What do GMOs Have to do With World Hunger?

The objective of this part of the 21 day World Hunger series has been to shed light on the dangers or potential health risks of genetically modified foods in our food supply.  Under the guise of mass production to feed the world's hungry, Big Agra has artificially and genetically altered staple crops like corn and soybeans.  And while this seems to be a noble cause, the introduction of genetically modified organisms or GMOs into our food supply may have far-reaching negative consequences.  Given the mounting research indicating that more testing and studying needs to be done before we unleash these foods into the global food chain, we need to start asking some very important questions.


1) Is it really fair to subject starving or undernourished people to possibly more health risks by feeding them GMOs?
2) Big Agra GMO crops decimate the soil and environment through the use of pesticides and should Big Agra companies like Monsanto be allowed to rape and pillage both the earth and its people?
3) Should Big Agra be given the green light to continue to corner the market on GM seeds?

How to Avoid the GMO Bad Nasties

Today is my third day of exploring GMO and world hunger, as part of Conducive Chronicle’s 21 days for Hunger.   GMO food has been used as a solution for world hunger, but I will discuss some of the problems of this approach.
With such a high percentage of foods containing GMOs in some way, shape or form, you may be asking yourself how you can possibly avoid what I'll call the GMO Bad Nasties.   And with over 70% of the food in grocery stores today containing some sort of GMO, admittedly this is a tough one.  Luckily, there is a way.  One of the best ways to avoid GMOs is to go organic.

The Generational Consequences of GMOs

Today is my second day of exploring GMO and world hunger, as part of Conducive Chronicle’s 21 days for Hunger.   GMO food has been used as a solution for world hunger, but I will discuss some of the problems of this approach.

When the DNA of a plant or organism has been changed, it has become genetically modified organism, or a GMO.  Small or even tiny changes in a plant's genetic structure can have a significant impact on its properties.  That may not seem like a big deal for plants, or even animals, but when it comes to humans, the stakes get a little higher.  Just the slightest change in our DNA can have can have disastrous effects and chromosomal anomalies like Down Syndrome or Fragile X Syndrome.

The most common foods GMO foods consumed in North America are corn, soy, canola, and cottonseed oil. So what does it mean to us if we eat genetically modified food?  What does the altered DNA of a plant or animal do to our own DNA?  What are the long-term effects?

From GMO Chemistry Set to Table?

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First and foremost, I am very honored and humbled to be taking part in this worthy project of raising awareness and generating solutions to end world hunger.  For 21 Days 5 Conducive Chronicle writers will be eating a diet similar to the almost 1 million of the world's hungry and presenting research on the topic.  And a very special thanks goes out to Kenda Swartz Pepper, whose idea this was, and to the talented and motivated writers with whom I am collaborating.

I was inspired to join this project because the more I read and learn about the world's food supply, food politics and how food is produced and distributed, the more I am convinced that everyone should know where our food comes from and what's in it.  It is a very complex system and should not be taken at face value from what we see and buy at our supermarket or grocery store shelves.  As we go about our daily lives, many (if not most) of us are unaware of the choices made by large corporations that affect what and how we eat.  And essentially many of us are sleepwalking as we fill up our grocery carts.