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I'm torn here in my emotions. I'm excited to bring you this vital information on the one hand, but I am troubled that I have to write it at all. We are in at a serious point in the future of our health as a planet. Science, in the effort to provide us with better, stronger, more pesticide-resistant crops, has developed the ability to modify the very DNA structure of the food we are eating. The result is a genetically modified organism, or GMO, whose effects on our health is becoming increasingly apparent.

The European Union had a ban on GMO's up until 2004 when the World Trade Organization ruled the ban illegal. Several EU countries have been fighting to maintain the ban including Austria, Greece, France, Germany, and Luxemburg. Battles right here in the US are taking place on the state level where local dairy farmers are fighting to maintain their rights to label their products free from bovine growth hormone rbGH or rbST. Kansas governor Kathleen Sebelius has led the charge by vetoing a bill this month that would have prevented farmers from keeping their customers properly informed on this vital issue.

 Just last November the Austrian Agency on Health and Food Safety showed that mice fed GMO corn had fewer and smaller litters than those who ate corn from non-GM seeds. Also in Nov 2008, the Italian Institute of Research on Food and Nutrition published a report showing significant immune disturbance in mice fed corn grown from GM seeds. Mice showed significantly reduced T and B cell production, the body's major immune cells. The same mice also produced greater allergy-causing and inflammatory cells than those fed the non-GM foods.

 The French have taken it a step further and looked at the effects of pesticides and GMO's on human umbilical (taken from the umbilical cord after birth of a child) cells. Findings showed the contaminants significantly reduced cellular respiration, the process by which our cells, the backbone of our body, are able to carry our normal daily function.  The long-term outcome of such a process could be disastrous.

What can we do to counter this pandemic problem? Let's start by being informed:

• 1. Buy Organic. Yet another reason to do so - organic foods are not allowed to contain GMO's. Also watch for terms like "contains organic ingredients" as other non-organic items in the product may contain GMO's.
• 2. Look for "Non-GMO" Labels. Companies still have the legal right to voluntarily label their products as GMO-free. If legislation doesn't change, however, they could lose this right and we could lose the ability to be informed.
• 3. Avoid the Big Four: Corn, Soy, Cottonseed Oil, and Canola Oil. These are all genetically modified unless specifically labeled.
• 4. Read Ingredients. Many GMO's are disguised as other items like corn syrup, high-fructose corn syrup, soy lecithin, soy flour, fructose, dextrose, modified food starch, rapeseed oil (another term for canola), vegetable oil, and vegetable protein.
• 5. Look for Non-GMO Animal Products. Factory-raised livestock and poultry are fed GMO grains, as are dairy cows, egg-laying hens, and even farm-raised fish. Look for organic, free-range, and wild-caught when shopping for these items.
• 6. Be Informed. Go to http://www.responsibletechnology.org/ and learn more about what you can do to avoid this pandemic problem and how you can become more active in stopping it.

It doesn't take much to make a difference. If you're concerned about this as am I you'll want to know more about what you can do. Knowledge is power so consider printing out this awesome shoppers guide and share it with all your family, friends, neighbors, and co-workers: http://www.responsibletechnology.org/DocumentFiles/144.pdf .