I have a child who grew up on Cheerios.Little did I know the impact of
wheat (let alone sugar) on her
brain and her gut. And those foods, in those days, did not contain genetically
modified products, or excessively high levels of herbicides like glyphosates,
because GMO was still a bad dream in a businessman’s mind.
Now those staples of childhood are made with genetically modified ingredients. Wheat is killed by being sprayed with glyphosate, so that more crops may be grown in one season. Soy is heavily sprayed. Sugar beets and corn, from which the sweeteners are manufactured, are some of the most heavily sprayed products on the farms.
And our children eat the glyphosate along with their yummy foods.
We may choose to go low carbohydrate – more Mediterranean food choices. But even the Mediterranean diet allows for whole grains. So unless those whole grains are organically produced, they will still have a relatively high level of endocrine-disrupting herbicide chemical in them. I say relatively high, because parts-per-trillion doesn’t sound very high, but it’s high enough to begin to disrupt the body’s hormonal balance.[1]
Now Campbell’s has announced that it will label any of its products that contain GMO ingredients. That will mainly be products containing corn, soy and sugar beets.
Denise Morrison, chief executive of the Campbell company, is quoted in the New York Times on Jan 7th, 2016 as saying: “We’re optimistic that a federal solution can be reached in a reasonable amount of time, but if that’s not the case, we’re preparing to label all our products across the portfolio.”[2]
The change is expected to take 12-18 months.
Good for Campbell’s. They already have a brand of Cheerios that is made exclusively with non-GMO ingredients. They are not labeled organic, mind you, so there may still be significant amounts of herbicides and pesticides in the ingredients. But it’s a start. And I am sure that if people stop buying the GMO products, Campbell’s will change their recipes. They are a smart company.
[1] Clair E, Mesnage R, Travert C, Séralini GÉ. A glyphosate-based herbicide induces necrosis and apoptosis in mature rat testicular cells in vitro, and testosterone decrease at lower levels. Toxicol In Vitro. 2012 Mar;26(2):269-79.