I first saw Jeffrey Smith speak in a small, cramped Holiday Inn ballroom in Clearwater Florida back in 2003. His brand new book Seeds of Deception (now a best seller) had recently been released and Jeffrey’s talk that night primarily revolved around describing to a wide eyed and horrified audience the insidious proliferation of genetically modified foods that had just begun to invade our food supply.
My friend Brenda was with me (we were early raw milk warriors together) and I remember so clearly sitting completely dumbfounded as Jeffrey thoroughly and precisely described the process by which genetically modified organisms are created in the lab and the internal damage they can wreak on humans and animals alike.
Jeffrey’s crusade to alert the world to the dangers of genetically modified foods has continued unabated since that evening and he has been instrumental in spearheading Proposition 37 to require the labeling of genetically modified foods that is on the ballot in California this November.
I was absolutely thrilled and honored to be a guest along with Jeffrey on Sean Croxton’s Underground Wellness radio show a couple of months ago as part of the Real Food Summit. I was even more excited to learn that Jeffrey will give the closing address at the Wise Traditions Conference November 9-11, 2012 in Santa Clara, California. Wild horses couldn’t keep me away. I hope to see some of you there too. Jeffrey is a compelling and eloquent speaker. You will not be disappointed if you make the effort to attend. The results of the Proposition 37 vote will be known at the time of Jeffrey’s talk that day, so hopefully it will turn out to be a raucous celebration of victory!
Jeffrey has recently released another stellar work, the documentary Genetic Roulette – The Gamble of Our Lives.
“The evidence presented in the film makes the best case yet for why genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are linked to disorders such as allergies, inflammatory bowel disease, infertility, autism, and cancer, to name a few. One health practitioner, Mary Tobin, L.Ac., said the film “provides abundant evidence that eating a GMO-free diet is the single most important change Americans can make for their health.”
** You can view this important film for free for this week only: September 15-22, 2012. So, clear away 1 hour and 24 minutes from your busy schedule this week and sit down and watch it, preferably with your spouse and kids if you can. Our children need to know about this too as our actions today will most impact their generation.
Help Pass Proposition 37 to Require the Labeling of GM Foods With a Donation
Please, if you have the means, consider donating to the campaign to require the labeling of GM foods that is currently on the ballot for the November election in California. If California requires GM labeling by approving Proposition 37, the rest of the country will most likely follow suit so this California initiative has implications for us all!
It is shocking to me that in less than 10 years since the night I first heard Jeffrey speak about the dangers of GM foods, these frankenfoods have made their way into almost every processed food on the shelf. We must stop this NOW. Please watch the documentary and donate to this important cause for our children’s sake.
Sarah, The Healthy Home Economist
its not that everything has to be 100% all the time, but with legislation it can’t be completely deceptive. My point is that the enlightened folk will think that GMO’s are all labeled, not do the research, and fall into buying stuff they do not want to consume.
@Osvaldo the extreme point of view never wins. You have to work with baby steps in a republic. Maybe one day you or I can be dictator and a stricter view will hold sway. Dictatorships work the way you describe.
@Osvaldo Yes that is indeed progress. The vast majority of people won’t ever do “research’ .. the enlightened people will still not buy Kashi but at least my neighbor who will never do the work to avoid GMOs will not be buying a cereal that is 100% GMO. 5% is MUCH better than 100%. You sound like these folks I’ve been arguing with for years that turn up their nose at raw milk that is 95% grassfed and the cows get some grain. They think raw milk is only good if it’s 100% grassfed. This is rubbish and it is this type of perfectionism that kills real progress. This is an imperfect world and if we can reduce GMOs in an “all natural” cereal from 100% to 5% that is HUGE leap.
If it is organic, is it non gmo? I was buying corn torilla from trader joes because it only had corn, lime water & salt but I realized it was not organic so it is probably gmo corn?
So far, yes — buying organic is NonGMO at least for now. I am concerned in the future as organic keeps getting watered down as time goes by.
I believe Trader joes tortillas are gmo free. Check their website
*All* of the Trader Joe’s brand foods are non-GMO. I don’t think that guarantees that any off-brands sold in their store are, but if it’s “Trader Joe’s” it’s sourced from non-GMO ingredients .
Thank you Sarah for supporting this issue and bringing it to the attention to people outside of CA. I have been working on the initiative. It is a true grass roots effort with mostly volunteers and not a lot of money. While I agree it is not perfect, it is a start. It is shocking how many people we talk to don’t even realize there is GMO foods in the grocery store. They think it’s something in the future that is just being experimented on in labs. This bill would give the average person, who would never take the time to research, a choice in the grocery store and a vote with their dollars. It also would give a legal avenue to hold accountable those who do not follow the law.
Monsanto, with their unlimited dollars has already started running ads against the proposition. Donations to the campaign would help to air more ads to counter those put out by Monsanto.
Yes Sarah, doing something is better than nothing! Also, if people can learn to take responsibility for their food, this Prop 37 can be a tool to help them, but they ultimately will always still have personal responsibility. If the Prop 37 was a “perfect” proposition, then people would be right back where they started, blindly trusting the govt. for their food safety.
Very interesting Osvaldo! I guess that’s why its still best to buy your food locally from a farmer you can trust. My husband and I just watched the film, it was very informative. You are right Sarah, Jeffrey Smith is a talented communicator. I am thankful for the Non-GMO Project verified food labeling, as I think most of the packaged food in my pantry has that label on it. Thanks for posting, I will pass this film along to friends & family this week.
Thank you for this link. The movie was great. I’ll share around tomorrow.
I agree Ban them! All of them! If this bill labeled all of them, no exemptions, I would be going to door to door as we speak pushing for this, but that aint the case. This bill is no good. I think its worse than what we have. And I think the only answer to this problem is for individuals to take responsibility for their own lives and stop buying this stuff. 90% of the population here in California are for labeling of GMO’s. If all those people truly understood what foods have GMO’s in them and stopped buying that stuff we would truly have progress. My wife and I work all the time to stop GMo’s. I managed an Heirloom seed farm for a company that is staunchly against GMO’s. My wife has written many articles and seen many clients in her nutritional therapy practice and advised harshly against GMO’s. Lets ban them all out, or boycott. I prefer boycott. I never choose to do things at the barrel of a gun, which is what government enforcement is.
Osvaldo, do you think that a new bill will come without these exemptions? Because voting no gets us nowhere. Personally, labeling with or without these exemptions still falls short because GMO’s should be banned. As a farmer do you want GMO crops a few miles down the road? We need to continually inform our communities the dangers that these foods pose so that we don’t stop and let life go on if Prop 37 passes. We all need to put pressure on our City and State officials urge the federal government to ban GMO’s.