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.”

Many farm families, in an attempt to keep the farm profitable and alive, switched to Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFO) in the 1950s for poultry and the 1970s and 1980s for cattle and pigs. CAFOs are highly efficient systems of feeding large quantities of animals, in small spaces, using mechanized systems to save time and labor. Chickens and pigs are raised in large buildings and cows are finished in large feed lots. This system has provided an abundance of food, at a cheap price, but unfortunately it has had some unexpected consequences. As people demand and support this cheap, highly industrialized, and more recently, highly processed food system, our health has declined and our medical bills have increased significantly.