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"Glyphosate Exposure in a Farmer’s Family"

Journal of Environmental Protection, 2012, 3, 1001-1003 doi:10.4236/jep.2012.39115 Published Online September 2012 (http://www.SciRP.org/journal/jep) 1001

The following studies explain the health crisis in America. Really truly. This is it...all the searching for the cure is over. These studies show the cause. And as a mother, I am both outraged and relieved to finally know. Now we can do something about it. If there was ever a reason to eat organic and share information, this is it.

Glyphosate may not be a household word, but Roundup* is. You likely spray it on your weeds, or your neighbor does. Your children's school definitely does. Your city sprays it on your sidewalks and parks and the farmers who grow your food have been told it's the best thing since sliced bread to spray on the grounds surrounding almond trees, fruit trees, strawberries and almost every non-organic vegetable grown in America. Roundup is the most widely used pesticide in the world, 185 million pounds (1) are used in the USA alone each year and glyphosate is the active chemical ingredient.

Not only is it sprayed on the soil, the chemical is drawn into it root system and plant, it is also now being sprayed on the GMO plant in ever increasing doses and it is absorbed into every cell of the plant. It's called "Roundup Ready”. The problem is, that means it is in our food, potentially for 14 years plus, it cannot be washed off, and the food is not labeled.

Some of you may know this already...but what you may not know is that the impact of Glyphosate is equally as potentially harmful as Genetically Modified foods. In a peer reviewed published scientific study titled "Glyphosate Exposure in a Farmer's Family" published in the Journal of Environmental Protection. This has not been widely circulated in the USA however, Moms Across America just found out that glyphosate has been proven to harm humans more than anyone realized. 

The family in the study lived 1.5 miles away from their fields that were sprayed with Roundup. The father would spray the fields, come home and wash his hands thoroughly, but not take a shower. Apparently he hugged his children, because the levels of glyphosate found in their urine were far above what has shown to be toxic in animals. The glyphosate level in the  father's urine was 9.5 ppm and the children's was 2 ppm. It is scientifically documented that infertility is caused by glyphosate at .5 ppm and endocrine disruption (which causes birth defects) is caused by glyphosate at .2 ppm.

 The farmer and his wife had two children with birth defects including imperforated anus, growth hormone deficiency, hypospadias (which is when the urethra of the male penis's opening is not at the end but under, and along the side instead), heart defect and micro penis.

We also have a brand new scientific study which connects glyphosate and numerous diseases which have skyrocketed in our Western culture since the introduction of GMOs to our food supply . 

 "Glyphosate’s Suppression of Cytochrome Enzymes and Amino Acid Biosynthesis by the Gut Microbiome: Pathways to Modern Diseases" states that glyphosate residues have been found primarily in corn, sugar, soy and wheat. Good God, that is practically in everything all of us eat!

"Consequences are most of the diseases and conditions associated with a Western diet, which include gastrointestinal disorders, obesity, diabetes, heart disease, depression, autism, infertility, cancer and Alzheimer’s disease. We explain the documented effects of glyphosate and its ability to induce disease, and we show that glyphosate is the “textbook example” of exogenous semiotic entropy: the disruption of homeostasis by environmental toxins."

 This new 48 page published scientific study is extensive and complicated. I have to say as a mother I would much rather be playing play dough with my kids or even cleaning a crusty toilet than scouring through these scientific reports and trying to decipher sentences like "Elevated amounts of shikimate-derived benzoic acids such as protocatechuate and gallate are also found in plants exposed to glyphosate."

 So without further ado, I post these studies for you to make sense of. All I know is that glyphosate = harm to my family. So Stop It People! Stop spraying it on my food, stop spraying it on my school playground and stop spraying it in the city parks. And tell your city council, your representative, your congressmen/women. Share this report with them and demand that we stop using this chemical. If for no other reason than to err on the side of safety.  These are our families we are talking about.

You need someone to pull up weeds? They are called Boy Scouts who need community service projects. No harmful side effects from a Boy Scout.

Zen Honeycutt 

 Harm to Farmer’s Family Study page 1

 Harm to Farmer’s Family Study page 2

 Harm to Farmer’s Family Study page 3

Glyphosate/Modern Diseases Study page 1

Findings of Glyphosate/Modern Diseases Study page 29

Conclusion of Glyphosate/Modern Diseases Study page 30

For the full report ( which is 48 pages long and too big of a file for my site) go to www.mdpi.com/journal/entropy

(1)http://www.beyondpesticides.org/pesticides/factsheets/Glyphosate.pdf from the latest 2007 report)

