Everyone; Christian, Jew or not, I believe is pretty familiar with the story of David versus Goliath. If you aren’t, here’s the condensed version and you can read the full version in 1 Samuel 17. The Army of Israel was going to battle against the Philistines. They came to an agreement that the battle would be decided between their two best soldiers. Little did the Israelites know that the Philistines had a secret weapon, a giant name Goliath. None of Israel’s soldiers were brave enough to face this giant, none except a boy named David, a shepherd boy. He was so small, no armor would fit him but that didn’t deter him. None the less, he gathered 5 smooth stones from a brook and walked onto the battle field to face a giant who was fully armored save his face. David placed a stone in his leather sling, which he would use to defend his sheep from wolves, whirled it overhead and let his stone fly. His aim was perfect and the stone struck the giant just above the bridge of his nose. Goliath fell dead and David then beheaded him with his own sword.
I share this because we are embroiled in a very similar confrontation except the giant is a behemoth so big those who stand against it are as small as mites. The main body of this beast is chemical agriculture and the head is a multinational corporation named Monsanto. Monsanto has unleashed a demon on us all and it is Genetically Modified Organisms. GMOs have been in the food system since 1996 and in this short time in our history, we can hardly find a way to make our diet GMO free like we could couple of decades ago.
Around the world in other countries, laws have been passed requiring the labeling of foods that are comprised of GMOs, but since no such law exists in the US, Americans can’t make an informed decision about what they eat. Nearly all products on grocery store shelves have derivatives of corn and soy, and these two crops are 90+% GMO. It’s really too late to try to hammer out how we got to this point, but we must focus on how we can get ourselves out of this mess.
Well so what can you do? Is buying organic or “greenwise” enough? No, not really. These organic companies are all subsidiaries of the companies that are using GMOs. Therefore, when you buy “conventional” organic foods, you’re still supporting the conglomerates. The only way to really change the landscape of our agriculture system is for everyone to quit focusing on the initial dollar amount and think long term. Plant a garden and grow something and get it from a non-GMO seed company. Find a farmer who only raises non-GMO crops and his animals are pasture raised and only receive non-GMO feed. If the farmers you meet say that they want to but the cost is too high, support him anyway. Drive business his way so that when he sees there really are people who care about the food they eat be his champion when he announces that he’s taking the steps necessary to be GMO free, organic or not. This means a different way of thinking and a completely different way of thinking. If you need further convincing, there are a number of documentaries about GMOs and corporate agriculture, such as King Corn, Genetic Roulette, Fresh, and one of the most widely known ones is Food, Inc. Some can be found for free in the web or for a small nominal fee.
