Whole New Mom Answers Your Questions — GMO Corn, Popcorn Oil, & Where to Get Reliable Health Information

June 1, 2012 By 13 Comments

Question Mark

I’m back with another installment of Whole New Mom Answers Your Questions.

I so love hearing all of your thoughts and questions.  I feel honestly inadequate to answer them sometimes, but I will for sure do my best.

And I hope that all of you super sharp readers will chime in with more information or questions as you like!

So—on with our first question !

GMO Corn & How to Cook Popcorn

Question from Laura:

Hey, so I have been reading through your site and looking into organic and non-GMO options for my little family, but now I am scared of corn! Also canola, soy.

I just signed up for a CSA, and found out our local farmer is growing bt corn. UGH! Luckily I can opt out of the corn. Just wondering if I will ever be able to enjoy a nice, fresh cob of corn again…

I read an article that states that popcorn, at least, is non-GMO for now (http://grist.org/article/checkout-line-iffy-pop/), but I was wondering if you had done any research on the subject?

I also had another question for you – do you cook your popcorn in the raw coconut oil, or the refined non-coconut-smelling coconut oil? I know raw is so much better for you, but I wonder if my husband would go for the coconut smell on popcorn… :)

 Thanks for all you do! I am hoping to try making your bean fudge this week to get my picky toddler to eat something healthy for once.
Adrienne’s Answer:
I am quite concerned about corn as well.  In fact, it’s estimated that, as of 2011, 73% of the corn available in the U.S. is GMO.  Yikes.
Here’s a chart showing the growth of GMO crops in recent years.
GMO corn GMO soy
I used to just eat (and let my kids eat) any corn chips and snacks at potlucks, etc., but we have really pulled back since I read about GMO corn releasing pesticides into our intestines.  Ick.

I just can’t believe what is happening to our food supply.

Well, I guess we shouldn’t be surprised.  You probably read my post on Is There Engine Fuel on Your Almonds?
There is organic, or at least, non GMO corn, available, but you have to be particular and look for it, or grow it yourself.  We were blessed to have it from our CSA this past year, but I think we are going the garden route w/ supplementation this year.
Soy and canola are horrible too. They are pretty much out of our diets w/ the occasional Bragg’s Liquid Aminos and organic tofu that make it in occasionally.
Here’s the Bragg’s alternative to soy sauce that we use.

I am really thrilled w/ this company.  They are super careful about their products and their packaging.
Their product is certified non GMO so I feel fine serving it to my family.
Regarding the popcorn, issue, the article that you cited states that almost all corn is contaminated by GMO genes.  I am super careful to only purchase organic popcorn kernels.  And if you haven’t seen my posts on popcorn then you really are missing something, if I do say so myself :-) .  There are several toppings you should check out, but these two are particularly good:
We are literally asked for the recipe every time we take it with us…and we do that all the time.  We’re kind of known as the popcorn family :-) .

and if you like sweet popcorn (who doesn’t?), try Nut Buttery Popcorn.

UPDATE:  I just found out that Tropical Traditions carries a new line of organic corn products.  Their non GMO corn is special in that it is grown in an area far away from other GMO corn so that the wind will not carry GMO corn pollen to their corn which would then contaminate the non GMO variety.

You can see more here:

Whole Grain Corn – 5 lb. bag
 

 

 

 

 

 

For your final question, about what do we cook our popcorn in…

I use the regular expeller pressed coconut oil.

If you are going to heat the oil the “rawness benefit” won’t be there anymore.  However, raw coconut oil has a better nutrition profile than expeller pressed, but still I choose to save money here and use the expeller pressed.

Currently I am using Tropical Traditions.  Their prices are reasonable and they have very good quality.  This particular oil is produced in an area that has no pesticides so you are basically getting organic without paying for it – always a nice thing :-) .

If you are a first time buyer, you also get a great 85 page book with information about coconut oil and also super recipes.  I’m kind of a recipe junkie so that really appeals to me.  You can view their weekly sales by clicking on the link below.