* Roundup is a registered trademark of Monsanto

There is an uprising happening in America. It's not visible like in Europe where they are tearing up crops and being dragged away from protests in Hazmat suits.... in America the uprising is in kitchens and coffee shops and on the internet. Moms who once found their lives exhausting are now waking at 6 am automatically and posting everything they can about GMOs. They are spending money from their savings to start a ballot initiative for their state and learning the ins and out of politics that they once abhorred. They are doing radio shows and sharing their rage with thousands. People are MAD. Moms are LIVID. The recent reports, there seem to be a new ones every day now, are so many that if you don't scan Facebook for two hours you are out of the loop...and these reports now show categorically that GMOs are dangerous, not only to our health but to the environment and  our economy. This is something I knew in my bones as soon as I saw Robyn O'Brien's TedX Talk "Patriotism on a Plate" and Jeffrey M. Smith's movie Genetic Roulette, but my brain did not have proof of human harm on paper until just these past few weeks. See here for many of those reports.

These new reports, coupled with the devastating impact of the President signing the "Monsanto Protection Act", have Moms practically spitting fire on the internet. Our Moms Survey, along with testimonials that their kids have gotten better off GMOs, have numerous responses saying:  

"I HATE GMOS"

"I WILL NEVER FEED MY KIDS GMOS"

"I WILL FIGHT GMOS UNTIL MY DYING BREATH"

Yes, all in CAPS, all SHOUTING. They are MAD. That's why 69,000 people liked the "March Against Monsanto" on May 25th, and 9,000 signed up in about a week. People are angry...and worse than angry...people like me feel betrayed.

Usually we leave politics out of this at MAAM because anyone and everyone eats and Tea Partiers, Democrat and Republicans alike are working together on our team. I have to express for myself and all the Moms that I have talked to, that voted for Obama like I did and know about GMOs, that we want to weep with sadness. I feel betrayed. I feel a heavy weight and shame in being gullible and I am outraged at him about that. How could he? How could Michelle allow it? It's like my world turned inside out and upside down. Suddenly I have taken the blue pill and I can see clearly now that we are in the matrix.

For example: Walmart makes big profits, partially by paying their employees so little, and those workers must resort to buying cheap, nutritionally bankrupt foods. Big Agriculture profits from from the purchase of these cheap foods by Walmart and other poorly paid employees. When they get sick from this so called food, they have to pay huge amounts of whatever income they have left to pay for drugs from Big Pharmaceuticals. Big Media operates off commercial ads for those drugs which are paid for by Big Pharmaceuticals which also makes herbicides and pesticides for Big Ag, they are one and the same. Together they run our Whitehouse and Big Government.....paying for all the laws to be written in their favor to continue this circle of profit.

I am sure another website could put together much better statistics for this situation, exactly how much money they control, how many senators and congress people they have bought out...frankly the graphics that show the overlap of former Monsanto, Phizer and Dow employees that literally run our government, is sickening. Like a bad accident, I can't look at it for more than a few seconds. I don't want to know. It's too deep of a betrayal to everything I love about America.

Especially as Mom, I love our freedoms, our opportunities, the fact that we are not at war with another country on our homeland and our children are mostly safe...but now with GMOs in every school, church gathering, birthday party and scout outing...I feel like they are being attacked by food and our government knows this and lets it happen. My faith in our country is deeply shaken...and our food is slowly and literally killing us. ( I say this in reference to Dr. Huber's report, see link in first paragraph, that it has been discovered that soy has a new pathogen which causes birth defects and miscarriages in animals AND humans and we now have the lowest recorded birth rate in history. These are our BABIES.)

Unless I fight the status quo, be the one who doesn't have her kids sit down and eat the pizza at the bowling party, be the one who says "No you can't have popcorn" (at the movie theater because it was impromptu and we didn't smuggle in popcorn without GMO canola oil on it) "because it's GMO", loud enough for everyone around me to hear and not care...

Unless I am VIGILANT, tirelessly, actively, vigilant, my kids will be harmed by GM food over time. I know thousands of Moms get this and feel the same way. It's EXHAUSTING isn't it? Don't you just want to say "F it" and move to New Zealand or Peru where they ban GMOs?

Can you just NOT BELIEVE what a twilight zone of a mess our country is in right now? I hate to say this because it seems so un-American. I want to shake myself and wake up. I want to be able to eat at a restaurant and not feel like crap for two days afterwards. I want be able to send my kids to school with 3 dollars and say "Sure, buy lunch today". I want to be able to go to parties and smile authentically at the host and thank her and accept the cake, but that is not going to happen now. Not because I can't, because I could do all of those things, I just choose not to. 

