How to Eat a Non-GMO Diet with Jeffrey Smith

Hey guys, Dr. Josh Axe here along with our special guest, Jeffrey Smith from the Institute of Responsible Technology. Today, we're going to be talking about the non-GMO diet and Dr. Jeffrey is the pioneer when it comes to helping people live GMO-free. So we're going to be talking about that here in a minute. Also, hey, we'd love to hear from you right now. Help us spread this message to stop GMOs. Take a minute right now. Punch your share button, click your like button. We are on a mission to help end GMOs for good. And if you agree with us that GMOs are destructive, hey, take a minute right now and help us spread this message. So Jeff, really glad you're here. We're going to talk about GMOs and you really are the pioneer, one of the big pioneers of this movement in stopping GMOs. Before we jump in and talk about this, Why are GMOs so damaging to the environment and our bodies?

Well, for the bodies, I've been focusing on that for 21 years. You have the process of genetic engineering itself, which causes massive damage in the DNA of plants. You can increase allergens and toxins and new diseases and nutritional problems. There was a study that just came out that showed that Monsanto's Roundup Ready corn, the corn itself, has higher levels of Putrescine and cadaverine, which are the proteins that make decaying dead bodies smell.

Wow.

And it's in larger quantities in the genetically engineered corn, and it's linked to allergies and cancer. So this is the side effect of the process of genetic engineering, which involves inserting artificially foreign genes into things like corn and soy. So that's the process itself. Then you have The corn and the cotton plants that produce their own toxic insecticide, poking holes in the cell walls of the guts of the insects to kill them. It turns out a 2012 study in a journal showed that it pokes holes in human cells as well.

Wow.

Then you have the Roundup Ready crops that are sprayed with Roundup, which are drenched in there. It gets into it. You can't wash it off. Roundup was marketed by Monsanto as a safe herbicide. It turns out it's a Class 2A carcinogen. It's an endocrine disruptor. It's an antibiotic. It's got all sorts of issues, a mitochondrial toxin, and you don't want to put that in your body, and it's being drenched in the GMOs that we're eating.

So as Jeffrey is talking about, GMO foods, they're toxic to your body. It's plain and simple. And Jeff, I love this quote. I'm going to take it from you for a second. But Jeffrey is the first person I ever heard say this. He coined this term, GMO stands for God Move Over. I mean, it is changing our environment, it's changing our bodies. And Jeff, I wrote a book called Eat Dirt where I talk about GMOs contributing to Leaky gut.

Oh, yeah.

Intestinal permeability, autoimmune disease today, and a number of diseases. So let's jump in though and talk about this non-GMO diet. If somebody is going to go GMO-free, some of the biggest foods they want to stay away from are corn, canola, and soy. Now, of these 3 products, what percentage— if somebody goes to the store, what percentage of these products today in the United States are currently genetically modified?

Well, in the cornfield, there's 93%, 94% of all the corn planted.

Wow.

A smaller percentage of corn on the cob, but nonetheless, there is corn on the cob. 95% of canola, 93% of soy. If it is a product that comes from lots of soy or lots of canola, like soybean oil or corn oil or high fructose corn syrup or soy lecithin, if it doesn't say non-GMO or organic, you can assume that it is genetically engineered.

Wow, that's huge. So anytime you're out there buying or shopping, you know, at any— even health food stores sometimes, I mean, it's crazy to me sometimes, it's a lot better now, but especially even 5 years ago, you would buy a product with corn in some health food stores and it would— you need to look for that non-GMO label or certified organic label that's on something. But again, if when you're reading on even products that call themselves natural, if you're shopping at your store and you're buying these granola-type bars, people need to look and see if there's corn, if you have canola, if you have a soybean oil, any of those products in there, 99.9% of the time it's genetically modified if it doesn't say non-GMO, certified organic on the label. So these are some big ones to stay away from. Let's talk about this, buy foods labeled GMO-free. Now, when did this start, Jeff? Because I know you're a big part of really pioneering this, of actually people putting that on the label. And I don't want to get too off track, but I'd also like for you to mention, you know, there's a— today people don't have to put that it's GMO on the label. Why is that?

