Take the 30 day no GMO challenge

Real Food Media and the Institute for Responsible Technology urge consumers to take the No GMO Challenge to protect themselves from one of history’s greatest man-made health and environmental threats – genetically modified organisms (GMOs). The No GMO Challenge begins with a spring-inspired cupboard cleanout and a 30-day commitment to eating as many non-GMO meals as possible. Organizers of the No GMO Challenge hope U.S. shoppers will flex their considerable spending power during the No GMO Challenge to buy only non-GMO products, starting Earth Day. People who have already signed up for the No GMO Challenge include moms, farmers, chefs, scientists, physicists, biologists, home cooks, retailers and food writers who regularly blog about healthier foods.

Consumer polls show that 9 out of 10 Americans want GM foods labeled so they can avoid buying them. Nearly two-thirds of products on supermarket shelves contain unlabelled genetically modified ingredients. A controversial Food and Drug Administration exception made in the 1990s, permits GMOs to enter the food supply without adequate safety testing, say watchdog groups.

To help get the word out about GM foods, organizers of the No GMO Challenge are asking people to pledge that for 30 days, they will avoid GMO food made from the 5 main GM crops: corn, soy, canola and cottonseed oil, and sugar from sugar beets.

Ann Marie Michaels, the founder the Real Food Media Blog Network says, “We are asking consumers to try to avoid these foods and to blog about it, tweet about it, post about it on Facebook, and get the word out as much as possible. At the No GMO Challenge site http://realfoodmedia.com/no-gmo-challenge/, we’ll have videos and news articles you can link to or blog about or tweet, and you can also just write about your experiences going GM-free.”

Bloggers can join a weekly blog carnival every Monday to share stories about GM food, and enter to win prizes every Thursday, from sponsors including US Wellness Meats, Zukay Live Foods and Tropical Traditions who will be giving away prizes like grass-fed meats, GMO-free salad dressings, and organic coconut oil.

The rolling No GMO Challenge, similar to the Eat Local Challenge launches today and will continue until GMOs are driven out the food supply, organizers say. Consumers are asked to organize, educate and build awareness about the dangers of GMOs until that goal is realized.

Jeffrey Smith, a leading expert on the health dangers of GMOs, says that Earth Day is the right time to draw attention to the environmental threat posed by GMOs. “GM crops concentrate corporate control of food, increase herbicide use without increasing average yields, endanger food security, are detrimental to sustainable and organic farming, and trap farmers in a cycle of debt and dependence. They shrink biodiversity, harm beneficial insects, damage soil bacteria, contaminate non-GM varieties, and persist in the environment. The presence of self-propagating genetic pollution might outlast the effects of global warming and nuclear waste.”

Scientists warn that GM foods may set off allergies, increase cancer risks, damage food quality and produce lasting toxins in the environment. GMOs also increase the risk of antibiotic resistant strains of bacteria, due the use of antibiotic resistant genes in GM food.