Blog
The Unhealthy Truth
Janelle Sorensen
Monday, February 08, 2010
I remember a day when my daughter was around two years old, that we were at the grocery store and she began begging me to buy some apples. A woman behind me quickly commented that she’d only seen that kind of begging in the candy or junk food aisle – never in the produce section. She added that she hoped when she had kids, they would beg for apples, too.
While I may have nearly subsisted on cheese curls for most of my pregnancy, our diet took a tidal shift after I read “GE Foods: A Self-Defense Guide for Consumers” by Ronnie Cummins and Ben Lilliston. I don’t even remember how exactly I ended up with that book, but it completely changed the flight plan of my existence. I was horrified. Who would have guessed that consumers should need a self-defense guide for buying food?
At that moment, my life took a sharp turn towards improving my family’s health and advocating for better protection of all children’s health. During that same decade, our national diet has taken a nosedive. And, our children are reflections of this decline.
Allergies are currently afflicting our children in epidemic proportions. Connections back to our genetically modified diets are exposed and examined in Robyn O’Brien’s enlightening book, “The Unhealthy Truth.” And, despite the complexity and overwhelming nature of the issue, Robyn makes it understandable. Even more so, she writes as a mom – sharing her journey from blue yogurt to rBGH-free yogurt. A journey that began with her own daughter’s allergies that’s led her to become a crusader for a healthier food system, “food’s Erin Brockovich.”
I’ve learned a lot in the decade since I read “GE Foods,” but I wasn’t at all prepared for the new discoveries Robyn unearths after years of her own persistent detective work. Beyond simply examining the research linking genetically modified foods to health impacts, she digs deeper to find the real roots of the problem.
What she discovers is a web of scandal that reads like a Hollywood drama – corporate malfeasance, closed-door deals with doctors and elected officials, science swayed by profit instead of public health. It’s a rabbit hole I think few moms would venture down, yet Robyn courageously dives in.
Two of the more compelling facts I highlighted in the book are below (seriously, I highlighted about half of the book – it was so good – choosing these two was an exercise in restraint):
* Europe, Australia, Japan, and Russia all have stricter laws in place to maintain the safety of their food – and American manufacturers make their products following those laws for those countries. They still use the original formulations for American consumers.
* “Even as we struggle to pay the grocery, doctor, and drugstore bills, we see our government allocating $600 billion of our tax dollars to the Pentagon’s war efforts for the fiscal year of 2009 while granting only $2.4 billion to the FDA ‘to protect the health of the American public.’ That translates into the FDA receiving only two days’ worth of military spending to protect consumers, regulate the food industry…and investigate the safety of all food and drugs.”
Robyn puts herself in the cross-hairs of some of the world’s largest corporations. She stands firm to her beliefs even when it alienates friends and loved ones. All in order to help protect our children – mine and yours.
And, in case you’re not ready to enlist in the grand battle to reclaim the fundamental health and safety of our food, she also offers practical solutions that every parent can do to protect their children. And, practical is the key word here. She doesn’t argue that everyone should switch to an all-organic diet. She recommends “mama steps” – essentially just doing what you can. Personally, she adopted an “80-20” rule whereby she strives for the healthiest food 80% of the time. She lowers the bar for the rest of us saying if we can only do a “1-99” rule (healthy food 1% of the time) – at least it’s a start. Just do one thing.
This is how Robyn puts it:
“You know that quote ‘All that’s needed for evil to triumph is for good people to do nothing’? Well, if I’ve learned nothing else these past two years, I guess I’ve learned that. But since I’m a ‘make lemonade’ kind of person, let’s turn it around: All that is needed for good to triumph is for good people to do one thing.”
Her audacity is commendable. Her optimism is contagious. She’s a superstar of moms. Thank you, Robyn for all you’ve done and all you continue to do.
