Diet Food Reviews

Organic and Genetically Modified Foods: Poll Results

The poll "Do you care if there are Genetically Modified (GM) ingredients in your food" was up for the month of July. Of the 248 people who voted, 54% indicated that they do care, almost 37% indicated that they don't care and almost 9% were not sure what genetically modified foods were. The results were a bit surprising to me. I didn't expect so many people to care about GM foods mostly because here in the US, where most people who took the poll are from, there is no labelling of foods containing GM ingredients, and it is incorporated into foods freely and heavily. Across Europe though, "70% of consumers have rejected GM foods, therefore many food retailers and manufacturers have pledged to source their products from GMO-free sources" [source].

For those who don't know what GM foods are, there is a Wikipedia page about it here. A GM food is a "food product derived in whole or part from a genetically modified organism (GMO) such as a crop plant, animal or microbe such as yeast." Soybean is one of the most common GM foods with approximately 81% being genetically modified. The genetically modified soybean known as "Roundup Ready" (RR) soybeans was introduced by Monsanto in 1995. There is a complete copy of a gene from a bacteria inserted into its genome that allows the plant to survive being sprayed by the herbicide Roundup which kills conventional soybeans.

The poll What's your take on Organic Foods, was up for the month of July. 227 people voted with 40% indicating that they buy organic when they can, 33% indicated that it wasn't important to them, and 27% said that they buy them often. My choice was that organic foods was not really important to me, and I don't think that will change much. But this month I have been living in an area with many local farmers markets and I am definitely enjoying the benefits of eating more fresh fruits and vegetables, more natural and less heavily processed foods. I definitely want to continue this and move away from using the microwave so much.

* Current and past polls can always be found on the Voting Booth page [link].

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