kidney beans rinsed and drained
1 15-oz can black beans rinsed and drained
1 c fresh or frozen corn kernels
1 c medium tomatillo salsa
1/2 c coarsely chopped cilantro
1 t dried oregano
TOPPING
1 c yellow cornmeal
1/2 c unbleached flour
2 T honey
2 t baking powder
1/4 t salt
1 c almond milk
2  T olive oil
1 bunch green onions finely chopped
Heat oven to 400. Spray 9 x 9 baking dish. To make filling:
Saute onion in oil 5 minutes. Stir in agave nectar and cook
until onion has carmelized and begun to brown. Add red
bell pepper and sauté 2 or 3 minutes. Add remaining
ingredients and simmer 10 minutes. To make topping: Stir
together the dry ingredients. Whisk the milk and oil
together and stir into the cornmeal mixture. Fold in the
onions. Spread the filling in the dish. Cover the filling with
the cornmeal mixture. Bake 30 minutes until topping is
golden brown.