Eating healthy can mean different things to different people, and for many, it means reducing or eliminating their consumption of GMOs (genetically modified organisms). It's essential to understand why GMOs are undesirable in the first place. GMOs are organisms whose genetic makeup has been modified in a laboratory using genetic engineering or transgenic technology to create combinations of plant, animal, bacterial and virus genes that do not occur naturally or through traditional crossbreeding methods.
While GMOs are prevalent in our food supply, it is hard to determine their long-term effects as they have not been around for very long.
As such, we prefer not to be a part of this experiment as the rise of autoimmune diseases coincides with the advent of GMO technology. While GMOs are supposedly safe, it's worth noting that cigarettes were once considered safe, aided by tobacco company marketing campaigns. Therefore, it is crucial to know which foods contain GMOs and how to avoid them.
The most common GMO-containing foods are soy, corn, canola oil, cotton, milk, sugar, aspartame, zucchini, yellow squash, and papaya.
Conventionally grown dairy and meat are also huge sources of GMOs since corn and soy, which are monoculture crops produced heavily with GMOs, are fed on a large scale to livestock and poultry. Therefore, it is crucial to know where your meat comes from and how it is raised.
One way to avoid GMOs is to look for the Non-GMO Project logo on food labels while grocery shopping. It's also vital to get to know your farmers whenever possible to learn about their practices. Maple Wind Farm is certified organic for our pastures but we do not feed organic grain as we have made the choice for Non GMO feed and pasture raised with daily moves our priority!
We welcome any questions about our farming practices and invite you to one of our monthly pasture walks during the summer to see it in action!
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