Yeah, 64 other countries require labeling if a product is genetically engineered.

How many?

64.

64 other countries and the US isn't one?

Not one of them, no. It's because the US government is promoting GMOs. In fact, the White House under the first Bush administration told the FDA promote GMOs. So they created a new position for Michael Taylor, Monsanto's former attorney— Monsanto's the big GMO company— to be in charge of policy at the FDA. And when Michael Taylor was in charge of the GMO policy, he said, we don't see a difference between GMOs and non-GMOs worth worrying about. No safety testing is needed. No mandatory review by the FDA needed. No labeling needed. Monsanto, who told us that Agent Orange and PCBs and DDT were safe and got that wrong, They can determine if their GMOs are safe, put it on the market without even telling the FDA or consumers.

Wow.

And so that pro-GMO attitude is why we have GMOs on our plate. And it turns out 7 years after that policy came out, a lawsuit forced the FDA to turn over its internal memos on GMOs and the whole thing was based on a lie. Not only were they aware that GMOs and non-GMOs were different, it was the overwhelming consensus among their own scientists. that they were different and dangerous and that studies were needed. And so the entire policy was not based on science but on industry manipulation and political collusion, unfortunately. And that's why it's on our plates.

You know, Jeff, it is crazy to think the government and some of these other people, they're making money from this. I mean, that's what it all stems from. When you look at the food industry or the agriculture industry and the pharmaceutical industry, I mean, these groups are Making money, profiting, unfortunately, off of making other people sick, cutting corners in nature, and it really is upsetting. I know this is why you're one of the most passionate people I know and out there on a mission. We would ask you, hey, be on the mission with us. If you are like myself and Jeff and you believe that GMOs should be banned or at least labeled on the food so we know what we're eating, take a minute right now, help us share this video. Punch that share button, click that like button as well. So buy foods labeled GMO-free is important. Next one here, shop for organic foods. You know, Jeff, how much has organic grown and why do you think it's growing so much today?

One of the reasons why organic is growing so much is that people are trying to avoid GMOs and they know that organic foods don't allow GMOs. Now, I want to contrast a non-GMO label with an organic label. Organic is more important. It's the number one choice because you can be non-GMO and still be sprayed with things like Roundup and other toxic insecticides. Really? Wow. So you can have a non-GMO loaf of bread made of wheat, and 3 to 5 days before the wheat was harvested, the farmer may spray it with Roundup in order to dry it down, to desiccate. It's a desiccant to dry down, and then it ends up in the wheat, which is not a safe thing for us to eat. So the number one choice is organic. The number 2 choice is non-GMO.

Got it.

Now sometimes you'll see organic and the Non-GMO Project Verified label on the same product. That's actually the gold standard.

Mm-hmm.

And here's why. Organic does not allow GMOs, but it doesn't test to see if contamination has occurred.

Mm-hmm.

So if you grow it according to organic standards, you can sell it. It's supposed to be non-GMO and people will buy it. If you get Non-GMO Project Verified, it has to be tested to see if any contamination has occurred. So if you have organic and Non-GMO Project Verified, Not only does it have all the goodness of organic, but it also has been tested to see if there's any GMO content in any at-risk foods. And so that would be the basic, the gold standard. Then organic, then non-GMO, then you're on your own.

Well, I love it, Jeff. So these are great points. So as Jeff talked about, gold standard, organic, non-GMO verified, looking for both of those labels on the food you buy. We'd love to hear from you right now. If you are on whether it's Facebook or YouTube right now, let us know if you shop organic and if you personally shop non-GMO and maybe how long you've been doing it, how have you learned about this. We would love to hear from you right now. Now, one of the questions I often get is people say to me, Dr. Axe, I love what you teach, but one of my concerns is the cost associated with Buying foods that are labeled organic. And I think this next thing really addresses this, shop at your local farmers market. Talk to us about your farmers market because here's the thing, another question I'll get, and I've done this myself, but people will ask, well, how do you know what your local— that your local farmers market people are doing it organic? And my answer is typically, well, ask them. But what are your thoughts?

