Genetically modified (GMO) foods have perfectly fit the bill as repeatable, low-cost foodstuffs that can potentially offer consistency in the Consumer Price Index. But Does it come with a cost?
Absolutely.
How nature works is that you can’t get something for nothing, or rather the innovations that you make in one area will inherently be extracted from another. Many food items today are very cost intensive, but you’d hardly be able to recognize it because the underlying systems allow for these items to remain at a low price.
To create a fast food cheeseburger (for example) is VERY cost-intensive, but yet it shows up on the menu for just 99¢. An organic apple at your local store can easily cost you $1.25, and it LITERALLY just falls from a tree, while a fast food cheeseburger has all these costs to get the animal to you:
*Animal feed
*Water
*Storage
*Slaughter
*Butchering
*Packaging
*Shipping
*Storing
*Preparing
*And on and on…
And that’s just the meat, so don’t even get me started on the bun and cheese.
How is this even possible to cost less than an apple?
Two words: Political Support.
This can be through government subsidies, funding, lobbying, and more. It makes a lot more people money to build empires around selling substandard food.
And the real kicker is one that you really need to understand. It’s that fact that The Food and Drug Administration are ONE ENTITY. The substandard foods that they are allowing people to eat are resulting in them needing to take the prescription drugs (that they are also regulating) that routinely kills thousands of people each year (see this article: Death by Medicine). And guess what??? Everyone in these food and drug companies are getting paid for it.
So here’s the question to ask yourself: Why is the FDA responsible for regulating both industries – Food and Drugs? Doesn’t it make sense that someone would be policing each side separately to make sure that there aren’t any faulty dealings going on behind the scenes?
You make the intelligent judgment for yourself. This is not a plug on “conspiracy theories”, this is a matter of looking at which approach will actually protect the People.
My expertise is looking at the health implications this has on people’s lives, and the evidence is clear that foods like high fructose corn syrup from genetically modified corn have a substantial negative impact on the health of the consumer. This low cost short-term investment by the consumer to eat these foods, is consistently leading to long-term costs in health care, as well as significant opportunity cost from poor health and impeded performance.
When you don’t feel well, you don’t perform at your full potential. This is obvious and self-evident. This leads to a lack of innovation and a lack overall success. It’s now understood that many of the struggles people have in business is directly related to the health of their body.
So here’s one key takeaway you can apply from this right now: Certified Organic foods CAN NOT use genetically modified (GMO) practices, so the best bet for an instant up grade on your health is to shift over and go organic!
This one positive habit alone will make a dramatic impact on the health of your family. I went into great detail in my book The Key To Quantum Health about vast benefits of organic foods in Chapter 9: What Organic Really Means. I also disclose an in depth 12-year scientific study showing the superiority of organic foods compared to the conventional foods that have become so common.
Every time you purchase food you are making a vote with your dollar. You are either supporting organic-sustainable farming and healthy foods, or you’re supporting conventional pesticide-laced GMO produced foods. Either one is going to become the next wave of the future. The choice is always up to you.
Here’s a tip on how to spot GMO foods:
PLU Numbers on Produce Stickers:
*Organic produce has a 5 digit PLU number that begins with the number 9.
*Conventional produce has a 4 digit PLU number that begins with the number 4.
*Genetically modified (GMO) produce has a 5 digit PLU that begins with the number 8.
Please leave your questions or comments below.
Hi Seth, I’m glad you asked about Shakeology!
Shawn, Long ago I asked Monica about Shakeology and she gave it a look-over and said they were all pretty good quality ingredients but the one thing in question was, how much of each ingredient is actually in the shake because there are sooo many ingredients. I recall her saying it was better to get my own ingredients; make my own shake and know exactly what and how much of each item was going in the shake.
Anyway Seth, just out of curiosity, have you tried or are you doing any Beachbody work out programs?
Thanks Shawn! that’s exactly the article i was looking for!
Greg, that make your own shake philosophy sure sounds like the best option. I already make my own trail mix. I do own the P90X program which came with a workout overview guidebook, the nutrition guidebook, and about 12 dvd’s, and a calendar foldout of what order to use the dvd’s. they range from about 45 mins to 90 mins. they take you through warm up and stretch, the workout, then finish with cooldown and stretch. they worked for me when i did 60 out of 90 days in the summer 2 years ago. but i had no knowledge or handle on my nutrition, so it was a rough road. even though most of the product lays out for you step by step even day by day(with tweaks and options).
I have witnessed with my own eyes my coach (the guy i bought it from) transform his body into a textbook result of before and after and continues to grow his success. some of p90x exercises and some of shawns exercises are interwoven it seems into what zuzanna does on bodyrock.tv. But i gotta say overall i believe shawn is the most cutting edge on the nutrition and the exercises both, as well as the mindset and thinking power technology for tangible results. The Fat Loss Code actually gives exercises to do in average 20 mins compared to p90x’s 50 minutes. and by working harder smarter and faster you spend more time recovering and growing. i know p90x and fat loss code both work, and i believe one is superior to the other. i also know that as a big guy who didn’t have a handle on the nutrition, p90x was above the level i was at.
