I want to expand on and clarify Mr. Gavin’s letter to the editor of February 22.

Consumers are very misled by information on food safety and their health benefits, but to say “organic is no better than conventional food” is not accurate. In some cases this may be true, but it depends on many factors, including which foods, what the season is, how far the food has traveled, whether the food is a genetically modified organism (GMO) or non-GMO and personal preference, to name a few.

The information available has many opposing opinions and most physicians are not educated on nutrition and preventive measures.  They are trained to treat symptoms, not prevent illness and disease.  I typically am educating my physician on what I have learned from talking to farmers and naturopaths.

The bigger issue with America’s food supply is food safety.  Many believe the explosion in the number of people with food allergies and intolerances is related to GMO foods and processed foods that are becoming drastically different than what they were in their natural state, resulting in something with far less nutritional value. For example, soy exists in a high percentage of processed foods and has been genetically modified to be resistant to being sprayed by the herbicide.

The same is true for most corn derivatives added to processed foods. The FDA has now approved herbicide-resistant fresh corn on the cob which will be sold in Walmart and large supermarkets this fall.

Do not believe that the FDA has consumers’ best interests in mind.  Many FDA officials are former big business food industry executives and are putting profits and production over safety and nutrition.

For more information on this, watch the video “Food, Inc.”

Jay Bluher

Fall City