Welcome to Operative Musings - home of Tasty Pastry Gluten-Free Bakery's information on GMO's and Food Allergies

Yummy Tasty Pastry cookies!!

Welcome to all who have come to visit!  This blog is a work in progress at all times....but then, I guess, what blog isn't?  This blog originated when my business partner and I realized that we needed a second blog as a thread to our gluten-free bakery blog:  Tasty Pastry Gluten-Free Bakery  (which, at the present time is under construction because we are just getting started!)  On our Tasty Pastry blog we reference GMO's and food allergies (of course!) due to the fact that we bake for those with food allergies, and do it all with non-GMO ingredients.  We are very proud of the goodies we produce and are additionally proud that we support non-GMO crops.  However, we know that there are lots of people out there who have never even heard of GMO's just as we, too, were once unaware.  So, though we cannot offer an exhaustive look at food allergies and GMO's, we would like to think we could provide enough information and links to allow people to make their own decisions about the presence of GMO's in their food.

So, take a ride around here.  You will find a variety of links, some of them articles and some of them politically active websites.  We offer book titles we find stimulating and informative.  You will also find our suggestions regarding steps to take if you believe you or someone you love might be allergic to a food.  It is my belief that in the not too distant future, research will reveal that GMO's are a major source of what is behind the drastic, recent rise in food allergies.  Only time will tell.

Over the years, this blog will grow.  With your help, it will grow even faster.  Ask us questions.  We are genuinely interested in your curiousity so let us know what information you may need and perhaps we can find it. 

Take care, and happy eating, dine on healthy food, and think good thoughts!

Are Your Kids Allergic to Food - or What's in It?

A study released by Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine found that childhood food allergies are twice as common as experts previously thought, with one in 13 kids affected.  I first heard about this study when it showed up in my local, small town newspaper.  I was very interested to see such an article show up at the local level.  The topic of food allergies made it to the small town?!  Wow!  Then I did some searching around to find other comments on the research mentioned in my local newsapaper and came across this link.  This article links back to Robyn O'Brien's (The Unhealthy Truth) ideas that Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO) are the cause of this drastic rise in allergies.  I'm going to make a bet that research will likely prove her right over time.  GMO's came on the market in 1996.  By 1997 food allergies were already on the rise.  When a seed is genetically modified, they take a portion of the DNA of one organism (example might be a bacteria) and insert it into the DNA of another organism (in this case a seed).  DNA is comprised of strings of amino acids.  Amino acids make up proteins.  It is the protein portion of foods that we humans have a reaction to when we experience a food allergy.  What are we mucking with when we mess with DNA and what are we consuming when we consume messed with DNA?  Wouldn't labeling of GMO foods be nice?  Wouldn't it be nice if GMO foods didn't exist?

To GMO or not to GMO;  An interesting blog entry by Jodi Rich.    http://www.naturalproductsmarketplace.com/blogs/shelflife/2011/06/to-gmo-or-not-to-gmo.aspx



Three approved GMO's linked to Organ Damage  This article goes back to January 2010 but I'd thought it is worth a visit if you haven't seen any reports on the GMO research.


Celebrate a Safer Life with new GMO law     Wow!  This is awesome!  Mandated separate shelving for GMO's in grocery stores.  Too bad it's not happening here.

Robyn O'Brien, author of Unhealthy Truth, on TED, 2011

http://www.foodconsumer.org/newsite/Opinion/Comments/the_popular_food_0614110704.html

One of the books I have suggested as necessary reading if you have food allergies or are interested in GMO information and its implications in food allergies, is Robyn O'Brien's book The Unhealthy Truth.  This article is actually an excerpt from an article written by Dr. Mercola and is posted on the FoodConsumer.org site.  It includes a video of Robyn O'Brien talking about some of the issues she mentions in her book.

I can't recommend this book enough.  Especially to every mom out there.

The Grocery List: 6 GMO foods you want to avoid

This is a good one if you are new to GMO land.  Although there are better articles out there on the "Avoid This GMO Food" subject, this is a great place to start.  I don't know if I'm just becoming more aware or if people in general are becoming more aware of GMO's, but I hardly ever see articles like this popping up.  I did, however, just recently tweak my Google Alerts to be less selective in what it alerts me to regarding GMO's.....so it's entirely possible that these smaller articles are just showing up on my screen now whereas before they weren't included in my alert results.

Suffice it to say, I'm glad to see anything in the news that encourages the general public to increase their awareness of GMO's in their foods.  Given that scientific research is starting to show some serious problems with long term consumption of GMO foods (I'll include some of those articles in another post), it's important for each of us to make a decision on whether or not we want to consume these foods.

Anything with non-organic Canola (like oil), Corn, Soy (think soy lecithin, soy oil, soy milk, soy yogurt, you name it), Sugar made from sugar beets (I wouldn't trust any label that just shows 'sugar' as the ingredient.  I want to see 'evaporated cane sugar' on that label instead.  They haven't GMO'd sugar cane....yet.).  Some zucchini is GMO'd but I don't know much about how prevelant it is.  Alfalfa has just recently been allowed  a GMO status which could greatly impact the organic industry because of the amount of alfalfa used by any animal, especially cows, and there is no way to prevent GMO pollen or seed drift.  I recently heard that there are GMO grapes out there but I don't know where.  I haven't been able to find much on that.  Oh, and Dairy.  How could I forget?  The growth hormone r-BST (aka r-BGH) given to non-organic cows, is a GMO product.  Avoid that!

Anyway, here is the link.  Anything with non-organic dairy, corn, soy, canola, sugar on the label is suspect as a GMO product.  Unless it is organic, you can bet it is GMO based.

http://www.organicsoul.com/the-grocery-list-6-gmo-foods-you-want-to-avoid/

What do you know about Organic Standards and who regulates them?

http://organicconsumers.org/sos.cfm  
Safeguard Organic Standards  
If you are not familiar with what it takes to protect organic food and crop standards, this is a rudimentary look at the basic areas in which organic food is threatened.  Organic standards may be set in place but they can easily be corrupted by corporate and political interests looking for a quicker buck.


http://www.treehugger.com/files/2011/06/charges-of-corruption-taint-organic-trade-association.php
OTA Has Spies           Apparently, the Organic Trade Associationi (OTA), which is the regulatory organization tasked with maintaining organic standards here in the U.S., has been infiltrated by the likes of GMO corporate interests and corporate lust for the almighty dollar.  How surprising!  (Sorry, but I'm SO biased.)

Food Conspiracy between Government and Chemical Company (Surprised?)

To keep yourself updated on the subject of GMO policy and activity in this country and abroad, set Google Alerts  ( http://google.com/alerts) to search for and alert you of any news relating to either 'Monsanto' or 'GMO'.

Google Alerts


Check out these articles that surfaced in the past week:

1)   Commentary on how our government continues to hire people who used to work with Monsanto and other chemical companies to establish and oversee our policies on GMO.  Hmmm....conflict of interest here?  Anyone in the policy making department going to be interested in what WE have to say about it?
http://www.times-standard.com/guest_opinion/ci_18258653

2)   Now, for a feel-good moment about GMO activism.  Shouldn't we send this guy money or something to cover his attorney fees?! 

http://www.slowfoodusa.org/index.php/slow_food/blog_post/organic_farmers_v_monsanto/