Thank you Madison!
I just wrote a letter to Woolworths! Please read 🙂 Concerns about Woolworths GMO filled food and toxic products: I have been a loyal Woolworth’s customer my whole life, and always felt content that the food I was buying was good for my body and mind. As a young South African woman I have become increasingly involved in the healthy food movement that is sweeping the world. By ‘healthy’ I mean, organic, natural, GMO free food and eco friendly, non-toxic products. I am not alone; people everywhere are turning to organic, wholesome foods, due to the increasing scientific evidence and awareness that healthy natural food can heal you, and unhealthy, toxic food leads to an endless list of illnesses. By ‘toxic food’ I am referring to food laden with pesticides, herbicides, GMO’s, and chemical additives and preservatives. My largest concern and disappointment with Woolworths is the ever-increasing range of products that contain GMOs. In 1999 Woolworths said that their standpoint was to remove all GMO foods from their shelves. This is far from what is happening. I understand this is a long, challenging process, and could take some time, but instead of seeing any progress in the past 15 years (which I must say, is a long time to implement some changes), there are actually more GMO products on the shelves. Last year there were 130 GMO products. This year in 2014 there are 232. It is a serious concern that the situation is not being improved, but it is actually getting worse. Just to clarify, a product that is GMO means “genetically modified organisms,” these are plants or animals that have been genetically engineered with DNA from bacteria or viruses or other plants and animals. These are experimental combinations of genes from different species that can never occur in nature or in normal crossbreeding. The reason these plants are being engineered is so that they become resistant to pesticides and herbicides (so that more of these chemicals can be sprayed on them, which we ingest) or so that the plant is changed to have a built in insecticide. Insecticide is poison that kills small animals like insects, by rupturing their stomachs. We are animals as well, and poisons of any degree can affect our functioning, and health, especially when fed to us on a consistent basis through food. A study was done in the UK recently where rats were fed a diet of GMO corn. They became sterile, and developed huge tumors and sever liver and kidney damage, and some died. It is evident what these toxic products are doing to any living thing, they are unnatural to ingest and it is unethical, and morally wrong to sell these products to people. I am also confused about the term *May contain GMO. Either this term is used to make the product sound less dangerous and more appealing, or Woolworths has no way of knowing where their food comes from, which is just as alarming. Also, for example, a lot of products containing Soya, state that they *May be GMO, but then some products containing Soya don’t say this. How do you know if some of your Soya is GMO? And some isn’t? Woolworths has created a gluten free range, which is fantastic. But it is also fantastically disappointing. I am gluten intolerant, and many other people are, or they are aware of their health and choose to avoid gluten. When someone looks for a healthy alternative, like Woolworths gluten free bread, all the hard work put into creating the gluten free ‘healthier’ product has gone to waste when one turns the label over to see *May be Genetically Modified. The majority of all people who live a gluten free lifestyle, will be aware of the dangers of GMOs and totally avoid them. Thousands of people in South Africa marched against GMO products a few weeks ago. Everyone at the march repeatedly brought up their frustrations with our food system and particularly their disappointment with Woolworths and its GMO range. There are even GMOs in some of the children’s food range at Woolworths. Can you imagine what these toxins are doing to growing and developing young children? There are shocking aspects in the range of Earth Friendly products. People can be very trusting, and don’t read the labels on the items they buy. They buy a product that says earth friendly, and they simply assume it is, without question because they trust the Woolworths brand. However, I did some research and it is alarming how toxic some products in this range actually turned out to be. An example is the Earth Friendly Body Wash, which contains: • Sodium Laureth Sulphate: has been linked to cancer, neurotoxicity, organ toxicity, skin irritation, eye irritation and endocrine disruption. It also hazardous to aquatic life(definitely not eco friendly) • Polyquaternium 7: is listed as an environmental toxin and causes bioaccumulation (definitely not eco friendly) • Benzophenone 4: this causes an increase in free radicals in the body and the attack of DNA cells. It also may be linked to skin melanomas. • Methylisothiazolinone: (does that sound natural?) is a chemical, which is linked to nerve damage, particularly in the brain, even with very low exposure. It increases the risks of seizures and visual abnormalities. • Iodopropynl Butylcarbamate: this is an agent originally used in paint and wood industry products. It is a suspected gastrointestinal and liver toxin, and is thought to present risks to human reproduction and development, having been linked to the potential for reduced fertility and increased risk of pregnancy problems. It’s a suspected teratogen, which means that it may increase the risk of birth defects. It is also suspected to be an environmental toxin. It is terrifying that these toxic, dangerous chemicals, which are not only harmful to humans but the environment too, are found in an ‘Earth Friendly’ product which the consumer trusts to be …read more