I think it's the same answer. People say buy local, but you don't want to buy local poison. It's better to buy foreign organic than local poison. So the farmers markets where I go, they say right on the label, on the thing, conventional or organic, but that's because I live in California and everyone's sensitive to it.

Oh yeah.

But when I lived in Iowa for 30 years, I had to ask. I had to go up to people and say, is it organic? Now sometimes they'll say, we honor the organic principles, but we're not certified organic. And then I'll just follow up by question, so what do you spray with? You know, and if they say we don't spray with anything or they spray with something that's a natural organic acceptable spray, I want to find out.

Hmm.

Because I don't want poisons on my food even if it's grown locally, okay? And shopping at farmers markets is a way to save money. Now another way to save money is to cook from ingredients rather than to buy processed foods.

Hmm.

If you switch to organic processed foods, You're certainly going to be spending more money than conventional processed foods in general. But if you switch to organic raw ingredients and cook from there, there are ways to save a lot of money if you— by doing it intelligently. There's also online buying clubs and people can form co-ops, people can grow their own, etc.

Yeah, I've seen a lot of patients that I've had over the years, Jeff, who've saved a lot by doing 3 things. One, going to the local farmers market and eating real food, which is big. Another one, going to Costco, you know, and some of these bigger chains now are carrying bulk organic products.

Oh yeah, I went to Costco the other day like for the first time in my area and I was like, my goodness, they're really promoting organic. And I filled up my shopping cart and saved a lot of money but spent a lot of money.

It's fantastic. And the other thing you're saying, doing co-ops, I mean, especially when it comes to our meat products is a great thing. You know, buying half a cow or a fourth of a cow and getting a free— you know, putting it in the freezer. Venison, wild venison, some good things there with the minerals.

Make sure that cow is raised on 100% non-GMO feed. So if it's like wild— so you can buy wild-caught fish, wild-caught game, 100% grass-fed. And if you get 100% grass-fed, if it just says grass-fed, it might be grain-finished. The grains might be soy or corn. If it's 100% grass-fed, if you get a chance to ask people, Is it alfalfa that's genetically engineered in that grass? Because alfalfa is a grass, it's potentially genetically engineered, and we don't want that in our grass-fed beef. There's also eggs and dairy from animals that have been fed non-GMO. And I've heard stories— now, we've talked about the health dangers of GMOs. I've heard stories of families that react to GM-fed animal feed—

Yes.

Versus non-GMO-fed animal feed. And stories that even their own chickens, they were accidentally fed GMO and the person reacted to the eggs, not even knowing that there was a change in the feed. So it wasn't placebo. It was clear like, oh my God, she was rushed to the hospital because of anaphylactic shock. What's different? She's eating the same eggs from her same chickens. Call the feed dealer. Oh, we used GMO feed. That doesn't mean everyone's going to have a reaction to GMO feed. It means that some people are very sensitive. So if you're one of those very sensitive people who've been battling diseases and disorders and fatigue and all these things for years, try this. Switch to organic and take notes. Do yourself a favor, get a journal, write down what you're eating, write down your mood, your symptoms, rate your symptoms, write down your energy level, and do it each day and stick with 100% organic. And if you see a change, you may have caught a culprit that's causing these problems.

Yeah, great advice, Jeff. And we would love to hear from you. If you're a person right now, you're on Facebook, you're on YouTube here live. And you are— and you found a way to eat organic and do it in a cost-effective manner, I know there's a lot of people who would love to learn from you. So post right now ways that you've saved your family money yet eating organic natural foods, some of your best tips. We'd love to hear from you now. Number 5 here, plant an organic garden. So now this isn't for everybody. You might be a busy person, you might live in a city and not have necessarily the land to do this. Jeff, I know one of the things that I've done with Chelsea before is grown tomato plants and cucumbers. There are certain plants, basil and some others, that we're able to do even in our own house in a windowsill.

Absolutely. There's a lot of— I mean, there are so many innovative things and we have the Google search, and so it's easy to find. People will grow in their windowsill, they'll grow sprouts. People will also process foods into kraut, into other things like that. So processing, growing your own, it's part of a lifestyle that adds a little extra ownership of what we're eating. It's exciting, especially if you have kids.