Tropical Traditions Weekly Sales

 

A better choice than the coconut oil would be Palm Oil as it has a higher smoke point than coconut oil, but I haven’t purchased any yet.  It is available through Tropical Traditions as well.  I heard that palm is the oil that was originally used in move theaters before they made the move to cheap processed oils.  So I can’t wait to try it!

So – I hope that all helps.  You should be pretty well set with popcorn and corn information now!

Where to Get Reliable Health Information

From Carrie:

Question – Where do you get your information from? Is there a site online that you go to in order to read up on what’s the best foods out there to feed your family? I’m lost online. I’ve read a bunch of yours :D But I’m looking for even more info on other foods. Thanks :D
Adrienne’s Answer:
Good question.  I don’t even know where to start, really!  There is not only one place where I go to find good information and I’ve been at this for a long time.  Basically since my son developed life threatening food allergies at 3 months old.
I read a number of blogs (when I have time), call companies to get information, and basically just ask a lot of questions.
I love learning, was Pre-Med in college and have always had a drive to find out how to better take care of myself and my family.
I will say that, as with you, I get lost often.  My head spins and I get tired of trying to figure out what the “right” answer is and sometimes I just feel like giving up.  And I do “give up” in different ways sometimes but not to the extent that I used to eat.
One problem for me is that, more and more, I am finding it hard to sort through the “hype.”  I think that a lot of sites publish information that is geared towards them selling a product and I have seen quite a few publish conflicting information in order to make a buck (or two :-) ).
I have no problem with someone changing their mind and going a different route, but I think that should be made clear to the readers so they can see that you have their interest at heart.
For me, I do put in affiliate links so that I can pay for the costs of running this blog (it is not free :-) ) and also make some money to help justify my time and help with our many health expenses as we all work on healing.  However, I can say that I am always  honest about my assessment of the products and will only recommend things that I use or would like to use myself.
I don’t have as much time to read blogs these days, but I do skim articles of interest and always read them trying to discern the accuracy of the information.
But it is really tough.  I try hard to give accurate information, but facts change, and the fact is, I am a busy homeschooling mom who can only do what I can to get information and make sure it’s accurate.  I am a flawed human being — so bear with me!
For example, I often read Mercola, Natural News, and then always try to verify what I read on them for accuracy.  Although it is more of an activist site, Your Voice For Health  is a great one to keep up with.  I have a LOT of confidence in this company’s integrity.  I would encourage all of my readers to sign up for their alerts to keep up on what is going on in the health arena legislatively.
As you know, I am really keen on watching what our government is doing in the food and health arenas.  We need to work on protecting our freedoms as best we can.
You can read the following posts to see  more of why this is so important:
I would love to hear what sites you all see as your favorites.  I tend to do research when I need it rather than having one “go to” place for my information.
As always, great questions!  I hope to hear more from you all.  Please email me at wholenewmom at gmail dot com.  And put WNM Q&A in the subject line so it catches my attention!  Take care and Blessings!
{Photo by http://www.flickr.com/photos/drachmann/327122302/}
This post contains affiliate links.  Please read my disclaimer here.
Shared at Learning the Frugal Life.

Filed Under: Health Concerns, Toxic Overload, What To Buy

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  1. Laura Bickmore says:
    June 1, 2012 at 3:56 pm

    Thanks for the info! One last question – do you ever worry about the corn you grow yourself cross-pollinating with GMO corn? I know if I grew some in my neighborhood that the farmer’s Bt corn about ten blocks might just pollinate my happy lil plants since it is so windy where I live..

    Oh the scary world we live in. Thanks for the work you do on your blog to help us out! I love you bean fudge, by the way! Still compiling ingredients to try your seasoned popcorns. :)

    Reply
    • Adrienne says:
      June 1, 2012 at 7:07 pm

      You’re so welcome! I do worry about that. I don’t grow corn, but I think it would be a problem. I recently started working with Terroir Seeds. You could perhaps talk w/ them about that. They are very very sharp on all things of this nature. And I will probably be working with them. I think they’d love to know I referred you :-) .

      Glad to hear about the Bean Fudge. Yes – it is scary. I try to trust God in all of this. It is getting crazier and crazier.

