What to learn more about GMO's?
Information referenced from Organic Consumers Organization, Institute for Responsible Technology and Non GMO Project.

What is a GMO (Genetically Modified Organism)?

A genetically modified organism (GMO) or genetically engineered organism (GEO) is an organism whose genetic material has been altered using genetic engineering techniques. These techniques, generally known as recombinant DNA technology, use DNA molecules from different sources, which are combined into one molecule to create a new set of genes. This DNA is then transferred into an organism, giving it modified or novel genes. Transgenic organisms, a subset of GMOs, are organisms that have inserted DNA from a different species. GMOs are the constituents of genetically modified foods.

What foods contain GMO's?

  • Cotton - Considered a food because the oil can be consumed.   
  • Honey -  Contaminated by GM crops. 
  • Soybean - Soy foods include : soy beverages, tofu, soy oil, soy flour, lecithin. Other products may include breads, pastries, snack foods, baked products, fried products, edible oil products and special purpose foods.
  • Rice - Genetically modified to contain high amounts of Vitamin A, "Golden Rice", has been approved in the Phillipines.  No GMO rice is grown the United States.
  • Sugar cane - Made resistant to certain pesticides. A large percentage of sweeteners used in processed food actually comes from corn, not sugar cane or beets. Products labeled with sugar may contain as much as 80% GM sugar beet sugar.
  • Corn - Corn oil, flour, sugar or syrup. May include snack foods, baked goods, fried foods, edible oil products, confectionery, special purpose foods, and soft drinks.
  • Tomatoes - The first genetically food the Flavr Savr tomato was recalled.  Currently there are no genetically modified tomatoes available commercially.
  • Sweet corn - approved only for use in animal feed thousands of tons have been found in human food supply.   Recently Monsanto, a biotechnology food producer, said that about half of the USA's sweetcorn acreage has been planted with genetically modified seed this year.
  • Canola - Canola oil. May include edible oil products, fried foods, and baked products, snack foods.
  • Potatoes - NewLeaf potatoes were used briefly by McDonald's for their french fries before consumer backlash against GMOs put an end to their   use. Monsanto has since stopped production of NewLeaf.  The Amflora potato is currently being used for industrial use only in Europe.
  • Peas - Developed in Austraila to  combat the pea weevil, the GM pea was found to cause serious health problems and was recalled form the market. 
  • Rapeseed  "Canola" - Oil, by products used  in animal feed.
  • Flax - Introduced in 2001 in Europe but importers refused to buy it. No genetically modified flax is currently grown in the US.
  • Papaya - Commercially grown in Hawaii, estimated that 90% of Hawaiian crop is GM.
  • Squash - (yellow crookneck) - Some zucchini and yellow crookneck squash are also GM but they are not popular with farmers.
  • Cotton seed oil - Cottonseed oil and linters. Products may include blended vegetable oils, fried foods, baked foods, snack foods, edible oil                                                                                       products, and smallgoods casings.
  • Tobacco -The company Vector has a GMO tobacco being sold under the brand of Quest® cigarettes in the U.S. It is engineered to produce low or no nicotine.
  • Meat - Meat and dairy products processed from animals that have been feed GM animal feed, such as corn or alflafa.
  • Vegetable Oil - Most generic vegetable oils and margarines used in restaurants and in processed foods in North America are made from soy, corn, canola, or cottonseed. Unless these oils specifically say "Non-GMO" or "Organic," it is probably genetically modified.
  • Sugarbeets - Processed foods containing sugar,unless specified as Cane sugar, may contain sugar from GM sugar beets.
  • Dairy Products - About 22 percent of cows in the U.S. are injected with recombinant (genetically modified) bovine growth hormone (rbGH).
  • Vitamins - Vitamin C (ascorbic acid) is often made from corn, vitamin E is usually made from soy. Vitamins A, B2, B6, and B12 may be derived from GMOs as well as vitamin D and vitamin K may have "carriers" derived from GM corn sources, such as starch, glucose, and maltodextrin.
  • Rapeseed  "Canadian Canola".



Does organic mean GMO free?
Buying 100% Organic, Certified Organic, and USDA Organic labeled products is usually the easiest way to avoid genetically modified
ingredients.  The U.S. and Canada governments do NOT allow companies to label products "100%"/ Certified Organic if they 
contain GMO's.  
Look for the USDA Certified Organic label on purchased foods.
Be aware the "Private Labeling" such as the "Trader Joe's Organic" does NOT mean the products meet USDA organic standards.

Are GMO's common and how do I avoid them?
In the U.S., GMO's are in as much as 80% of conventional processed food. Click here for a current list of GMO risk crops.


Check with you local Farmers Market for Growers with GMO Free produce.   Buy Local, Buy Fresh!


Are GMO's safe?

Most developed nations do not consider GMOs to be safe. In nearly 50 countries around the world, including Australia, Japan, and all of the countries in the European Union, there are significant restrictions or outright bans on the production and sale of GMOs. In the U.S., the government has approved GMOs based on studies conducted by the same corporations that created them and profit from their sale. Increasingly, Americans are taking matters into their own hands and choosing to opt out of the GMO experiment.

What are the impacts of GMO's on the environment?

Over 80% of all GMOs grown worldwide are engineered for herbicide tolerance. As a result, use of toxic herbicides like Roundup has increased 15 times since GMOs were introduced. GMO crops are also responsible for the emergence of “super weeds” and “super bugs:’ which can only be killed with ever more toxic poisons like 2,4-D (a major ingredient in Agent Orange). GMOs are a direct extension of chemical agriculture, and are developed and sold by the world’s biggest chemical companies. The long-term impacts of GMOs are unknown, and once released into the environment these novel organisms cannot be recalled.

Are GMO's labeled?
Unfortunately, even though polls consistently show that a significant majority of Americans want to know if the food they’re purchasing contains GMOs, the powerful biotech lobby has succeeded in keeping this information from the public.  
The following countries have banned or restricted the import, distribution, sale, utilization, field trails and commercial planting of GMO's:

  • Africa: Algeria, Egypt

  • Asia: Sri Lanka, Thailand, China, Japan, Phillipines

  • Europe: The European Union, Norway, Austria, Germany United Kingdom, Spain, Italy, Greece, France, Luxembourg, Portugal

  • Latin America: Brazil, Paraguay

  • Middle East: Saudi Arabia

  • North America: Maryland has banned GE (genetically engineered) fish and North Dakota and Montana have filed bans on GE wheat. The Municipalities of Burlington, Vermont (declared a moratorium on GE food), Boulder, Colorado (bans on GE crops) and the City and County of San Francisco (urged the federal government to ban GE food) are the only towns or states to take some sort of stand against plants, animals, foods, crops and body products that are, or contain Genetically Modified Organisms.

    NOTE: The U.S. government, and the FDA do not require anything Genetically Modified to be identified on ingredient lists. Genetically Modified foods and products are in widespread use and distribution throughout the U.S.

  • Pacific: American Samoa, Cook Islands, Fiji, Kiribati, Federated States of Micronesia, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, Australia, New Zealand.

    Where can I buy GMO free food and products locally?

    New Frontiers Natural Marketplace
    1112 W Iron Springs Rd
    Prescott, AZ 86305

    One Root Tea & Herbothecary

    500 W Gurley St, Prescott, Arizona 86301-3618