It's Time for the American Food Industry to Change

The War on Food: a systematic agenda to contaminate or genetically alter natural foods, to target small local farms and community-supported organic co-ops, and to keep the public in the dark about the exact ingredients and the genetic origin of the food.

Of all the wars this country had waged, there is one that is as illicit as it is self-destructive: the war on food.

I'm not a fan of FoxNews-style terminology but the mind simply cannot fathom the fact that so many of the toxic chemicals in our food, water and pesticides (proven to be toxic in multiple clinical studies and banned in many countries around the world) are perfectly legal and are used by an overwhelming majority of the food producers in America.

Whether it's making the food look more appealing (food dyes, arsenic), making it taste better (MSG), making it bigger (hormones), preserving it for longer (in the case of McDonald's food, forever), or simply disposing of chemical waste, the practice of using food additives or GMOs translates into huge revenues for bio-chemical companies like Monsanto or Syngenta, and unless there's pressure from the consumers to remove a certain additive, it will continue.

Is there a more nefarious intent here, other than shameless profiteering? That remains to be determined. Some authors suggest that the poisons in our food and environment show a systematic de-population/IQ-lowering agenda.

So what can you do, as a consumer and a citizen, to stop these psychopathic corporations from poisoning you?

The only logical course of action is to take responsibility for your food choices.

That involves becoming educated, and above all, voting with your dollar, because that's the only language these companies understand. If enough people stop buying their product, they will have to change it, so an educated consumer is their worst nightmare.

Specifically, taking responsibility means:

• buying organic produce (which is becoming a lot more affordable, especially if you go to your local farmer's market), certified non-GMO products, organic vitamins, natural hair and skin care products etc;

• favoring independent and locally owned businesses;

• growing your own produce and, in general, anything that makes you less dependent on mass food supply puts them out of business;

• avoiding fast food; any food that has an unnatural color or more than 20 ingredients; food with chemicals you can't pronounce; ingredients ending in “ose” (glucose, sucrose, dextrose) - they all mean "sugar" etc.

• avoiding GMO foods (90% of US corn, soy and sugar beets are genetically modified), and foods with GMO ingredients (corn oil, canola oil, high fructose corn syrup, corn starch, tofu, soy lecithin, margarine);

• asking questions about what's in your food/drinks, raising public awareness, spreading the information. These corporations thrive in zero-transparency environment, it's up to us to bring them into the light;

• getting involved at the grassroots level: signing petitions, organizing the community, participating in campaigns, joining protests, making donations to organizations who are fighting back etc.

More and more people are waking up to the reality of the food industry in America.

In 2014 Subway chain of sandwich shops was forced to remove azodicarbonamide - a toxic chemical they used in the bread - under pressure from the consumers, who became alarmed to learn that their yoga mats and their sandwich bread were made using the same ingredient.

The same year, Panera Bread announced that they'll be removing all the artificial additives from their bakeries by the end of 2016. Hershey’s promised to remove GM ingredients from its Milk Chocolate and Kisses by the end of 2015. In a similar announcement, Dunkin’ Donuts said that they'll be removing titanium dioxide from their doughnuts - an ingredient that's been linked to a number of health issues, including DNA damage.

Reportedly, both Monsanto and McDonald's are experiencing serious financial losses because a number of countries are rejecting their products, and even domestically the public is becoming more educated about their dietary options.

The attitudes about food are changing. It's time for the American food industry to change, too.