WELLNESS--Since the beginning of the food movement that started about 20 years ago we have been dealing with confusing labeling laws across the United States. Claims like “all natural” and “healthy” very often don’t mean much at all. Companies like Kashi, that is owned by Kellogg, portray the pinnacle of health through their clever marketing and advertising causing many consumers fall into the trap of purchasing foods that are not what they seem to be.
Kashi was founded in the 80’s in La Jolla California and in the year 2000 it was bought up by Kellogg company. As you can see from their website, Kashi claims to be committed to health and transparency in regards to the ingredients of their cereal. The courts recently made it clear that they do not agree by awarding 4 million dollars to misled consumers in a Florida class action lawsuit.
Kashi, like so many other products that are sold in our grocery stores today, contains genetically modified ingredients. These frankenfoods are anything but natural and the recent class action suit is a huge win in the struggle to properly label our foods. By not requiring genetically modified foods to the labeled, the United States is egregiously falling behind the rest of the world. There are currently 64 countries worldwide that require the labeling of genetically modified foods including the EU, Russia, and China. Many of the other countries on the list are less developed and have far less money than the US. In spite of these facts, they still insist on knowing what it inside the foods they are consuming.
The Institute for Responsible Technology points out 65 health risks related to consuming GMO foods. Included in those risks are things like cancer growth, bleeding lesions, abnormal cell growth, flu-like symptoms, and digestive inflammation, to name a few.
There are many arguments in favor and against GMO foods. The GM foods are more resistant to drought and they can be scientifically engineered to keep insects off of them. Not surprisingly, the pro-GMO movement is mostly spearheaded by the food companies like Monsanto. They keep powerful politicians in Washington on their side by contributing handsomely to their elections in return for support of their GM foods.
Regardless of where you fall on the issue of GM foods, I think we can all agree that we have the right to know what we are eating. Food labeling laws have been strict in the US since the 60’s, and when it comes to GM foods, labeling is more important than ever. Label the foods honestly and let the consumers make the decision if they want to consume this food that has been genetically modified using science or if they prefer food that grows naturally out of the ground.
(Christian Cristiano is an acupuncturist in LA, TV host of Wellness for Realists and writes on wellness regularly for CityWatch. Christian can be reached at 323.935.3420. twitter: @CristianoWFR)
-cw
CityWatch
Vol 13 Issue 79
Pub: Sep 29, 2015
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