Just Say No... To GMO!

A good number people have probably heard of Monsanto. I'm sure a lot haven't. At any rate, I think it is very important that people understand just what this company does, and what they really stand for.

To start off, Monsanto is a huge, American corporation that produces herbicides and pesticides.... But that's not all they do! They also genetically modify crops for the food we eat.

Because these foods are "created" by Monsanto, they "own" them and all the offspring, etc. Farmers that buy Monsanto seeds are not permitted to save seeds for the next year - rather, they have to buy new seeds from Monsanto the following year. Clever concept, right? Annoying - but clever.

Just wait. This is about to get a little more clever....and a lot more annoying.

Even if a farmer doesn't buy Monsanto's product, should GMO crops cross pollinate with non-GMO crops, the gene can be found in this farmers crop the next year. So if said farmer reuses the seeds from his non-GMO crop, Monsanto could test for their genes and find them. This means a lawsuit for the farmer - which the rich and powerful Monsanto almost never loses.

So farmers not caving to Monsanto and using their product, are now in danger of a lawsuit that would leave them bankrupt. In this way, Monsanto is moving towards monopolizing the food industry in America.

If that's not scary enough for you, don't let out your sigh of relief yet.

Recently, Monsanto released their first direct-to-costumer product: GMO corn. This corn contains a Bt toxin - a protein that ruptures the stomach of any insects that attempt to feed on it.

This toxin has been found to cause organ failure in small mammals.

Umm. I know it's a stretch to say that the corn could be dangerous to people - but I'd prefer my corn the way millions of years of evolution designed it...not exploding my insides.

Well, there's a special PLU code for GMO products. I could just make sure to stay away from codes with five numbers, starting with an eight.

OH WAIT! Companies aren't required to use the special PLU, so I really have no way of knowing whether I'm eating genetically modified "food" or not.

That makes me a little scared, super frustrated, and even angry. Does it make you angry? Because it should.

But what can We do about it?
Well, There's actually a few things you can do to help make a difference. Send letters to your legislature or house of representatives protesting Monsanto. Elsewhere in the world, GMO products are already illegal or at least regulated by the government. We deserve the same protections.

Also, you should know about the companies that are known to use GMO products.


"Control the food supply, control the people." Dont let that happen. Fight back. Just say no...to Monsanto.

What Are You Buying?

Really says it all... Wordlessly. <3

Cost On Fruitarian/LFRV Diet

So, recently, I fell in love with a lady by the name of FreeLee, who runs a website called 30 Bananas A Day, and has multiple YouTube videos where she talks about her diet. This one is definitely my favorite.. I love her no bullshit, not afraid of being politically incorrect style. Aha! Anyhow, she is not actually fruitarian - she eats greens, I don't know about veggies - but she definitely follows a high-fruit diet. A very high-fruit diet.

She promotes a high calorie, high carb, low fat raw vegan diet. 80-10-10.

Her videos convinced me to start cutting avocados and any other fats out of my diet - and oh my goodness, I feel amazing. Can't even put it into words.

However, since I've cut fats out, I find I feel hungry a lot more often - probably because juicy fruits digest so much more quickly than fats. Since I wholeheartedly believe in eating whenever you are hungry, that means eating a greater quantity of food. Like, even more than the large quantity I was eating before.

Well, Pops and I were talking, and they spend $70 - $100 per week on food for me! God, they are so amazing. They don't even wholeheartedly believe in the diet, but they trust me and support me enough that they are willing spend about half of our entire food budget on moi, just so that I'm happy and healthy?

I feel really lucky that Daddy would do that for me - but I also feel so bad. That's a ridiculous amount of money to expect them to spend on just me. So, Papa suggested that we try out giving me a budget of $40 dollars per week for food. It's not a lot - especially when you think about produce prices at the supermarket.... But it's a quarter of what the Dad normally spends on the entire family for groceries in a week.

So, in the following weeks I am going to try living on $40 worth of fruit... And especially finding ways to stretch that $40 into the largest amount of food I can - lots of bananas, I'm thinking...at least until the garden starts producing! Haha.