NON-GMO FOODS FOR BREAKFAST
Why You Should Opt For A Real Ingredient Breakfast
When it comes to eating for your health, we believe that real ingredients are the basis to a well-balanced diet. We’ve incorporated this into Munk Pack by creating products that contain no artificial preservatives, colors or sweeteners and are all Non-GMO Project Verified.
INGREDIENTS YOU RECOGNIZE
One of our tips for a healthy breakfast, and meals in general, is to keep it simple and look for familiar, real ingredients. If you see a word you can’t pronounce, or that looks like it belong in a science lab instead of your morning meal, chances are you should put it back. Short ingredient lists with whole food components are signs that you’re on your way to having your first meal of the day be well-balanced and give you the nutrition you need to stay fueled.
We created Munk Pack because we didn’t have time to make our own breakfast and we couldn’t find any ready-to-eat packaged foods that weren’t full of artificial ingredients. We started in the kitchen and used ingredients we knew and trusted: oatmeal, fruit and flax seeds! These three ingredients can be found in all of our Oatmeal Fruit Squeezes because together they combine to give you sustained energy, omega-3s and fiber content.
Once we got started on our gluten free Oatmeal Fruit Squeezes, we knew we wanted to incorporate more superfoods into our products, such as chia seeds, quinoa, and acai berries. All of our ingredients are chosen because of their nutritional profile, which is what we encourage you to do when you want to reap all the benefits of eating breakfast.
THE NON-GMO PROJECT
In addition to making our snacks with real ingredients, it’s important to us for all of our products to be Non-GMO Project Verified not only as a company, but also as consumers. Since non-gmo labeling is not required in the US, we understand and value transparency between brands and customers. In a market where many packaged foods contain GMO ingredients, we want it to always be easy for shoppers to make an educated decision when they see the Non-GMO Project seal on Munk Pack products.
The Non-GMO Project is based on this ideal: giving consumers the ability to make an informed choice on what they’re eating. We want to help in this process and share what the difference is between real and genetically modified ingredients are, especially when it comes to breakfast.
NON-GMO VS GMO INGREDIENTS
Let’s start with what GMOs are: GMOs, or genetically modified organisms, are living organisms that have had their genetic makeup altered through means of genetic engineering. This means that any GMO item, whether it be a plant or food, has genes that do not occur naturally.
In theory this isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but many studies have found that genetically engineered foods can cause harm to our health and environments. There are tons of opinions on this subject, but we’re sharing just three reasons why you should opt for a real ingredient breakfast instead of one that’s filled with GMOs.
YOUR HEALTH
When it comes to the most important meal of the day, you want to make sure you’re eating foods that give your body the nutrients and fuel it deserves. When you eat items like gmo breakfast cereals and granola bars, you’re putting your health at risk. GMOs have been linked to a variety of health complications such as food sensitivities and allergies, inflammation, resistance to antibiotics, toxicity, memory loss and cancer.
GMO crops are harmful because they’re sprayed with a variety of herbicides and pesticides that eventually wind up on your plate. In a 2016 study, glyphosate, the industrial weed killer that is best known as Monsanto’s Roundup, was found present in 46 percent of the popular breakfast foods that were tested. Glyphosate has been classified as “probably carcinogenic to humans” by the World Health Organization. Many also argue that gmo foods have not been around long enough to truly know their long-term effects and how they affect future generations.
THE ENVIRONMENT
One of the reasons gmo foods were created was to allow crops to grow in unfavorable conditions, so that farms can yield higher harvests. The genetic modification of crops helps them to be resistant to herbicides and pesticides, so that they can be sprayed with chemicals more than a regular non-gmo crop would be able to withstand. The crops continue to grow, but the pesticides and herbicides are released into the environment which increases pollution. As time goes on, GMO seeds spread into areas where non-gmo crops are growing and make it hard for natural species to survive. When these seeds are mixed with natural weeds in particular, resistant “superweeds” are created which could be a major environmental issue in years to come.
THE FARMERS
The companies that produce GMO seeds are making it hard for the everyday farmer to survive. Only a few, very powerful companies sell the seeds, which allows them to sell the seeds to farmers at a higher price. Farmers then have to cut back on all other expenses, hurting their overall business. The contamination of GMO seeds to non-gmo crops that we mentioned earlier also forces farmers to use harsher pesticides on their non-gmo crops, since they are becoming more resistant to the chemicals over time. This contamination also happens to farms that are organic certified which results in a loss of the certification and also profit. A similar situation happens when farmers who export overseas, where they don’t allow GMOs, are unknowingly growing gmo crops thanks to contamination.
The debate about GMO and non-GMO foods is far from over, but when it comes to the most important meal of the day, we recommend to avoid GMO, and enjoying real ingredients for a sustained energy breakfast. Your body, as well as the environment and farmers throughout the country will be thanking you.
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