We have a choice but many don't. They don't know what they don't know. They are eating GMOs and wondering why the hell they can't loose the weight or why their autistic kid is not responding to therapy. Everybody, teachers, librarians, parent friends, bankers are all  trying to give our kids GMO candy or sweets as rewards. They just don't know...and not only do they not know they are literally having the freedom to choose their food taken from them by not being told what is in their food. What is truly American is to have faith in the people. That's what our founding fathers did a couple hundred years ago and that's what this movement of mothers is doing now.

So as Moms, as exhausted and mad as we are, I invite us all to channel that energy, that relentless vigilance and tireless love for our children, to share. Share everyday, and in every way you can imagine as an act of generosity for fellow Moms and as an investment in the future of America. We are the ones. There is no one else that is going to swoop down from the sky and fix this for us. This is our country and our kids and it's up to us. We just need to shift from what's bad and wrong to what's possible...

What is possible for our movement as we go from Mad to Inspired? From Betrayed and Depressed to Creative?

What would be possible for our children if,  rather than stewing in our own anger, we share with all our Mom friends from a place of love? Right now, that is the kind of leadership we need in America. If each one of you shared with 10 Moms, let's say you had a movie night, and each one of them shared with 5, who all shared with 5 and they shared with 5 Moms, then you would be personally responsible for 1,270 Moms finding out about GMOs and empowering them to have the freedom to choose their family's food. Multiply that times 100 thousand Moms ( that's only 2000 per state) and we have brought freedom to over 127 million Moms. That is way more than the tipping point needed to cause consumer rejection of GMOs and food manufacturer profit loss of 5%. This will spark the food manufacturers to make the switch to NON GMO. By signing up to march on July 4th and sharing GMO info flyers with your WHOLE TOWN all at once, we will be causing that tipping point simultaneously around the nation!

My friend Montgomery posted on Facebook last night:

It’s almost April 2013 and the planet is going through a mass transformation. There are many aspects to this transformation, and in the end one must come to realize the basic building block for global change starts with us, humanity on a collective level, together.- Collective Evolution

My husband gave me a well worn book the other day, "The SIXTIES: Years of Hope, Days of Rage". It seems to me we are mimicking those times in many ways...they had "Pranksters" just like "Anonymous" they had a women's uprising and Gloria Steinmen like we have Vandana Shiva. They had war (with the involvement of the same chemical company today, Monsanto) and meeting of community groups like we did with Prop 37 and protests like Occupy Wall Street. What I derive from posts on Facebook that speak of transformation, a shift in consciousness, and the energy I see rising everyday, is that it's not hippy-ish or weird, it's real...we are on the cusp of something bigger and more different than any of us can image.

Think of the huge shift in society from the 50's to the 60's. HUGE. The average person in the fifties, with their crisp suit or housewives with hats, matching shoes, prim purses and gloves, would have laughed their butt off in disbelief or told youthat were loony if you told them how people would be in the 60's...long haired, bell bottom wearing, freely pot smoking and maybe even swapping spouses. I am not saying we should fight for the 60's again but I am saying there is a correlation between the standards and ideals in the fifties that came from marketing and advertising and the standards and ideals that we have now about our food system. We've been "sold" a way of eating that doesn't work for us, this advertising is brainwashing for their maximum profit not for the nourishment of the people. There is a freedom before us, if we continue to rise, connect, garden, grow our own food, gather with love and empowerment, that will transform our world. The cool thing is, that this time around, we can still shave our armpits.

When I think about the food revolution that we are up to causing, my energy comes back. I can set aside my resentment for the President. I shift my focus to the new and amazing relationships that are being created from this movement. Like my new friend Monica and her daughter Alicia, the 6 year old who is petitioning  the Girl Scouts to make NON GMO cookies, that I only met because of this movement. I get inspired by my kids who want to write letters to Monsanto's employees telling them what they are doing. My heart fills with joy and awe when I get calls from across the USA and even from other parts of the world, saying "We support you, keep going". Then I want to weep tears of gratitude, fulfillment and wonder at the amazing resilience and generosity of the human spirit.

Thank you to ALL of you who keep on keeping on. We are standing for Empowered Moms and Healthy Kids, no matter what.

Zen Honeycutt

Please note: I do not know whose graphic this is, it was posted on Facebook and I just love it. If you know whose it is so I can credit them, I would appreciate it. My feeling that they just want it to be seen and I am thrilled to share it.

There has been quite a stir this past week about the 2012 Corn Comparison Report by Profit Pro posted on this site on March 15. Keep in mind this is a report, NOT a scientific peer reviewed study and I do not have any other information other than what is in this blog.

See original blog and report  here

See follow up comments from a 3rd generation farmer who is not connected to the report but knows of the report.

