<h2>My thoughts on GMO</h2> <p align="left"><strong>Genetically Modified Organisms and You</strong></p> <p>More and more products in our food system are being genetically modified. Not only primary crops like corn and soya, but many processed items contain GMO as well. As a consumer, you don't have the right in Canada to know what food products contain GMO and it is very difficult to know what is actually in your food. Most of the world outside North America has implemented labeling requirements for GMO ingredients, but Canada and The United States still continue to resist this requirement.</p> <p>I fully understand and accept that the science is still developing on the health risks associated with eating GMO foods, but I absolutely believe that we should be given the choice as consumers to know what foods have GMO ingredients in them and what foods do not. This week I have put together a little guide for everyone to use if you are trying to avoid GMO food in your kitchen. Here is a chart of common foods and GMO ingredients.</p> <table style="WIDTH: 80%; HEIGHT: 80%" cellspacing="5" cellpadding="5" align="center"> <tbody> <tr> <td valign="top" align="left"><strong>CORN</strong></td> <td valign="top" align="left">Corn flakes • Corn chips • Cornstarch • Corn syrup • Corn oil and other corn ingredients in processed foods • Sweeteners like glucose and fructose • Eggs, milk and meat • Some sweetcorn</td> </tr> <tr> <td><strong>CANOLA</strong></td> <td>Canola oil • Eggs, milk and meat</td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top" align="left"><strong>SOY</strong></td> <td>Soy oil • Soy protein • Soy lecithin • Tofu • Soy beverages • Soy puddings • Eggs, milk and meat</td> </tr> <tr> <td><strong>SUGAR BEET</strong></td> <td>Sugar</td> </tr> <tr> <td><strong>COTTON-SEED OIL</strong></td> <td valign="top" align="left">Cottonseed oil • Vegetable oil in processed foods such as potato chips</td> </tr> <tr> <td><strong>PAPAYA</strong></td> <td>Papaya in fruit juices and other processed foods</td> </tr> <tr> <td><strong>SQUASH</strong></td> <td>Some zucchini • Yellow crookneck and straightneck squash</td> </tr> <tr> <td><strong>MILK PRODUCTS</strong></td> <td>(BOVINE GROWTH HORMONE) Milk solids and powder • Frozen desserts with dairy • Imported mixed drinks with milk ingredients</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <p> </p> <p><strong>Coming Soon!  </strong>These products are currently in development and pose the most significant risk to organic farming since the introduction of Roundup Ready canola.  The fruit orchard in Creston that Miranda and I own is at risk - our apples are organic and are under threat from the Arctic Apple.</p> <p>ROUNDUP READY ALFALFA:  Many of my friends are Alfalfa growers, and they do not need or want GM alfalfa and have been trying to stop it for at least five years. Organic food and farming in the U.S. and Canada is under immediate threat from GM alfalfa. Conventional farmers will also lose their markets.  Organic cows need organic hay to make organic milk.  We can't let this happen.</p> <p>THE ARCTIC APPLE:  Okanagan Specialty Fruits is asking Health Canada and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) to approve a GM "non-browning" apple. The U.S. government could approve the GM apple soon. Contamination from GM apples threatens the future of our apples, and the farmers who grow them.  Bees pollinating GMO apple trees cannot be prevented from visiting our orchard and this will introduce the modified genome into our orchard putting us at extreme risk.  The organic apple could be gone forever.</p> <p>Both of these are bee-pollinated and it will be impossible to stop the contamination of organic crops once the GMO varieties are in use.</p> <h2>What Can You Do?</h2> <p><strong>Know Your Food Labels</strong></p> <p>The Canada Organic Regime (COR) is the set of standards and regulations that growers and processors in Canada must follow to be certified as organic. In addition to prohibiting any Genetically Modified Organism in the production chain, it also prohibits the use of chemical fertilizers, pest controls or the other conventional methods used in 98% of food production today. Canada has negotiated an equivalency agreement with the United States and Mexico that recognizes the National Organic Program (NOP) in the United States as being an equivalent set of standards to the COR. This means that any food imported into Canada from Mexico and the United States must first comply with NOP and then with COR. NOP also prohibits the use of irradiation and fumigation during the processing and transport of organic food. We work hard to maintain our certification as an organic food distributor and have extensive records that can trace every case of produce imported into Canada back to the original grower.  No food sold by us has GMO ingredients.  We stand behind this promise.</p> <p align="center"><img title="No GMO" alt="No GMO" src="/uploadedImages/009_-_This_Week/No_Gmo.png" /></p> <p>As a consumer in Alberta I always encourage everyone to be suspicious of products labeled 'Natural' or 'All-Natural'. Check the ingredients. If you see corn or soya products, in all likelihood they contain GE materials. 