      Reply
  2. Sherri Davis says:
    June 1, 2012 at 4:07 pm

    I have been singing the praises of Bragg Amino Acid since I found out about it. My husband has a rare allergy to sodium. So we have had to totally change how we prepare foods. We use the Bragg in so many dishes instead of soy or tamarind. I recommend it to everyone that I talk to about food.

    Reply
    • Adrienne says:
      June 1, 2012 at 6:57 pm

      Nice!!! Are you sure he can’t tolerate natural salt? Like Real Salt? How strange?!

      Reply
      • Sherri Davis says:
        June 2, 2012 at 9:36 am

        The doctor that diagnosed him said he was one in a million (imagine what THAT did for his ego!). He can tolerate limited amounts of sodium (1000g or less per day). If he gets too much, he has to sleep it off, like a hangover. We use some sea salt and kosher salt and homemade spice mixes but mostly just leave it out if we can.

        One happy result of this is that I can’t tolerate the taste of very much salt anymore. Things that used to be fine taste too salty to me, so it cuts back my use as well.

        Reply
  3. Kaylee says:
    June 1, 2012 at 4:17 pm

    How do I know if the corn I am buying from a local farmer is non-gmo? He says he doesn’t use pesticides so I assumed it was okay, but is there another question I should ask?

    Reply
  4. Tanya says:
    June 2, 2012 at 9:38 am

    This is directed to Laura Bickmore….my friend in Washington State sells her own heirloom seeds that you can save year after year to have a self-sustaining garden. I’ve purchased some this year and I’m going to plant them…I am almost 100% positive that she does not have GMO (as she is completely against them). If you look her up on facebook it is Backyard Heirloom Seeds. I’m very excited to have my own, organic, self-sustaining garden. Her prices are very reasonable, as well!

    Thanks, Adrienne, for these great posts! I sometimes give up as well, but I’m determined to keep trying for the health of my family! And, I don’t give up to the extent that I used to, either! :)

    Reply
  5. Aileen says:
    June 2, 2012 at 9:45 am

    We use palm oil for popcorn and it is wonderful! I don’t think I will go back to any other oil for popcorn. I also started using it for frying potatoes…we love it!

    Reply
  6. Lindsay says:
    June 2, 2012 at 6:31 pm

    naturalnews.com is another great source for health information. Herbal legacy is too. I get them and Mercola’s emails. There are sites for heirloom seeds that are of varieties that are rare even almost completely gone and are not GMO that you can grow in your own gardens. All you have to do is look up heirloom seeds, make sure they are certified and not under a small company name but owned by Monsanto (evil seed it means literally). There is a documentary that is called “Ghost in Your Genes” by Nova and you can watch it for free on youtube.com that tells about what altering or even eating unhealthy things does not only to you but even the 3rd and 4th generations, even shows sterility in rats and etc. when they test GMO and HFCS on them. Very good documentary. Also encourage people to look at/buy the documentaries The Beautiful Truth, Gerson Therapy, Dying to Have Known, Food Inc., Future of Food, Food Matters, Sweet Misery, King Corn, Free Food and Medicine, Medical Conspiracy (by William Schnoebelen) among a few.

    Reply
    • Adrienne says:
      June 2, 2012 at 6:44 pm

      Thanks for all the info! I too like N News, but sometimes he is “over the top”. I have checked some things he has criticized and he’s been off. It’s hard to sort through everything, but when this homeschooling mom w/ very little spare time can find it out and Mike w/ his staff, can’t—that’s a little suspect in my opinion.

      I really appreciate your suggestions!

      Reply
  7. Lindsay says:
    June 2, 2012 at 6:33 pm

    P.S. Palm oil is so awesome for potatoes when we make homemade frech fries which I bake and use a ton of herbs on for spices. It should be awesome for popcorn too!

    Reply
  8. six sisters says:
    June 4, 2012 at 8:41 pm

    We are so glad you joined our “Strut Your Stuff Saturday”. We love to see all of the great recipes and ideas!! Thanks and we hope to see you again next week! -The Sisters

    Reply