Reading the Labels: The Skinny on Soy and Corn
As the consummate label reader, there are a few things that appear on most all processed food labels that I refuse to buy – any form of soy and any form of corn.
All corn in the US, unless it’s organic and stated to be non-GMO is indeed GMO. US corn and most US grains are not accepted for import into Europe and Asia. Even Mexico will not buy US corn. Yet Americans don’t seem to question the foods they eat. It baffles me.
Corn products include things like corn oil, corn flour, corn syrups, high-fructose corn syrups, corn starch – the list is long. Unless it says organic and it is stated to be non-GMO, we stay away from it. We feel that eating GMO cornbread is pretty much the same as eating a Roundup Cornbread or Agent Orange cornbread.
Another item that has been over-sold to the food processing industry is soy. Soybeans were originally nothing but a fertilizer. They were grown, plowed under to fertilize the earth for REAL crops. The problem with soy is that it is a serious hormone disruptor unless it is fermented. It was never meant to be food for humans. And now, it’s not just soy, it’s GMO soy! Look for these things on labels: soy lecithin, soy flour, soybean oil, and much, much more.
I find it alarming that soy is consistently touted as healthy. Sadly, as I found this morning, even Whole Foods has an aisle labeled SOY. Check out this article: http://www.foodrenegade.com/dangers-of-soy/ (Yes, it’s touting a book, but still, there are plenty of alarming facts in this piece. )
I’ve been gluten free since 2002. It’s especially upsetting to me to find a food that looks promising, only to find it’s loaded with soy or corn.
Make no mistake about it: Eating a truly healthy diet is not easy when the food industry conspires to sell us foods that are loaded with toxins. AND they are doing all they can possibly do to take away the very thing that saves us – labeling.
As always, I recommend that you all become a constant presence in your legislators’ in-boxes. Let them know that labeling is important and that the consumers have the right to know what their food contains.
