Know Your GMO

    GMOs are a hot topic in health circles and gardening circles alike. The term can be broken down to mean many things, but what many don't realize is the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has a very specific definition for GMOs. This post will discuss that definition and others, give examples of GMO foods, and discuss ways to avoid them if you can/want to.

    GMO, or Genetically Modified Organism, is a plant, animal, microorganism or other organism whose genetic makeup has been modified in a laboratory using genetic engineering or transgenic technology. This creates combinations of plant, animal, bacterial and virus genes that do not occur in nature or through traditional crossbreeding methods. The GMO crops currently grown are listed on the USDA website, and as of 2018 any food product that uses GMOs must have a label indicating such.

The following crops are the ONLY food items grown from genetically modified seeds as of the writing of this post:

• Alfalfa 
• Apple (ArcticTM)
• Canola (pdf)
• Corn (pdf)
• Cotton (pdf)
• Eggplant (BARI Bt Begun varieties) (pdf)
• Papaya (ringspot virus-resistant varieties) (pdf)
• Pineapple (pink flesh varieties) (pdf)
• Potato (pdf)
• Salmon (AquAdvantage®) (pdf)
• Soybean (pdf)
• Squash (summer) (pdf)
• Sugarbeet (pdf)

In the United States, while many of our food products are made with GMOs because they use corn, most of the crops grown are used for cattle feed. 

    Now let's talk about the word "ORGANIC". In order for a fruit or vegetable to be officially labeled as organic, it must be grown using specific requirements set forth by the USDA which include using organic pesticides, (if pesticides are used). For a processed/prepared food item to be labeled organic, it must have a majority of organic ingredients and cannot use a genetically engineered ingredient at all. For an animal product, (meat, dairy, eggs) to be labeled as organic, the animal must not consume GMO crops at any point during it's life. Buying items with the USDA organic label is one way to avoid GMOs.

    The difference between fruits and vegetables is based on which part of the plant you are eating. Simply put, fruits are the part of the plant that contains seeds and vegetables do not contain seeds (vegetables are the root, leaf, or stem of the plant). So why do we have some fruits that are seedless? Seedless fruits happen in nature in a similar way that chickens lay eggs that won't hatch: fertilization did not happen. Farmers learned to use "selectively bred" versions of fruits without seeds to meet consumers' demand. They also use specific plant hormones sprayed onto unfertilized plants/flowers, to ensure seedless fruits grow. THIS DOES NOT MAKE SEEDLESS FRUITS A GMO PRODUCT. Seedless fruits are the unfertilized creation of any plant that does not need fertilization to occur to create fruit. Seedless fruits are not created in a lab. This happens in nature without man's interference, and happens on farms when specific plants who cannot self fertilize (e.g. navel oranges), are planted in an orchard with the same type of plant, (e.g. navel oranges). Since they cannot fertilize each other, but still produce fruit, (parthenocarpy), the fruit grows without seeds.  These fruits are just as healthy and nutritious as their fertilized counterparts. There is no need to avoid seedless fruits.

To summarize my thoughts in this post:

• GMOs are limited to specific crops, but seeing as corn is one of those crops, you can find GMOs in many processed/prepared foods on the shelf, even if it is not labeled as using bioengineered products.
• To avoid GMOs, buy organic, buy from local farmers (ask them if they use GMOs first as feed for cattle), or grow your own foods/ prepare your foods from scratch.
• Please don't limit your intake of the fruits you enjoy simply because they are seedless. Seedless fruits are not necessarily genetically modified and they are just as nutritious as the seeded version.

If you have more questions or want help navigating the supermarket and avoiding GMOs, contact us to see if we can help.