Organic Update

Centenarians, those who live past 100, have typically NOT been vegetarian, vegan, or avoided pork. This is especially true in the USA. This update does not promote that which is called “organic” for longevity reasons, but for daily health reasons.

If you’ve only read newspapers, magazines, or blogposts, but haven’t seen the documentaries Food or Fresh you may not realize how serious the problem is. This Facebook page lists 30 such documentaries.

Food poisoning is not just the filthy preparation habits that spoil the aftermath of eating out. Food poisoning is also the slow invasion of bacteria and microbes that will break the body down over time.

Organically grown vegetables, and animals fed with organic feed that is right for them and NOT raised for greed, can help you avoid the slow chemical death of cells, molecules, organs and functions, like cell permeability and nutrient uptake.

Organic means a vegetable, fruit or herb still has LIFE, that is, a good deal of the original spark of life-enhancing nutrients it possessed as found in nature.

Organic foods are from organically grown seeds. They are sown properly in the best soil for their needs, harvested at the correct time so nutrients are at their highest and best quality, and packaged to retain the goodness with which they were grown.

When people ask about the oils and oil-infused products I use, including foods, and whether they are organic, I tell them they are “better than organic.” Read on to find out why.

You may have read about genetically modified goods (GMOs) and how they are not good for you and certainly would NOT be found in organic foods. One would think.

Leave it to the Food and Drug Administration, the Centers for Disease Control and the National Institutes of Health to have worked together, in the interest of all Americans, to devise LEVELS of foods labelled “organic.”

This is from the GMO Awareness website:

Organic is Usually GMO Free

Buying 100% Organic, Certified Organic, and USDA Organic-labeled products is usually the easiest way to identify and avoid genetically modified ingredients.

The United States and Canadian governments do NOT allow companies to label products “100% / Certified Organic” if they contain genetically modified foods.

To put it in more detail:

100% Organic: Must contain 100 percent organically produced ingredients (excluding water and salt). This is the only label that certifies a completely organic product AND completely GMO-free ingredients.

Certified Organic / USDA Organic: At least 95 percent of content is organic by weight (excluding water and salt). The <5% remaining ingredients must consist of substances approved on the USDA’s National List. GMOs are NOT on this list, so USDA Organic products are also usually GMO-free. For verification, consult the following sources:

• The USDA’s National Organic Program overview page
• The USDA’s National List of Allowed and Prohibited Substances
• The USDA’s Organic 101 blog
• A 2011 USDA policy memo in response to confusion over GMOs in organics
• The National Organic Standards Board Policy and Procedures Manual

“Made with Organic: Up to 70% of the ingredients are organic. These products can NOT carry a “USDA organic” label, however their “remaining non-organic ingredients are produced without prohibited practices, including genetic engineering.”

“But lately, even organic products are at risk….

Why Say “Usually?”

“If USDA certification requires at least 95% of content to be organic, and a GMO ingredient can’t be included in that 5%, then USDA Organic is GMO-free, right? Not always. Depending on the product, sometimes there are tiny loopholes.

“Says Barry Estabrook (author of Politics of the Plate) in this excellent article: “The casings for those tasty USDA Organic sausages can come from conventionally raised animals that have been fed antibiotics (or GMO-laden corn). The hops in your favorite organic beer can be sprayed with all manner of chemical pesticides and fertilizers.”

“The USDA’s loophole list also includes two far more common ingredients: non-organic cornstarch (which in our opinion is long overdue for removal from the “acceptable” list, considering how many sources of organic cornstarch are now readily available to commercial food manufacturers), and soy lecithin (though only one form of soy lecithin is allowed, and only when an organic option is not available)….”

If your list of non-consumables doesn’t take into account the relatively new information provided here, it will have to be updated. Freedom of choice, personal power and good health go together when you are proactive about what goes into your body (and, by extension, feeds your mind and spirit).

Prayers and focused spiritual energy are always proactive.

–Rev. Niamo Nancy Muid

P.S.

For tips on how to avoid the stress surrounding today’s food supply, which could be a fr.ee mini-assessment for you, give me a call, (201) 966-1170.