P90 would have been a better starting point to build me up to that level. im finding moving my lymph by remaining active in low impact ways such as using a rebounder or walking or light lifting-general duties is a good approach for me, then take on workouts like the fat loss code suggests in the a.m. after a warmup to prevent injury. basically, the more i do like shawn suggests, the more results i see. and im learning very well the power of the role of nutrition on anything you do and even don’t do, as well as stirring your lymph through staying active. staying active doesn’t mean laboring, being sore or in pain, or pushing limits, it just means keep moving. sedentary lifestyle as computer potato or tv couch potato barely stirs any lymph at all. and it only takes 5 minutes (sometimes not even that long) to go from feeling blah and cruddy to incredible and alive through deep breathing and bending and stretching and even shaking limbs out. shakeology is EXPENSIVE (to my budget) and so im trying to weigh if its worth it. lately i have been dabbling with acquiring certain foods through places like rawfoodworldsuperstore to get goji berries and maca and msm and things like that. but i do hear mostly only raves about beachbody programs stating you get out what you put in, and the nutrition is highly suggested as well. they have several programs now, but how many does one really need? if its effective you don’t need the next new thing, the program already is designed to repel away plateaus every 30 days just as things settle in and get adjusted they get shaken out of their seat to adapt and grow. the fat loss code workouts are mostly bodyweight like pushups and squats and planks so you don’t need to buy equipment.
hope this helps
Shawn,
Can you please remind me of why Soy is bad for us? I tried finding it in Quantum Key but I couldn’t so now I’m thinking it was on this website in a archive article perhaps?
On a side note I lost 4 lbs this week and love quinoa pasta and, separately, coconut water with little chunks of coconut floating in it. I’ve been avoiding sugar a lot and trying to eat healthier and it seems to be working. I’m even noticing the physical appearance of freckles/moles fading away from my skin. My beauty mineral aspects must be taking some affect, which is pretty fun to observe.
Other than the soy question i have one other question, have you or will you analyze Shakeology from the Beachbody company and give your feedback of it at any time?
Happy new exciting 2011 !
Wow Seth, that’s great to hear. That is THE big key for 90%+ of people on a successful weight loss plan is avoiding sugar at all cost. It’s really, really very simple evolutionary science. Human beings simply did not find this much sugar in nature historically, but we’re now bombarded with a months supply of it in one single day. It’s a perfect recipe of weight gain and difficulty getting it off. I’m so happy to see you’re cracking the code.
In The Key to Quantum Health I don’t really dig into soy, here’s the article that you were referring to: Warning! Vegans and Vegetarians Have A Deadly Monster To Deal WIth
I’ve had the opportunity to take a peek at the Shakeology system a couple of times, and I have to say that I was very surprised at the info they seem to be providing. Real superfoods and a simple system. I have not had a chance to dig into their system at length, so I’m really not sure about the quality of their products (ALWAYS my most important concern) and the integrity of their marketing. I’m sure that it’s something that I’ll look into eventually, but I really lean towards people knowing the ratios of products they are using for their specific body type.
Again, I really like their approach because it’s really in alignment with what I promote which is Liquid Nutrition to get yourself the edge you need. When I research into the system more, you’ll be one of the first to know about it!
More great information and insight! After reading, “…And guess what??? Everyone in these food and drug companies are getting paid for it.”; I started cracking up! I am so glad you published this information on your website Shawn! This point needs to be stressed more and more to EVERYONE that the same people regulating our drugs are regulating our foods, …and what do people in this country typically love more than anything else? MONEY! …and what do the people who regulate our food for the masses want? MONEY! …and since they want money, which they earn from the drugs they sell us when we get sick from the foods they regulate (because “you are what you eat”, we’ve all heard it are whole lives); guess what they don’t care about? OUR HEALTH!!! Or should I say, our state of existing at optimal health, because they certainly care that our health is in the pits!… Why shouldn’t they? They get rich off it. You’re absolutely right Shawn! No conspiracies here. It’s just good plain old deductive reasoning. It’s simple math.
If my memory serves me correctly (and reader, don’t quote me on this exactly, instead see for yourself), I believe I learned from watching the movie “Food Inc.” that one of the men in charge of the FDA and responsible for making sure livestock inspections are up to par and in good “healthy” conditions, is actually the same man whose former job was running one of the few major livestock companies (we’re talking 4 or 5 companies) of the meat industry. Would you think he’d be more lackadaisical or more strict with keeping up of the “set regulations” and inspections of the livestock farms and meat packing plants? I think the grossly packed, ankle-deep-fecal matter living conditions the cows are subjected to answer this question pretty well.
The rich get richer while we get sicker.
FYI: If you haven’t seen “Food Inc.”, I highly recommend you watch it and recommend all your friends and loved ones to watch it. The first class I took in nursing school is titled “Health and Wellness”. I was surprised when I found out my teacher had never seen “Food Inc.”, at which point I recommended she watch it and add it to her curriculum, and I’m proud to say the documentary is now part of the course’s curriculum! 🙂
That’s the power that just one intelligent person can have when they take an action to affect change. By making a simple (yet intelligent) recommendation, you got a very important and timely film added to the class curriculum… I would say that’s pretty awesome!
Now this is where the self-replication of the ideas begin (what are known as “memes”). The ideas put forth in the movie are shared with all of your fellow students, and they go and share the info with others they know, and the process continues indefinitely… That’s pretty powerful for making a recommendation… And that’s the power that we all carry. Thanks for taking action, Greg!