Saying no to GMOs = support the bees & our health!
GMO= GENETICALLY MODIFIED ORGANISM
Issues associated with GMOs
The main concern I have associated with GMO use is the use of chemical spray and how that impacts our health & the environment.
There have been some pretty great things that have come out of GMO's, not going to deny that! Seedless watermelon is probably my favourite!
That being said, the RoundUp spray made of glyphosate, a synthetic compound (said to be a neurotoxin) created by Monsanto- now Bayer is somewhat of a concern.
HOW GMO WORKS
A plant can be grown from a seed genetically modified to be resistant to RoundUp spray (glyphosate). Therefore as the field is sprayed, the GMO plant will not die, but all the weeds and pests around it will.
This allows humans to tend to thousands of kilometers of food, without manual labour, instead with the use of tractors.
So excellent we can feed more people, but are there disadvantages?
DISADVANTAGES TO SPRAY
We can see wildlife negatively impacted. We are reassured that glyphosate residue on our food is not harmful to our health, however we can see a decrease in pollinators who gather pollen from sprayed flowers and death to local fish in streams where there is spray runnoff.
When farming is mono-cropped, the machines compress the ground, killing small burrowing animals. As well, the elimination of native weed growth impacts habitats.
Without traditional farming techniques of crop rotation, natural ammendments and diversity, soil becomes depleted and the reliance of fertilizer grows each year.
Pair this with the weight of the machines and draining becomes an issue, since the soil becomes more like dirt or clay. This results in the land being less porous, draining less, and therefore flooding more due upon heavy rainfall.
Did you hear that quote by Einstein? "If the bee disappeared off the face of the Earth, Man would only have four years left to live".
I used to work on an organic farm out in Cumberland, Ontario. It was here I learned about bee keeping and producing fresh, delicious honey! Each year beekeepers lose hives due to the surrounding properties that use chemical spray on their fields.
Another disadvantage to 'monocropping'- which is when you grow the same crop for many kilometers, is it loses the real heart of farming and does not value the importance of healthy soil!
Why organic?
Traditional practices of agriculture, such as crop rotation, manure, cover crops, crop pairing, etc. all have the goal of nurturing, preserving and promoting quality soil and a dynamic ecosystem. This in turn produces a more nutritious and resilient plant.
Can pesticide spray harm our health?
Farmer's are told to wear suits when they are in contact...
California health tried to add glyphosate to the carcinogen list and Monsanto sued them...
Residues of glyphosate are recorded in the average mother's breast milk...
Did you know? To grow organic produce in a field that has been exposed to chemical spray legally it must be detoxed for 3 years.
How I try to make a difference:
Eat less processed foods.
Support local.
Grow things myself.
Look for the GMO-Free logo.
Support local bee keepers.
Nature IS Health products contain no GMOs.
Thanks for reading,
Samantha