Posts filed under 'GMO foods'
In the USA, you’re never more than 107 miles from McDonald’s
Here’s a really interesting map.
The point is that in the continental United States, you’re never more than 107 miles from a McDonald’s as the crow flies, or 145 miles by car.
We would love to see a similar map.
Except this map would show how far you are from fresh, wholesome food based on natural ingredients. Food that is prepared to maintain flavor and nutrition.
Then we would like to see the same kind of map.
But this one would show how far your pet is from the same kind of wholesome, nutritious and delicious products that maintain natural, vibrant health.
Products that are not made with genetically modified organisms. Pesticide free. No antibiotics or growth hormones.
The maps we would like to see would be a lot more sparse. But there are more and more companies like ours, each one adding a few points of light to the map.
Add comment September 24, 2009
Behind the facade: Monsanto, the giant of Genetically Modified Organisms, and its “green” claims
Here’s an interesting article from the UK Guardian about the business practices of Monsanto.
As many of you probably know, Monsanto is the giant among developers and producers of Genetically Modified seed crops. Corn, soy beans, and other staple crops have been genetically engineered in Monsanto labs.
GMOs, or genenetically modified organisms, are organisms whose genetic material has been altered using genetic engineering techniques. These techniques, generally known as recombinant DNA technology, use DNA molecules from different sources, which are combined into one molecule to create a new set of genes. This DNA is then transferred into an organism, giving it modified or novel genes.
GMOs have been banned in many countries outside the USA. Safety concerns are uppermost. Another issue is that many GMO crops have been modified so that the seeds from this year’s crops cannot be saved and used to plant the fields for next year’s crops. Since the seeds are patented, farmers are forced to buy new seeds every year from companies like Monsanto.
But the point of this article is different. This article points out that Monsanto has made huge efforts to jump on the “green” bandwagon. Their website and PR efforts focus on the ways they are helping to “save the planet.” In this case, their “green” efforts involve developing corn that requires less water. However, as the article points out, Monsanto develops and tests most of its genetically engineered products on the Hawaiian island of Molokai. While doing that, they consume an extraordinary amount of water. So much that local farmers have been forced to institute a law suit, in order to get their fair share of the water resources from the island.
Once again, it’s a case of looking beyond the claims and the hype.
I should mention, of course, that Dog-Wa products do not include any GMOs. From the point of view of health, safety, and sustainability, we do not believe that genetically modified organisms have the evidence to back up the health and safety claims.
Add comment September 5, 2009