There have also been many comments that this report is not true. I wish it weren't true. The people who say it is not true, however are people who work in the Genetic Engineering field and want to protect their science. I get that. If you question it, please request that Monsanto runs an independent study or show their own data. We suspect they have this data already, as they pressured the EPA to raise the EPA standard of Glyphosate from 6.2 to 13ppm the year before this report came out. They also had the Monsanto Protection Act rider passed in the nick of time from when this information was posted. We believe they knew harm could come from their GMO corn and had the " Monsanto protection act" passed to pre-empt lawsuits. What do you think?

This video link below will explain a lot to them and to everyone who cares about what is in their food.

This is information that shakes the ground of our foundation of faith in our food system. This will be difficult information to process. All I can say is that you need to know this. And share it.

Here is an interview from Howard Vlieger from Weekly Womens GMO Free News which addresses the corn report.

For more information on the autoimmune condition PANDAS, which Kathleen mentions on the video go to www.savingsammy.net

Moms Across America are OUTRAGED at the callousness of our government to pass the Monsanto Protection Act with no thought for our children and citizens of America. This is a sad time for many Moms who supported Obama. It is unfathomable to us that Michelle, who has spoken up about organic gardening and children's health would also tolerate her husband's choice. Our President, Congress and Senate have given immunity from law to a company from being held accountable for any harm that comes to people or the planet from their toxic chemicals. What happened to integrity in America?

They also gave Monsanto the ability to plant any kind of GMO seeds they want to. And no court, the exact wording is "nothing shall override" them. We know now that Monsanto was part of drafting this new rider and that our government is really not for the people and by the people but is, officially, a Corporatocracy. I did not want to admit this for a long time and I try to stay out of politics because I want Moms of all parties to feel welcome to join our united cause. But this is political too and I need to voice for Moms every where, that we have lost faith in our government this week. We have lost faith in the future if left in the hands of those who control Big Pharmaceutical, Bayer, Astra Seneca and Phizer Pharmaceutical -parent company of Monsanto, who make the pesticides and herbicides AND the drugs to make us feel better,  and Big Agriculture (the same companies + DuPont). We have lost faith in a system that we put into place a couple hundred years ago and really see no way out of in the near future.

So what do we do? Hide and cry? No. When a Mom senses her child is at risk, which they are...their health issues like allergies, autism and auto immune diseases have been skyrocketing, we research more and we take action.  A new article on bi polar disorders in our children shows a 456% increase since GMOs were introduced. The same symptoms, unrest, discontent, sudden outburts of aggression and inability to focus, have all be shown in pigs who eat GMO feed as well. As Moms with common sense we are OUTRAGED that food is hurting our kids and  the one thing we see we can do to take action is put the largest distributor of GMO food on NOTICE that we will not be buying anything from their store until they label GMOs and have GMO free options- WALMART.

We must take action with the greatest tool we have which is money and the greatest power we have which is our love. If you share this notice with 10 people and they share it with 5 and they share with 5 and those people share with 5 you will be responsible for 1270 people promising not to shop at Walmart. At $200 dollars a week X 52 weeks a year, that equals

$13 MILLION 208 THOUSAND dollars that you personally will cause NOT to go to the biggest distributor of GMO Foods.

Can you do that? 

Here are the comments below from the moms who have signed the notice.

Please sign and share today.

Ever feel like we are in a twilight zone? The whole GMO food debacle has my head reeling this week. If I didn't have this march to plan, I might be joining the ranks of the activist pulling up fields in Europe. I am mad. I am more than mad, I am livid. To top off the confirmation of outrageous toxicity in our food, someone hacked my MAAM Facebook site this week. They know we are finding out and sharing about GMOs and they see that Moms are a threat to the way they do business. Good.

 The past two weeks have been a tidal wave of GMO info, movie showing and people all across America taking action and posting important articles, videos and reports. There is no doubt in my mind that GMOs are nutritionally bankrupt and toxic.The response is inspiring however, even my hometown in CT of 2000 people had a Genetic Roulette showing this week! Despite the anger I feel from the injustice that has been foisted on the American people, I am delighted and encouraged by America's stand for our health, our children and our communities. These articles, videos, interviews and facts help us to speak clearly and confidently about GMOs

If you want to be clear about the health risks of GMOs, take a look at  the following articles and videos.

I find the easiest way to introduce your friends and family to this information is to talk to them and show them 

 1. Elizabeth Doughtery's Interview of Dr. Huber

The claims that "There is no difference between GMO corn and NON-Gmo corn" are false. Yesterday while on a playdate at the lake, Vince from De Dell Seed Company, Canada's only NON-GMO corn seed company called me to support the march and Americans finding out about GMOs. He emailed me this stunning report, clearly showing the nutritional value difference between GMO corn and NON-GMO corn. I was floored. And at the same time, not totally surprised because Glyphosate draws out the vital nutrients of living things, and GMO corn is covered with it. 

