Shocking “Health” Companies to Avoid in 2013

When it comes to what you put in your body I believe you have a right to know. That includes when genetically-modified organisms (GMOs) are found in foods you might be eating. After all, GM foods increase the risk of allergic reactions, antibiotic resistance, pesticide exposure, reproductive damage, cancer, diabetes, Alzheimer’s disease and many potential long-term health issues that we simply don’t know yet. Human ancestors may have lived on the planet for thousands of years but this is the first time in our evolution that we’ve been unsuspectingly part of a long-term experiment with genetically-modified foods.
Even the World Health Organization and the American Medical Association have spoken out about the need to phase out the use of antibiotics in the making of genetically-modified foods. And as for the argument that genetic modification reduces pesticide exposure, a recent study from Washington State University found that the use of herbicides has increased by about 25 percent in the three main GM crops.
The problem isn’t just the genetically modified foods; it is also the lack of transparency surrounding these foods. In North America and many other places in the world, genetically modified organisms are not identified or labelled on foods. Recently California had the opportunity to force GM foods to be labelled under Proposition 37. Thanks to a massive campaign on the part of corporations using GM foods, the bill was shot down. Based on the research of The Cornucopia Institute, here are some of the companies who opposed this important legislation. In other words, they don’t think you have the right to know what is in the food you put in your body:
Naked Juice (owned by Pepsi-Co)
Back to Nature (Kraft)
Honest Tea (Coca-Cola)
Odwalla (Coca-Cola)
Simply Orange Juice (Coca-Cola)
Cascadian Farm (General Mills)
Muir Glen (General Mills)
Larabar (General Mills)
Kashi (Kellogg)
Morningstar Farms (Kellogg)
Gardenburger (Kellogg)
Bear Naked (Kellogg)
R.W. Knudsen (J. M. Smucker Co.)
Santa Cruz Organic (J. M. Smucker Co.)
Unilever (Ben & Jerry’s)
Horizon Organic (Dean Foods)
Silk (Dean Foods)
Similac (Abbott Nutrition)
Welch’s
Goya Foods
…and many more — for the full list of companies that collectively spent millions to crush Prop 37 and stop your right to know what’s in your food, check out The Cornucopia Institute’s website.
Of course, Monsanto, Dow Agrosciences and Bayer Cropscience are on the list too but I don’t think many people would consider these corporations “health companies.” The companies above stood alongside Monsanto to prevent you from knowing the harmful frankenfoods you’re eating while they continue to take your money for their “health products.” We’ve been inundated with green-washing but “health-washing” is becoming just as common.
If you think you have a right to know when Frankenfoods are contained in the foods you’re eating, tell these companies by voting with your dollars. Avoid the “health food” companies on this list if you want to see genetically-modified organisms labelled on foods. Their parent companies (in parentheses) have been spending their money to fight Prop 37. No one should have the right to hide potentially-harmful substances in your food without your knowledge.
Sign the Cornucopia Institute’s petition to get Frankenfoods labelled here.
By Michelle Schoffro Cook
Michelle Schoffro Cook
Michelle Schoffro Cook, MSc, RNCP, ROHP, DNM, PhD is an international best-selling and 14-time book author and doctor of traditional natural medicine, whose works include: 60 Seconds to Slim, Healing Recipes, The Vitality Diet, Allergy-Proof, Arthritis-Proof, Total Body Detox, The Life Force Diet, The Ultimate pH Solution, The 4-Week Ultimate Body Detox Plan, and The Phytozyme Cure. Check out her natural health resources and subscribe to her free e-magazine World’s Healthiest News at WorldsHealthiestDiet.com to receive monthly health news, tips, recipes and more. Follow her on Twitter @mschoffrocook and Facebook.