USDA Organic Is NOT Necessarily Organic

We recently began buying Cascadian Farms organic granola cereals and granola bars for our kids, so they had some quick breakfast and snack options that were GMO-free. I don't know what made me look the other day, but I read the ingredients of the "USDA certified organic" chewy chocolate chip granola bar. It contains soy lecithin. Since I was relatively certain that it wasn't GMO-free soy, or it would probably cost an even more ridiculous amount of money, I Googled. Sure enough, the USDA allows GMO soy lecithin in certified organic foods. It's in almost all of our Cascadian Farms cereals and granola bars (the others contain maltodextrin, which is also garbage), so we're done with Cascadian Farms. I'm also 100% done trusting the USDA and anything labeled organic, because evidently, food only needs to be 95% organic to be labeled organic. Nothing with even a trace of Monsanto's toxic soy in it should EVER be called organic, or consumed by any living creature, human or otherwise.

 I'm ANGRY. GMO soy and corn is exceedingly dangerous to human health. It reminds me of the whole trans fat debacle of the early 2000s; the USDA says you can label a food 0G of trans fat even if it has some in it, as long as it is at a certain (still hazardous) level. You have to read labels and be sure it doesn't say hydrogenated or shortening. That's pretty straightforward by comparison to this GMO nightmare. Most people are not very educated about soy in general, don't realize how toxic it is, nor how many things it is in. Most people will look at "USDA organic" and not even bother to read the label; they're counting on it, and they even got me for a few months.

We're being lied to and poisoned against our will, some of us despite our best efforts to make healthy choices for ourselves and our families. And this administration wants to attack Syria because they're chemically poisoning THEIR OWN PEOPLE!? Does anyone else see how ironic this is? But there is money in GMOs. There is money in war. If anyone thinks it is about human rights, you're asleep.

Recommended reading: 
GMO Awareness
http://gmo-awareness.com/2011/05/05/is-organic-always-gmo-free/

Organic Consumers Association
http://www.organicconsumers.org

Recommended viewing:

The World According to Monsanto (Netflix, YouTube)
The Future of Food (Netflix, YouTube)

Recommended action:

Visit Cascadian Farms on Facebook and let them know what you think of them allowing GMO poison in their foods.
https://www.facebook.com/CascadianFarm

Home Gardening

One of the things we love most about summer is our organic garden.  All of us love veggies, and nothing beats fresh ones right out of your very own garden.  This year, we've all taken turns watering, pulling weeds, and carefully picking.  Little G and Reezle both planted flowers along the perimeter and they did a fabulous job.  I was really impressed because it's the first time they've done that without any assistance from us.  With everyone assigned to a task and working together, our planting went quickly. 

Little G waters newly-planted seeds, tomato plants, and flowers

It was a slow summer in terms of garden growth.  Our weather has been strange this year, and we think that the decline in the bee populations isn't helping matters.  But Reezle and I love our zucchini, and once it starts to yield, it's the gift that keeps on giving.  Well, unless you get squash bugs like we did last year.  So this little one was a welcome sight!

Delicious organic zucchini

The other day, Little G asked if he could check the garden to see if any more zucchini had grown large enough to pick.  This is what he found!  Needless to say, we've been eating lots and lots of zucchini!

Little G's proud zucchini harvest

For perspective on how gigantic these bad boys can get, this is Little G holding the zucchini that is in the far right of the picture above.  He said he got his exercise picking these, and he wasn't kidding!

Little G and big zucchini

We're also getting some delicious cucumbers, and the rain over the past couple of days will no doubt move things right along.  No tomatoes or peppers yet, everything is still very green, but hopefully soon.  I wish we could garden year-round, and I've been looking into hydroponics and various greenhouse setups.  Our winters get blistering cold, and stay that way for long periods of time, so I need an option that will be able to withstand occasional sub-zero temperatures without failing.  However, even if I could have an option to extend our growing season so we can start earlier in the spring and continue enjoying fresh produce even after the first frost, I'd be very pleased with that.