The important thing to note in these deficiencies is that these are exactly the deficiencies in a human being that lead to susceptibility to sickness, disorders, and cancer.  People who have osteoporosis are low in calcium and magnesium, people who have cancer are low in manganese. The list goes on and on.

GMO Corn has 14 ppm of Calcium and NON-GMO corn has 6130 ppm. 437 X more.

GMO corn has 2 ppm of Magnesium and NON-GMO corn has 113ppm. 56 X more.

GMO corn has 2 ppm of Manganese and NON-GMO corn has 14ppm. 7X more.

Look at the levels of Formaldehyde and Glyphosate IN the corn! The EPA standard for Glyphosate in water in America is .7ppm. European Tests showed organ damage to animals at .1ppb (.0001ppm) of Glyphosate in water. Our water levels allow glyphosate 7,000X higher than what has been shown to be toxic in animals. This corn has 13 ppm! 130,000 times higher than what is toxic in the water!*

In a study that Dr. Huber reported, on Elizabeth Dougherty's Talk Radio,  .97 ppm of formaldehyde showed to be toxic in ingestion to animals. This corn has 200X that! That is why the animals, given a choice will not eat it at all, they can smell the formaldehyde!

Please share this report with your legislature, farmers, news editors, school district food services, and Moms.

We will no longer be feeding our children food with nutritional deficiencies,  foreign proteins, toxins, sprayed with Glyphosate, or injected with pesticides. Nor will we be fed their lies of safety!

THANK YOU De Dell for sharing this report and supporting the Americas in GMO labeling and in going GMO-Free!

 UPDATE: FOR MORE INFO see video: http://www.momsacrossamerica.com/more_info_on_2012_corn_comparison_report

* This blog has been corrected from its original post to correct .1ppm to .1ppb,  which actually reflects a much more alarming fact. We apologize for this important typo and promise more thorough editing in the future.

Zen Honeycutt

If you are reading this you probably already know about GMOs, but  you also probably have a lot of friends or family who either don't or seem like they don't want to. What if we shared with them in a FUN way and have GMO Movie Nights across America on Saturday night, March 30, in two weeks, with GMO Free snacks in the comfort of your own home?

Here's the thing. It's not up to someone else. They are not going to find out about GMOs from their grocery store, mainstream TV news or doctor. Those channels are all too heavily influenced by the drugs companies like Bayer, Astra Senca Syngenta and Phizer Pharmaceutical Upjohn ( parent company of Monsanto) which ALL make chemicals, herbicides and pesticides. Those very profitable chemicals are sprayed on our food that our livestock and we eat, and if we get sick they also make the very profitable drugs which they sell to "make us better" in our grocery stores, to our doctors and on TV ads in between Big Bang Theroy and the Nightly News.  Almost no one from those channels are going to tell your friends about the health risks of GMOs. The few who have tried, for instance, two reporters from Fox News, were fired.  ( see my Moms Across America You Tube Channel)

So it's up to us to share with them. And it's not hard. All it takes is sending out an email, or if you want to get fancy, an evite. If you really want it to be successful, call your friends.  Say or write "I am inviting you to share a very special and important evening together. Please come and view a movie with me about food and health. This is the most important thing you can do."

Have ten people to your home and just show Robyn O'Brien's 18 minute Ted Talk " Patriotism on a Plate"   if you just want to get their feet wet.  Show the ten minute version of Genetic Roulette on YouTube if they want more. Or to go for the whole enchilada, show the full version of Genetic Roulette available at www.geneticroulette.com. When you have just 10 people over and show them this movie, they will get it. They will also be compelled to share with their family and friends. If they only share with 5 people and those 5 only share with 5 and all of those 5 only share with 5 people...you will be personally responsible for informing 1270 people about GMO's in your town!!! Most likely hundreds or thousands more!

Imagine if all across America we have GMO Movie night on Saturday March 30 and hundreds of thousands of people find out about GMOs?

Why March 30? It's two weeks away. Just enough time to invite people and have it be soon enough so that the time is now. You know what happens when we procrastinate...it just doesn't happen. It is also Easter weekend and alot of you will be with your family. Bring the movie, let them know "Hey Saturday night let's all get together and watch this movie about health that I have. I love you guys and it's really important that we watch this together." If they don't want to watch a whole movie , show Robyn O'Briens 18 minute version on YouTube. Insist on it in a loving way.

Also, I am hesitant to even say this, but honestly, my own personal side note is, its my birthday. There is nothing I want more than for hundreds and hundreds of thousands of people to find out about GMOs. A lot of people have sent me emails and thanked me for what I am doing to organize a national event to raise awareness about GMOs and get them labeled. Totally not necessary, but appreciated.  The thing is, I am compelled, I will do this no matter what. But... you could thank me and express your support for this movement by hosting a movie night! YOU can do this! You can love on your family by hosting a movie night! You can form closer bonds with your friends by hosting a movie night! It really is fun.

