Many Collegiettes like you are worried about one thing and one thing only when it comes to the foods they eat: calories. Well I’m here to tell you why the calorie count in your food should be the least of your worries.
Let’s start with some boring ‘must-knows’ about GMOs. A GMOs, or genetically modified organisms, is defined as plants or animals that are created through the gene splicing techniques of biotechnology. They are foods created by merging DNA from different species.
In more colloquial terms, this means there are plants and foods that are being manipulated with chemicals and all sorts of crazy stuff in order for companies to produce more food faster and cheaper. In theory this sounds great: more food, lower costs. However, this is a perfect example of why the saying “quality versus quantity” is 100% accurate.
GMOs weren’t created to take over the world and destroy us. They were supposed to be the solution to ending world hunger. GMOs enable foods to be mass-produced for much cheaper, which, if you’ve ever taken an economics class, you’ll know that means the food will cost less to consumers. Hooray for supply and demand!
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, junk food consumption has been traced to lead to many chronic diseases such as obesity, type 2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome, Alzheimer’s and heart disease.
Now not only does world hunger still exist, but foods that people can afford are also causing chronic illnesses. Seems like this would be a good place to insert a Bad Luck Brian meme.
Too far? Okay, fine.
The argument I get from people all the time is, “there are plenty of things that can cause these diseases,” or my favorite, “I’ve been eating GMOs and chemically-filled junk food my whole life and I’m fine.” I simply ask, “How do you know?” The first GMO-crop was only approved for mass production in 1994, the year many of us were born. That means we don’t even know the effects that these foods could have on us. Do you really want to wait and find out when there’s already some pretty strong evidence that they’re bad news?
If I have sparked your interest at all, then I encourage you to join me on this journey of living a full and healthy, GMO and chemical-free life, because it’s not to late. You will be glad you did! You only live once after all! ;)
Stay tuned to find out which foods to avoid and the good foods to look for!
For now… Look out for these labels on foods to be sure the foods you’re buying are safe to eat!
Disclaimer: My purpose for writing this article and starting this column is not to scare anyone. I simply want to educate people. I’m not looking to “convert” people to living healthier lives and staying away from GMOs, I just want people to know what they are, so that YOU can make the decision for yourself. My biggest fear is that people really don’t know what they’re putting in their bodies… That’s a terrifying thought.
For more information follow my column and feel free to look at the facts yourself. Check out http://www.nongmoproject.org/ to learn more.