Gargoyle Challenge: 30 Days to Organic

By Kelly Goddard | gargoyle@flagler.edu

It is only your second class of the day and you feel like you can’t go on. A nap is calling your name while the professor lectures you to stay awake. Why is it so hard to stay awake? Why is it so hard to focus? It could be that you stayed up too late studying for midterms, but it could also be what you are eating.

As college students, do we ever think about what we put in our bodies? As a general population, do we ever know what exactly what we are eating? Sure, we downed a few doughnuts in the dining hall this morning, maybe some eggs and bacon too. Even though we know the name of the food, we might not know what’s in it or how it affects our body.

More than 80 percent of food produced in the United States contains GMOs, short for “genetically modified organism.” These are plants or animals that have been genetically engineered with DNA from bacteria, viruses or other plants and animals – substances that don’t exist in nature.

GMOs were engineered to withstand herbicide and to produce an insecticide. There are also hormones and GMOs in animal feed across the nation. Rather than cows feeding on natural food such as grass, they are given a modified form of feed, which we, in turn, consume. Recent studies connect GMOs with major health problems, environmental damage and widespread violation of farmer and consumer rights.

Many people brush off evidence like this, but it’s important to note most developed nations do not consider GMOs safe. There are more than 60 countries worldwide that have restrictions and bans on the production and sale of GMOs. That means over 60 developed countries disapprove of 80 percent of the food we consume daily.

The worst part has yet to come—the food you eat is not labeled if it a GMO or not. If it were to be labeled, you would be looking at an entire grocery store.

Humans are not adapted to consume poisons designed to withstand herbicide or hormones that increase the growth rate at an abnormal pace.

Organic groceries from Whole Foods.

To be clear, this is not an article designed to begin a mass movement—although once you learn enough about the topic, you might regret everything you eat. I initially stumbled over this information at a friend’s house.

Their family recently made the decision to go “all organic”. After only a week of eating organic food, they were describing the energy they had as well as the weight they had dropped.

Once again, I am not concerned with dropping an amount of weight or beginning a movement. I am a college student and I want my energy back.

Between an early morning internship, 19 credit hours and work on the weekends, I feel wiped out. So I have decided before I can make a difference going into my future profession, I need to make a difference in myself.

As of Thursday, March 20, 2014, I am going strictly organic for a month. I will be documenting my results via blog post and video every week to complete my independent study. I understand it will be a challenge, but it is a challenge I am willing to take. In my weekly updates, I will provide recipes, costs, interviews and my results to help everyone get a better understanding of what I am doing.

After all, you are what you eat!