3 Easy Ways To Distinguish GMO Foods From Regular Foods

GMO foods generally look perfect and are all similar. Organic ones, meanwhile, can come in different sizes and shapes

If you don’t know how to distinguish GMO foods from regular foods, but you do know you want to, pay attention.

With these points we offer you a guide to recognize them in a much easier way than you thought.

You will be able to quickly get rid of doubts, in addition to clarifying some questions about what these products consist of.

What are transgenic foods?

Transgenic

GMO foods are those that are produced from an organism modified through genetic engineering.

In this way they are a series of foods to which genes from another organism have been incorporated in order to obtain the desired characteristics.

Although so far it has not been proven that this type of food represents a real danger to our health, the truth is that the possible consequences of its intake are still being studied.

In addition, you have to be very careful with these transgenic products, because they can cause allergic reactions.

In this way, if you have an allergy to a certain food and you ate a product that contained genes for that food, you could end up having a reaction.

For this reason it is so important to always look at the labels.

However, not all the foods that are included in this group are genetically modified, although they have been altered with chemicals at some point in mass production.

  • In this group we could find the hormones and antibiotics that are supplied to dairy cows, for example.
  • Thus we would discover that the product obtained is an altered milk that cannot be considered natural.

What are organic foods?

Bowl of fresh organic cucumber with green vegetables and herbs.

With regard to foods of organic origin, say that they are those that did not have any type of pesticide, herbicide or fertilizer intervention during their production.

This type of food is free of additives and synthetic substances.

For example, in organic foods, the processes of raising animals that will later be destined for human consumption are made with natural foods. In addition, at no time is the natural rate of maturation of these animals accelerated.

Organic foods do not need to be fortified, since the organic diet includes all the nutrients that a person needs to live.

In addition , toxic pesticides are not required to combat pests, because there is no risk of mutations in the food itself due to exposure to genetically altered plants.

Look at the labeling of the products

Natural products have a number of brands that represent them.

Look on the labels that say they are products “100% organic”, “Organic” or ” Made with organic ingredients ” (“made with organic ingredients”).

In this way you can know that the food itself does not have genetically modified components.

Also see if there are phrases on the labeling such as “No GMO” (without genetically modified organisms), “Non-GMO” and ” Made without genetically modified ingredients ” (“made without genetically modified ingredients”).

Although these foods may contain genetically modified organisms, in no case would it be present in more than 0.9%.

In the United States, for example, fruits and vegetables are marked with a 5-digit PLU code on the label (the internal code that the management application assigns to the items).

  • If the food is transgenic, this five-digit code will start with 8.
  • In case of being organic, the five-digit code will start with 9.
  • If the code is four figures, it means that the product has been grown conventionally, with pesticides and chemical fertilizers.

Observe the food itself

Observe the food itself

Genetically modified foods have a perfect appearance: an impeccable shape, an identical size to each other and they are preserved for much longer, since the new genes allow them to be resistant to external factors.

  • To know if a product is natural or not, you will have to see if the vegetables or fruits are damaged by insects.
  • In the event that the answer is yes, it is most likely that you are dealing with a natural product.

The most harmful foods

If you want to avoid this type of food, you must take into account that 78% of soybeans, 33% of corn, and 64% of cotton and 24% of rapeseed in the world are transgenic.

In addition, you should also keep in mind that these types of products are added to foods such as:

  • Sausages
  • Dairy products
  • Precooked and flour mixes
  • Dry breakfast products
  • Quick oatmeal
  • Bread and other baked goods
  • Sweet drinks
  • Peanut butter and cottonseed oil
  • Mayonnaise
  • Chocolate syrup

In closing, I hope this article has been informative and interesting for you. In this way, we recommend reflecting on our habits and the foods we eat. It is worth being aware of what we eat. 

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