88% of corn and 94% of soy produced in the United States is GMO. If you want to be assured that there is no GMO in your food, choose certified organic. Until North America chooses to catch up with the rest of the modern world and label its food, organic is the only guarantee we have that the food is truly 'All-Natural'. </p> <p>This issue is important to my family and we have made the commitment to avoid Genetically Modified foods in our diet.  You can make the same choices too, by being aware of the ingredients in what you eat and looking for organic sources as much as you can.   </p> <p><strong>OUR WAITLIST IS GROWING  </strong></p> <p> Miranada and I feel very strongly about ensuring that everyone gets a quality product from us every time they order.  We call this our 'Fair Deal' - fair for the growers, fair for us and fair for the member.  Since the new year we have been experiencing substantial growth and so we must balance serving our existing members against bringing on new families.  The best way to ensure this is to manage our rate of growth using a waitlist.  Many of you who have been with us since 2011 will remember we had a similar challenge in the spring of that year too.  Currently we have over 100 families on our waitlist.  We have broken the weeks into segments and if you look at our signup page you will see what week we are projecting your first delivery if you signup today.   Our mission is to bring our food to everyone and anyone who wants it and we pledge to bring as many people on as possible.</p> <p>We have also been getting many, many requests from other, smaller communities around Edmonton to introduce service.  These requests are also being treated as a waitlist.  Once a community has reached enough people on the waitlist we will start the process of introducing service.  At a minimum we must make our minimum delivery charge and volumes on each delivery route to cover our expenses and we know you will understand if there is a bit of a wait.</p> <p>At The Organic Box we are always growing, always looking for ways to get better, and always trying to find ways to get more of your shopping basket filled by Alberta and BC food producers.  We can do it!  You are helping!</p> <p>Have a Great Week!</p> <p> Danny.<br />Founder, The Organic Box.</p> <h2>Featured Products</h2> <table cellspacing="15" cellpadding="0" bgcolor="#edf0e9"> <tbody> <tr> <td valign="top" align="center"><img style="WIDTH: 200px; HEIGHT: 200px" title="honeybunny" alt="honeybunny" src="/uploadedImages/009_-_This_Week/honeybunny.jpg" width="200" height="200" /></td> <td><h2> Honey Bunny Products</h2> <p>We have expanded our Honey Bunny products listings to include their entire organic line! We are very excited about this as it allows us to offer these incredible Albertan products at a great price. Now you can enjoy organic Ketchup and BBQ sauce at new lower prices, as well as two other BBQ flavours (Honey Garlic, and Lemon Rosemary). We also have their amazing honey, produced in the Peace River region, in liquid, creamed, and raw form. </p> <p>Buy bulk with the 2.2 kg pail of raw honey. </p> <p>And try the Zambezi honey. A fantastically unique honey that is harvested once a year by the women on Zambia from the wild flowering jungles of their home. It is absolutely amazing to taste, and is part of a Fair Trade program that Honey Bunny has set up with this community in Zambia which is helping to build schools and community infrastructure. </p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top" align="center"><img style="WIDTH: 200px; HEIGHT: 200px" title="Trio Oil 1" alt="Trio Oil 1" src="/uploadedImages/009_-_This_Week/triooil.jpg" width="200" height="200" /></td> <td><h2>Mighty Trio Oils</h2> <p>Sizes are changing at Mighty Trio to better reflect our customers demands. In the next few weeks we will be phasing out the 250ml and 500ml bottles of <strong>Canola, Hemp, and Flax oils </strong>to make way for the larger (and more economical) <strong>750ml bottle</strong>. It's going to be a great step forward for us to reducing our carbon footprint and providing a better option for those who have fallen in love with these amazing, nutritious, and delicious oils that are locally crafted from organic seed. And for those of you who haven't fallen in love yet... we have a <strong>sampler pack </strong>available: 3 x 100ml bottles, 1 of each variety of oil so you can test them all out and find your favourite. </p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top" align="center"><img title="VG Heavy" alt="VG Heavy" src="/uploadedImages/009_-_This_Week/vgheavycream01.jpg" />  </td> <td><h2> Vital Greens Dairy Expansion</h2> <p>It was about time that we expanded our catalogue of Vital Greens Dairy products. They have amazing milk, and yogurt available... but they also have cream cheese, cheese curds, <strong>sour cream</strong>, and the glorious <strong>heavy cream </strong>(52% milk fat)! We are very excited about having these new products available for you to experience. Locally made, and absolutely delicious, you'll be hard pressed to find better dairy products than Vital Greens! <br /><br />**Coming soon (if there is enough demand for it): Aged Gouda cheese, and Creme Fraiche.**</p> </td> </tr> </tbody> </table>