I had a GMO Free Potluck Party and showed Robyn O'Briens video and Genetic Roulette ten minute version to 30 people. Everyone brought some food and met new people...you know that awesome feeling you have when your friend from forever meets your new friend and they hit it off like gang busters? It's just that all night long. People left with a whole new view, shocked but also  inspired and empowered. Most importantly, they felt connected with people.

It really is easy. Buy some organic and NON GMO verified snacks, like Kettle Chips, Annie's organic bunnies, Cadia organic salsa, have a bowl of organic fruit out, serve some drinks without high fructose corn syrup, like Hansen's and keep all the packaging out so they can see where you got them.

Now, what you might be thinking is that people are going to think you are some weird radical activist. That it's not normal to have people over to watch a movie over about food or "issues". You are right it's not normal. But what is happening with our food is radical. We have a foreign protein in 70% of our food and most people don't know about it. If you can set aside your concern for what people are going to think about you and focus on your commitment to them, like..that they are healthy and that they are informed to make their own choice, if you come from that, than nothing you can say or do is weird. Inviting people over to watch a movie about health and food is one of the most loving things you can do. Most people see food as love. So have a conversation about food and love. The time is now. It doesn't matter what your house looks like or if you have a lot of snacks. They will be so moved, touched and inspired by what you show them that nothing else will matter except the love you share.

Will you host a GMO Movie night on March 30?

Send out an email or evite today!!! Comment Yes Below!

Thank you!

Zen Honeycutt

Thank you for visiting our new site! 

We are thrilled to have signed up for NationBuilder to create a site with the capacity to support hundreds of thousands of marchers and volunteers! How amazing is the technology and community that we have created in America??!!

Every day I am inspired by the commitment, creativity, passion and generosity of people all across our country. So many people are coming together to support this exciting national event.

On this site you can sign up to march in a listed parade, upload an event in your area that we don't know about, learn or share more about GMOs, expand your involvement or leadership in your community, and connect with amazing people all across America. Every bit that you can do or share helps.

We hope you see the extraordinary opportunity that is before us. Moms are coming together to be an unstoppable movement for the rights of all children and people in this country...to know what is in our food and to be able to eat GMO free if we choose. Too many Americans still don't know about GMOs.

Thank you for your interest, willingness and generosity in sharing about GMOs with anyone you know. Thank you for  joining in a parade near you on July 4th to march for the health of our families, truth in labeling, justice for future generations and liberty for all Americans to choose to eat GMO Free.

Zen Honeycutt and the MAAM Team

Dear Boys,

You may not understand all of this now, at  10, 7 and 4, but someday you will. Someday, you will know that I fed you genetically modified food for 9 and a half years, and you will wonder why. You will wonder how someone could do that to their children. You may wonder why I didn't know. You may wonder why I wasn't more vigilant to find out. You may wonder why I didn't take you to the doctors more often or sooner and find out why you had so many allergies. You may wonder why you felt so tired, distracted and felt out of control cranky,  why you  had to go to school with a rash around your mouth and feel embarrassed for weeks. You may wonder why you thought something  was wrong with you.You may wonder why I just gave up and basically said " You have allergies and that's the way it is. Deal with it."

You may think that my lack of action around your allergies and interest in what  we were eating was some sort of sign that I didn't love you. I am sorry. I am so so so sorry that I did not wonder more myself.

I got resigned. I got doubtful. And I was in denial that  there was anything I could do about it. It was just easier to believe that I was doing a good job and your allergies ( to wheat/gluten, nuts, peanuts, eggs, dairy, mushrooms, red food dye and carageenan) were genetic somehow, because I have mold allergies. I justified everything...it's okay if you have a "treat" at  your friends house, it's okay if you  "enjoy" the birthday party and have the cake and soda. It's okay if you drink or eat food with milk in it ( with RBGH hormones) because I had no idea what that was and "Milk does a body good". I really did think I was feeding you the way I did and loving you by "letting you" eat the sweet, colorful, enticingly crunchy, treats or fast food. I really did think we could trust what was on the shelves and  it was our right  as Americans to have easy, plentiful, tasty food available to us in two minutes at  a drive through. I got cranky when it  wasn't. Little did I know that it was the food that was making me cranky and my expectations were blinded by corporate greed brainwashing. I didn't know...and I am sorry for not finding out.

