The Quandry Over Corn

By Christina Pirello

I know; I know. It's summer, the season of corn: corn salads, corn on the cob, grilled corn, sautéed corn, corn muffins and corn bread.

But is our corn the same corn of our idyllic memories of summer?

Hardly.

With the epidemic growth (yes, epidemic...) of GMO species, in particular corn, our entire food system (and eco-system) is being altered before our eyes. It may look like corn and even taste like corn, but baby, it ain't corn.

A quickie GMO lesson in case you are unfamiliar... A GMO is a plant or animal that has been genetically modified through the addition of a small amount of genetic material from other organisms through molecular techniques. Currently, the GMOs on the market today have been given genetic traits to provide protection from pests, tolerance to pesticides, or improve its quality (or so they would like us to believe). GMO field crops include Bt-potatoes, Bt-corn, Bt-sweet corn, Roundup Ready soybeans, Roundup Ready Corn, and Liberty Link corn. You can see clearly all the varieties of corn they are altering with genetic material.

So-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o, corn. Here's the thing; we don't know what all this genetic material is doing to us or the environment. According to Jeffrey Smith, the leading world expert on the effects of GMOs' on human health, the rise of the use of these transgender foods can be directly linked to food allergies, leaky gut syndrome, even autism because of the impact of GM corn on our intestines (similar to the impact of GM corn on the bugs' intestines). According to the farming industry, Monsanto 's GM corn was supposed to reduce the use of pesticides. And at first it did. But a new survey of farmers shows (according to the Wall Street Journal), that one of the largest producers of pesticides reported that their corn pesticide sales more than doubled in 2012 as bugs become resistant to Bt corn.

So are we doomed to summers with no corn? If we don't take action and demand better from producers, we may well get there. With cross-contamination from pollen, we may lose the ability to produce organic corn, real corn.

In the meantime, buy only certified organic corn to enjoy this summer. Send a message! We want real food; we want GMO's listed on labels so we know what we are eating.

Get involved. This is not my fight; it's ours together for our future. It's time to start the food fight of all food fights