I love it. Great stuff. So the last one here is stay informed. You know, one of the things again that I love about Jeffrey when we met years ago was just seeing his heart and passion to literally change history and change the world. You know, we are up against a giant. If you go online and do a Google search for Monsanto, One of the words that comes after it is Monsanto evil. It is known and has been voted at times the most evil corporation in the world. And so these companies, these are giants, but you know what? We need to speak with our dollars. We need to stay informed. And so we'd encourage you, read some of the things that Jeff has put out. He's written some great books I'll share with you. You can go on my website, draxe.com, or just Google search Dr. Axe GMO or non-GMO. We've put out a lot of articles on this. We want you to be completely informed on how to go non-GMO with your food. And so we broke down some of the things here. Remember these things. Avoid corn, canola, and soy. Buy foods labeled GMO-free, also organic. Remember that combination Jeff talked about is the gold standard. Shop your local farmers market. Plant an organic garden. Stay informed. And so, Jeff, I want to talk to you about some of these products here you have now. You have an amazing— this video is awesome, Genetic Roulette, I absolutely love. Talk about these different things that you've put out there in terms of some of your great content.

Sure, sure. I started out with Seeds of Deception. It's the world's best-selling book on GMOs since 2003. It's because it takes the complicated area and turns it into stories, the scientist who got gagged and his gag order got lifted and he changed the world. how the FDA was corrupted, etc., etc. So this is the storybook for the right-brainer. This is a book called Genetic Roulette. There's also a movie with the same title.

Right.

This is the left-brain book. And when I created this in 2006, I'm not a physician, I'm not a doctor, but I started presenting this evidence. This is a compilation of all the health risks to physicians' organizations, and I've done dozens of them so far, and there's now thousands of physicians prescribing non-GMO diets. And what do we hear from them? Their patients get better and they list all these different diseases and disorders that get better when they prescribe non-GMO diet.

In fact, Jeff, I want to mention this too. I know a lot of chiropractors. My brother-in-law is a chiropractor, my brother is a chiropractor, my cousin. So I've got a lot of holistic doctors and chiropractors in my family. What they do, they actually have this DVD playing in their office all the time. So if you're a doctor watching, whether a holistic medical doctor, naturopath, nutritionist, chiropractor, whatever it is, this is a great DVD to get, put it in your office, and play it for your patients.

I know some doctors that give IVs and they have— the person has to stay there for an hour, then they show— play the film. Talk about a captive audience. And then we have someone else's books, we have other books and other materials on our site at responsibletechnology.org. We have a newsletter, we have a speaker training program, we have a way to get involved with local activists called the Tipping Point Network to help generate enough people to create A tipping point which is actually already underway to usher GMOs out of the marketplace because the food companies don't want to use them if people aren't going to buy them. So we have a whole movement that we're creating through this messaging, through this education about this truth about GMOs and why people can protect themselves and their families by avoiding eating GMOs.

Yeah, I want to encourage you, vote with your dollars. You know, if we are going to ban GMOs, we're going to have to stand up against this giant and say, We're not buying your products and we are gathering and putting an army together. Jeff is here to stop GMOs for good. So I really want to encourage you, take a minute right now, go to Jeff's website, it's responsibletechnology.org, responsibletechnology.org. And by simply buying one of his products, you are supporting the cause as well. So again, remember this, if you go and you're a doctor and you buy this DVD, Jeff takes some of these proceeds and he's taking these proceeds and putting them towards banning GMOs for good.

Absolutely. We also are a 501 and our whole work around the world in over 40 countries is supported by donations, so we welcome that as well.

Awesome. Well, Jeff, thanks so much for being here today. Again, I love your heart, love your mission, love your movement, and we appreciate you being here with us, standing with us, helping us get rid of GMOs. Remember, help us spread this message right now. Take a minute and punch that share button right now. Click the like button. We are locking arms together, moving forward together, banishing GMOs. Hey guys, again, thanks for sharing this. And Jeff, thanks for being here with me today.

Sure.

All right.

Thanks, guys. Thank you.