You may wonder, someday, how a whole generation could allow genetically modified foods into our supply unlabeled, and without media notice, when over 50 other countries labeled or banned GMOs when they were introduced.  You may wonder why we not only didn't get them tested first, but we funded these toxic crops with billions of our own tax money. You may wonder how we could let  organic food get contaminated by GM crops and then let those organic farmers get sued. You may wonder why your mother didn't do anything about such injustice.

Once studies did emerge, you may wonder how we could ignore test results from a 2 year rat study that grew tumors, had 55% of their babies die that were fed GM soy ( versus 6 and 9% of control groups fed no soy and non gmo soy) and those that did survive were smaller and sterile by the third generation. You may wonder how we could go one more day without labeling and banning these foods.You may wonder how we could be so careless and stupid. On behalf of the American people of this generation, on behalf of Moms everywhere, I apologize. With a my whole heart I am so sorry.

Our system is broken, and we, with our endless desire for easy, cheap , fast and tasty, are the ones who broke it. We forgot to value whole, fresh vegetables and fruits. We forgot that home cooking brings families together at home instead of getting the family out and about and busy. We forgot that food costs money to seed,plant, grow, harvest and transport and that our budget should reflect food as preventative health care. We forgot that we have a responsibility to budget, plan, and just buy less junk like electronics and food with toys and more real food like kale.They made it, yes, but we bought it. We forgot that we need to know what is in our food and that we need to speak up and demand truth and health.

So my sons, I write this to you not as an explanation, to defend my laziness, ignorance and blind  trust in a broken system, but to let you know that I know NOW. In the late summer of 2012, my life, and the future of your life, altered when I found out about genetically modified foods. And now I have different non-apology for you.

I am not sorry that you will not be eating that birthday cake filled with GMO corn oil frosting and soy lecithin and GM ingredients. ( I will bring non GM cupcakes)

I am not sorry that you will not be eating GM lunches at school. ( I will pack them.)

I am not sorry that you will be bringing all your own food to Cub Scouts and friend's houses. ( I will give you snacks)

And I am not sorry that we will be at rallies to speak up against GMO Salmon and marching on July 4th.

You may feel sorry now, when I say no. But my No means YES. YES for life. Yes for health. YES for this vast, unending love I have for you that fills my soul and overflows into this world that we can create together... that values first...HEALTH not money, PEOPLE and PLANET,  not profit. I will give up that "it's hard" and take on that I "get to" be your Mom and provide you with healthy food.

The future belongs to us. The future of food belongs to all of us. As a Mom, I know now that 85% of the food is bought by Moms, so 85% of the responsibility is on us. It is up to us to fix this.

As a respresentative of many Moms, we say, " We're NOT Buying it!" We are not buying GMO food. We are not buying the lies of safety. We are not buying the stories about feeding billions. Because we see the one or three children, that are worth more to us than billions of dollars, RIGHT IN FRONT OF US, get worse on GMO food and drastically improve when they are  not eating them.

I am sorry for you, Monsanto and FDA, but the jig is up. Moms are  finding out everyday. You may have the money, but we have the golden gift of gab and hearts that are  bigger than your wallets. Ignoring that GMO food doesn't work for humans or our planet, no longer works. Find another way.

Boys, I love you. I always did and I always will. Forgive me for the past. Let's create a healthy  future together.

Zen Honeycutt

Organizer of Moms Across America March July 4th 2013

Kathleen is the blond lady in the middle in the vest near Howard Vlieger at  Mother's Market.

It was after 9 pm on election night and I was standing on the sidewalk outside of Mother's Market after the Prop 37  loss, sobbing.  I held my face in my hands,  and my body shook as I hiccuped breaths of night air. Suddenly, a blond peppy lady came rushing over. We had met briefly inside but suddenly she was saying with the familiarity of a long lost best friend," It's not over, it's just the beginning! Don't worry, we are going to do this! In just a couple months all of a sudden millions of  people said Yes to labeling! We can do this!" She patted my shoulder and I looked at her with a flicker of hope. How could she be so optimistic? I thought I was...but this woman, whom I have grown to know, love and admire literally was my beacon of hope that night. She called to me with her faith and pulled me from the depths of despair.

Kathleen Kelly Hallal is an Irvine Mom, like you and me...busy.. three boys, Den mother, PTA member, Mom extraordinaire and yet ordinary too. She just loves her kids as we do. She grew up in CA but spent a lot of time in the farming communities of Northern Idaho.  She gets the value of of a farmer and the important of how food is grown and raised.

I have to say I didn't totally get it at first when, over the next few weeks of getting to know her after the election loss, she cooked up the idea of hosting Howard Vlieger, a 3rd generation Farmer from Iowa come talk to the OC about food, farming and health. I seriously wondered, how are we going to get Moms to care what a farmer has to say? Our culture is so removed from farmers....they are like the designers of our clothes, we hear  about them and know they are doing something good but we never see them and don't ever expect to. We don't need to know how our clothes are designed, we just want to wear them.Same with food.

