Genetically modified crops were created in about 1994 in an attempt to help farmers deal with weeds more easily. Many folks still believe that genetic modification is done naturally, (they often compare it to hybridization where two plants are crossed in the same species to make a new plant) but the truth is that genetic modification couldn’t happen naturally in the wild like hybridization does. Modification is done in a highly sophisticated lab. As Ty Bollinger says, “Genetic engineering /modification of food involves the laboratory process of artificially inserting genes into the DNA of food, crops, or animals. The result is called a genetically modified organism (“GMO”). GMO can be engineered with genes from bacteria, viruses, insects, animals or even humans. The reason the plants are engineered is to allow them to basically drink poison.” This allows the spraying of herbicides, fungicides, and insecticides without damaging the modified plant. As Joel Salatin often says, “Folks this aint normal.”

A common statement I hear these days is that GMOs are safe and just “trust the science.” As a registered nurse, I used to trust science until I saw my family’s health declining. Thankfully the Lord opened our eyes to truth. After this awakening I have enjoyed researching over the years, and I have been shocked by what I discovered. Here is just one example of the fraud in the safety studies of GMOs written by the Weston Price Foundation.

Memos made public from a lawsuit reveal that the consensus among FDA scientists in the early 1990s was that GMOs were inherently unsafe and could lead to toxins, allergens, new diseases and nutritional problems. They urged their superiors to require long-term safety studies before any GM foods were allowed on the market. But the political appointee in charge of FDA policy was the former attorney of the biotech giant Monsanto and later the company’s vice president. The scientists’ warnings were ignored and today the FDA does not require a single safety study on GM foods.

Advertising works and our fallen human nature will believe most anything if we are told something long enough. As I often say, “Don’t trust me,” dig into the research yourself, making sure to truly research both sides of this subject.

Every year more consumers are waking up and demanding GMO-free food. Many physicians are starting to recommend a GMO-free diet and continue to report improvements in the health of those patients that do this. Not everyone thinks of meat when they think of GMOs, but a majority of the animals being fattened in our nation and other countries are being fed with GMO feed (grains and alfalfa). We are bombarded with “experts” telling us that what animals eat has no effect on our health when we eat that meat, but I along with many other people don’t believe that. There are too many testimonies of healing after people clean up their diet. Our health has improved significantly over the years as we have slowly changed our diet and lifestyle. I can only say praise the Lord!

Avoiding meat that has been fed GMO grains or alfalfa is a great place to start, but it’s also important to buy meat from farmers that rotate their animals on pasture and feed chemical free grains. What an animal eats will affect our health after we eat it. How the animal is raised will determine how many nutrients will be in that meat, how digestible it will be, the ratio of omega 3 to omega 6 fats, how much cancer fighting CLA it will have, etc. What it’s fed, along with the environment it’s raised in, will determine the amount of toxins and bacteria it will contain as well.

On our farm we source certified organic grains (preferably local), and we raise all of our hay so we know we aren’t feeding anything GMO. We raise pastured meat for as many people as our little farm can sustainably handle, and we have several customers that patronize us because of allergy or health issues. It’s so rewarding when I get a phone call or an email from a person telling me that they can eat our meat without allergy or health issues. I really focus on this, and the health benefits that our own family has observed, when we have challenges on our farm. This week I would continue to keep sourcing pasture raised organic/regenerative meats or consider raising as much of my own meat as possible.

Feel free to leave a comment if you have a story share. Your testimony could open the eyes of someone struggling with a health issue that isn’t sure if sourcing good quality meats is really worth the time and extra money.

Our family has learned to slow down, make careful observations of what heals/damages, decrease modern distractions, take a little more time preparing our food, and most importantly to seek the Lord’s wisdom. It’s a daily struggle, and it never goes perfectly, but we just keep trying to do the best we can. If you are working toward a more traditional, clean, whole foods diet and lifestyle, and would like to take small steps to get there, then you are at the right place. Week one was Get your Salt Better, week 2 was The Power of Water and we learned about removing toxins from our water in week 3, week 4 was Get Your Sleep Better, 5, 6, and 7 were Get Your Fats Better, we got our eggs better, and now we will be getting our meats better. Join us next week for Get Your . . . Better.