Making Mindful Food Choices
As we try to be more mindful of what we are feeding our families (and campers), increasing our families’ intake of fruits, veggies and whole grains should be easy right? We’re starting to get more readily available information regarding genetically modified (GM) foods—from shows such as Dr. Oz, to other media outlets. So, are GM foods safe or harmful?
GM foods and genetically modified organisms (GMOs) have been around since the early 1990s. While regulatory authorities have approved GM food that is on the market, some people are concerned that there is risk of harm. Indeed, given that longterm studies haven’t had time to be completed, it tends to remind some of back in the day when doctors use to smoke cigarettes during appointments, since they were comfortable in denying longterm negative effects of smoking. In truth, nobody really knows what GMOs’ impact is on those who consume them; when raising a family you want to know they are eating foods that are beneficial.
Most foods we eat may contain ingredients derived from GMOs. Soybeans constitute the most commonly genetically modified crop If you check the labels as you look around your average local grocery store, you’ll notice that soybeans are in everything in one form or other. Some sources say “Soybeans show up in many traditional (i.e. not organic) soy products, such as tofu, soy milk, soy sauce, miso, and tempeh, as well as any product containing the emulsifier lecithin (often derived from soybean oil), such as ice cream and candy.” http://action.greenamerica.org
Even an apparently healthy and simple choice as whole-grain bread can contain GMOs.
When raising strong children and campers, we should choose good foods. At camp, we do our best to ensure that meals at camp not only taste great, but are nutritious too. From local farms, we obtain cage-free, hormone-free eggs (Phil’s Eggs) and meat (Sumner View Angus Farm) that are free of artificial hormones, and stock sodas (Hansen’s) free of high fructose corn syrup in our camp store.
As a larger community, we also should strive to set a positive example and choose wisely foods that we can easily recognize as healthful. If you live in Europe, avoiding GM foods is easier since their governments require labeling of foods containing GMOs. In the US and Canada, however, manufacturers are not required to provide such labels. Click this link for some guidelines for steering clear of GM foods in your diet, if that is your choice.