But Kathleen had seen his talk, and it had made a huge difference for her and her family. See, one of her three boys, who was excelling in school, suddenly, in 2nd grade began acting very strangely. He hid under his desk at school, lost his ability to right or draw, forgot his math and wouldn't listen or follow the simplest of directions at home. His behavior was completely different from who he used to be and all their doctors wanted to put him on medications that Kathleen was just not going to accept. Finally a therapist said "If you take his tonsils out, I think this will go away." Kathleen though she was crazy, but after further blood testing and discovering that he had an imperceptible ( from swab tests and sight) STREP infection which was impacting his brain and behavior. It is called PANDAS. Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorders Associated with Streptococcus.

They removed his tonsils, put him on antibiotics and he got completely well. They have their happy, successful boy back! But Kathleen was of course committed to keeping him healthy and using antibiotics as little as possible, so she researched nutrition madly, and went to Howard's talk in October. There she learned that genetically modified foods, because they occur as a foreign protein in the body, weaken the immune system from constantly trying to keep the foreign protein out. When the immune system is weak from fighting off these foreign proteins, it cannot fight off other bacteria like STREP as easily as it once could have. Infections become stronger and our kids are become sicker and their behavior and ability to perform tasks are being affected.  Further blood testing also showed her kids had 26 different food intolerances, in addition to a serious peanut allergy, which also are caused by the immune system reacting to what they perceive as foreign proteins a weakening of the immune system. These intolerance's did not show up as rashes, they were invisible on the outside. But on the inside her son's immune systems were struggling to fight these foods as they were unknowingly exposed to them and surely attributed to their irritability, inability to focus or make good decisions.  When a body is in defense mode, the person is going to feel out of sorts and defensive, maybe even aggressive.

She also learned that Glyphosate ( the active chemical ingredient of Roundup herbicide) which is being sprayed on many GMO crops, kills off good bacteriain the soil Glyphosate also promotes the growth of opportunistic organisms in the soil which causes more disease in the GMO crops. This leads to the development of molds and mycotoxins in the environment and the grain raised for the food supply. These micotoxins even at very minute levels cause a wide range of health problems to those eating the grain or foods made from this grain. Whether it is our kid’s breakfast cereals, chips or tortillas. So on top of a weakened immune system from the GMO foreign proteins, they are getting inundated with bad micotoxins, molds and potentially super bugs in the environment. The rates of kids with walking pneumonia have skyrocketed according to her pediatrician and bugs like MSRA are killing our children.

GMOs are attacking our kids. A whole generation of children, whose immune systems are much more susceptible than adults,  are being experimented on, and their health, moods, relationships, confidence, behavior and performance in school is being affected...some without visible physical symptoms.

Since Kathleen learned this, she has had her children largely on a GMO Free diet and has seen remarkable improvements.  She has heard of many children who have had sudden erratic behavior changes and inability to perform in school and they parents are convinced to put their kids on drugs or even lock them in psych wards. She believes a blood test of underlying STREP may explain and resolve this behavior. So she is committed to educating and empowering Moms Across America about this condition and the solution.

To do this, Kathleen went to extraordinary measures and sponsored/hosted farmer and GMO expert Howard Vlieger to come to Irvine, and Orange County and speak for 6 days.  She made calls for weeks and scheduled  speaking engagements at PTAs, schools, Moms groups, an Ecology center  and many more . She arranged for a video to be made and a restaurant to host a talk. She drove him to every single speaking engagement, 17 in all, 5 in one day some days, spoke to the Moms about PANDAS and GMOs, and provided pamphlets at her own cost. She managed lunches, sports and even brought her kids to Howard's talks ( and they asked when he was going to speak to kids?). She was tireless.

After seeing Howard's talk I got why she wanted this farmer to speak to American Moms. His perspective is groundbreaking. Her generosity and commitment to bring his perspective to us is exactly what is going to transform the future of food from one that is making our kids obese, have weakened immune systems, burdened with allergies and behavioral challenges, to one of healthy happy and successful kids who can eat organic food where ever they go on life's adventures.

Because the greatest gift a Mom can give is to let go and bless their children's adventures in the world... and Moms like Kathleen are doing whatever it takes now to  ensure that that world is one where they can thrive.

Thank you Kathleen! And thank you to Tom, her supportive husband and three understanding boys.

You can see Howard Vlieger's extraordinary DVD soon on MomsAcrossAmerica.com

For more info on PANDAS:

https://www.adhd.com.au/PANDAS.htm

https://www.savingsammy.net/

Zen Honeycutt