Hello my loves,

I know we are mid-way through May and you have been lost without my monthly email. :) My life has taken me in a few different directions as of late but I am here now. I thought we would dive even deeper into the topic of food labeling this month. Hopefully by now you have all done a full cleanse of your house and cleared out all products with harmful ingredients. I would now like to shift over to something relatively new in the past few years that has been introduced into our food labeling.

Non-GMO was once the term to look for but it was causing too much negative PR for the GMO world, which meant they wanted to make more money and they didn’t like people not wanting to buy products that had GMOs. So, what did they do? They made it more confusing for the consumer so they had to work harder at making sure their foods didn’t have GMOs. Oy.

There is a lot going on in the world of labeling and it demands that we put on our reading glasses when we shop and not blindly trust companies to have our best interest at heart; sadly it is quite the opposite. The focus is pure profit. Period. The end. It is up to us to choose what we put in our body, where we spend our money and what businesses we believe in and want to support.

Pay attention to the phrase INGREDIENTS DERIVED FROM A BIOENGINEERED SOURCE. Also look for the label below as often they don’t have to even put that on the package but simply put the label, which they made to look pretty and positive, and healthy but it is the exact opposite of pretty or positive, or healthy. It is all deception. Pay attention my loves. It is up to us to take care of ourselves. The food manufactures (most of them) do not have our well-being at heart.

I only eat organic, non-GMO, bio-dynamic, regenerative agriculture based foods. It is simply the only way I want to live. I do not want my produce sprayed with sealants to preserve freshness and change the look of them. Food is supposed to spoil, that means it’s real food. I do not want my food made by scientists in labs. I do not want my food bio-engineered. I do not want animals eating bio-engineered foods. I make my own food or get prepared food solely from restaurants/stores that do not use canola oil, GMO ingredients, conventional ingredients, preservatives, chemicals, or anything else that is not in alignment with my well-being. This is my choice and this is how I was raised. What will you choose?

The next question I always get is, ‘What do you eat then?’ I am always saddened when I am asked this because it means that people are still thinking that eating wisely is hard, limiting, or not delicious. The other day I mentioned to someone that I don’t consume gluten, dairy, sugar, coffee, alcohol, or any processed foods. Her response was, ‘Then what do you do for fun?’ Again, sad times if people are viewing my life through the lens of lack rather than abundance. I love food. I eat a lot and eat well. I am a foodie and I have a lot of fun cooking, baking, eating and researching. No lack here.

I eat real food. That’s all there is to it. I eat food grown consciously from farmers who care; from stores that care and are 100% transparent in their processes. I eat a plentiful, colorful, bountiful array of organic, non-GMO, whole foods that are not processed by anyone but me. Rarely will anything come into our house in a plastic bag, a box, a can, or even a plastic clam shell. I use my own organic cotton produce bags. (Link below since many ask me where to find these.) I use my own canvas grocery bags. I bring back the rubber bands when the store puts them on my food from the cafe at my local grocers. I want to live a life of eating from Mother Earth and leave no trace. (Yes, our soil is a concern. And yes, there are challenges with a lot of agriculture now days but we do our best by supporting farmers who are doing their best.)

Please read The National Bioengineered Food Disclosure Standard pdf I have attached below. I also included an image of the label to be mindful of that many foods can use instead of actually saying their product is bioengineered, or ingredients in their food are bioengineered. You will also find a few examples of labels for you to familiarize yourself with where they are putting the phrase and avoid at all costs. And lastly a short list of some of our (once) favorite brands who have now sold out to big corporations. This doesn’t always mean that the products are no longer safe to purchase/use but most often it is the sad truth. You must do your own due diligence and investigate what practices have changed with the take over. Almost always, they cut costs and begin sourcing ingredients from over seas, package over seas, not support local farmers, use GMO ingredients, and many more practices that degrade the products we once trusted and loved. Personally, once a company has sold out I stop using it. I want my money to go to the Mom ’n Pop small businesses and stay local.

Please reach out if you would like to take a deep dive together and we can schedule some time for a health/life coaching session to help you navigate this world of labeling, ingredients, shopping, cooking, eating. I’m here for you.

“If it is important to you, you will find a way. If not, you’ll find an excuse.”

—Anonymous