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(Health-NewsWire.Net, December 11, 2015 ) Around 70 percent of the foods we eat have been genetically modified. These foods include irradiated, processed or packed with nanotechnology.
Labelling standards mean you have to assume a new role to play 'food detective'. This is because there are no “actual” signs to show (sometimes none at all) to claim that the food you just bought are completely organic.
A spokeswoman from the federal Department of Health says that it is upto people to watch what they are eating and take full responsibility for it. She also said that as per introduction of a voluntary front-of-pack labelling scheme in Australia and New Zealand during 2014, has resulted in healthier choices for consumers with more than 1500 packaged food products showing a health start rating.
In spite of all the jolly good appearance, fruits and vegetables are not just processed but irradiated as well. This means they are no fresh and come with very many chemicals to increase the shelf life and deliver a presentable look.
For those who are not aware, irradiation is a process where food are exposed to ionising radiation that extends the storage life and neutralize the ability of pests or contaminants.
Bob Phelps, executive director of independent watchdog Gene Ethics says that the process of irradiation involves exposure to the energy that is equivalent of between 1.5 million and 10 million x-rays. Yikess...!!!
This has raised a serious matter of concern among nutritionists due to the detrimental effects that irradiation carries when it comes to vitamin and nutritional content in foods. If this is not enough, irradiation can not only disrupt the molecular structure of the foods but can also allow the entry of free radicals and chemicals such as benzene, formaldehyde etc. that can have severe effects on our health.
FSANZ (Food Standards Australia New Zealand) currently requires any irradiated ingredients in packaged foods to be labelled. And when it comes to unpackaged fruits, veggies etc. a logo that indicates irradiation treatment is mandatorily to be embedded though the terms radiation/irradiation need to be necessarily used.
This goes not only for fruits and vegetables but also for herbs and spices that are irradiated.
GM INGREDIENTS IN OUR DAILY FOOD
Fran Murrell of Mothers Are Demystifying Genetic Engineering says that “while fruits and vegetables grown locally are termed GM-free, cereal crops such as cotton, canola etc. are grown in Australia”.
While GM cotton is consumed as cottonseed oil (also called vegetable oil that is used in restaurants, fast food corners etc.), canola oil is used in many processed food products such as dips, margarine, baked goods (such as cakes, muffins), chups, bread etc.
Murrell says that almost 70% of the processed food has some kind of genetically modified content in them. The main GM crops are soy, corn, cotton, canola and sugar beet. Few of the products are even fed to animals.
FSANZ says that GM foods that contain foreign DNA or protein must also be labelled aptly. There are no labels in highly refined GM foods such as vegetable oils, starches (soy lecithin), sugars (high fructose corn syrup in soft drinks) etc. where all the protein and DNA structure are eliminated during processing.
PESTICIDES IN PLANTS
A popular weed killer called Roundup contains an active ingredient called glyphosate that has been termed for triggering adverse health effects, says Scott Kinnear who is director of the Safe Food Foundation and Institute.
In recent times, WHO declared that the element glyphosate is the next 'probable human carcinogen' and the Californian government plans to list it among one of the chemicals that can trigger cancer.
WHAT YOU CAN DO
You can always buy fresh and organic (chemical free food). You can always grow vegetables indoors without using any pesticides all along the year thanks to many indoor gardening units such as Big Buddha box or Magic herb dryer box etc. that brings you hydroponic system with many other features so that you can grow without any problems seen in traditional gardening. Even if you feel traditional gardening are best, try to get organic pesticides that do not contain hazardous chemicals.
You can even begin to avoid processed foods that contain silica or titanium dioxde (171) that are two common food additives that contain high levels of nanoparticles.
For those who are not aware, nanomaterials are man made particulates that are used to enhance the flavor, whiten and change many features of processed goods.
When it comes to health effects they can disrupt the cell function, damage the DNA, weaken the immune system and absorb fragments of bacteria and release them in the GI tract which doesn't seem like Christmas treat in the body.
Always buy grass fed meat, organic dairy products to ensure that animals are raised on GM free feed.
Last but not least peel and scrub all fruits and vegetables to reduce the impact of chemicals on body.
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