What are GMOs?

Guest Post by Stacey Kelly Egide, founder of Andalou Naturals.

WHAT GOES ON OUR BODY GOES IN OUR BODY

October is by far my favorite month for its warm days and cool nights, beautiful fall leaves, and pumpkin spice lattes. It also Non-GMO Month, created by the Non-GMO Project in 2010, as a platform for raising awareness about genetically modified organisms and GMO crops, how they impact our food supply, our health, and the environment. Non-GMO Month creates an opportunity to coordinate voices and actions for labeling transparency, and to campaign for ‘The Right to Know’ what’s in our food and personal care products. Unfortunately, there’s still a lot of confusion and misinformation surrounding GMO’s, so I thought it might be helpful to summarize the basics for my friends and family.

What are GMOs? GMOs, “genetically modified organisms,” are plants or animals created through the gene splicing techniques of biotechnology (also called genetic engineering, or GE). This experimental technology merges DNA from different species, creating unstable combinations of plant, animal, bacterial, and viral genes that cannot occur in nature or in traditional crossbreeding.*  Basically, it creates entirely new species that have never existed on the planet before, species that we do not have the science nor history to fully understand. GMOs are prevalent in many common crops used for animal and human consumption including Alfalfa, Canola, Corn, Cotton, Papaya, Soy, Sugar Beets, Zucchini and Yellow Summer Squash.

Why Non-GMO Month? Over the past several years, consumers have started demanding the right to know what’s in their food. In the United States, there are major campaigns underway focused on GMO labeling policies, and many states have assembly bills before their legislatures.  Polls show that over 80% of Americas support mandatory labeling of GMOs, and in support of this, just this past March, Whole Foods Market announced that by 2018, all products in its US and Canadian stores must be labeled to indicate whether they contain genetically modified organisms. After all, doesn’t it make sense to know what’s in the products we use and consume every day by reading an accurate and truthful label?

How to avoid GMOs?  Unfortunately, even though polls consistently show that a significant majority of Americans want to know if the products they’re purchasing contain GMOs, there is an absence of mandatory labeling across the US, and in some cases misinformation about higher grocery costs if labeling is required. The Non-GMO Project is a non-profit organization created to give consumers the informed choice they deserve. They offer North America’s only third party verification for products produced according to rigorous best practices for GMO avoidance. Look for the Non-GMO Project Verified Seal for GMO avoidance.

Why Non-GMO for Personal Care? Crops grown for personal care products and food are from the same farm.  Whether topically applied and absorbed through the skin or ingested directly as food, products containing GMOs should be labeled just the same. After all, shouldn’t it be the consumer’s right to choose if they want products containing GMOs or not?

Guest Post by Stacey Kelly Egide, who founded Andalou Naturals® Fruit Stem Cell Science® skin care and hair care. From farm to bottle and botany to beauty, Stacey believes what goes on our body, goes in our body. Andalou Naturals is the first beauty brand to achieve 100% Non-GMO Project verification, and is passionately committed to a meaningful, world-wide policy of No Animal Testing.