Zen's Story and Speech

Published in Oregon's "In Good Tilth" Magazine January 2014

It was Thanksgiving and my five-year-old son sat across from me at the festive table. Though surrounded by eighteen cousins and jovial family members, he looked completely miserable. With a mouthful of savory stuffing, he should have been happy. Instead, within seconds his entire body was puffed up like a raspberry; red, and inflamed. His eyes glazed over and he drooped like a rag doll.  We discovered that there were pecans in the stuffing. My son was on the verge of death. I scrambled to find the Epi-Pen and my husband jabbed it into my son’s leg. I yanked it out and blood spurted from his leg. We rushed him to the hospital, both of us crying as my son moaned in the back seat. As he was hooked up to steroids and monitors, we prayed to God for his life.

I did not lose my son that day, but this happened more than once over the past five years and happens thousands of times a year to American families. Our children could die from food. We did not have allergies like this when we were children. Something has changed and it’s not genetics. Neither my husband or I had food allergies.

My son went on to develop more allergies, including one to Carrageenan, a seaweed food thickener, which can cause slow growth of ulcers and stomach cancer. This was the last straw for me. No longer would I “put up” with allergies to food. When my son wished that his allergies would “go away”, instead of being resigned and doubtful, I wondered, “What if they could? What can we do about this?”

Just this week my son accidentally ate a walnut in some granola. Instead of puffing up, being stabbed with an EpiPen and nearly dying, he said “Mom, my tongue itches.”  His stomach felt a little queasy. I called the doctor, gave him Benedryl and some Chinese herbs and he went to school two hours later. His allergy had been reduced from life-threatening to mild. In addition, his allergic reactions to Carageenan are completely gone. What made the difference?

We found out about GMOs. We ate organic for the past year. He chose to drink an organic green drink every morning to heal his stomach. His gut and therefore his immune system, is growing stronger and his allergies are disappearing.  His walnut allergy has gone from a 19 down to a .2. This is not a scientific study, this is our family’s reality. His healing is a triumph over toxic food and resignation. It is a triumph of the human spirit.

The link between GMOs and numerous children’s health issues, both personal experiences and research from Robyn O'Brien's TEDx talk and Jeffrey M. Smith’s “Genetic Roulette”, along with the love for my children, inspired me to create Moms Across America- a national coalition of unstoppable Moms.  Our goal is to empower millions to educate themselves about GMOs, get them labeled and offer GMO-free and organic solutions. In partnership with LabelGMOs.org, fellow OC Mom of three boys, Kathleen Hallal, and with sponsors such as NYR Organic,  Dr. Bronner, Organic Valley, Nutivia, Nature’s Path and hundreds of moms across America, our goal is to transform the food industry and the future of America. Our motto is “Empowered Moms, Healthy Kids”.

We know now that 1 out of 2 of our children will have autism in the next 20 years if we continue at the current rate. Millions more will have allergies, diabetes and numerous chronic illnesses. However, hundreds of Mom have submitted testimonials on our website that their children’s symptoms from autism, allergies, autoimmune disorders, asthma, IBS, obesity and more drastically reduced or disappeared after going GMO-free within a few weeks to a few months. We will not suppress this discovery. We will share it.

Everything we do is because we love our families. Moms from 44 states took on leadership and marched in 172 parades this last July 4^th, carrying banners that said Moms Across America March to Label GMOs reaching approximately 1. 5  million people. This year our goal is 400 parades. We will reach 5,000 to 50,000 townspeople locally and tens of millions nationally in a single day. We will take part in the most patriotic, fun, festive, family-friendly event in America and march for health and freedom in America.

We all want to be healthy, in every town, every state, in every country and every nation, we want health and well being for our families. We want this because we love, Moms especially. Moms buy 85% of the food and take on the lion’s share of planning and cooking the meals for their loved ones. Moms are the source of our health and our food supply. We need Moms to know about GMOs and organic solutions. We invite you to support creating health and freedom in America by joining us, donating, sponsoring and volunteering, because this is our country, our children and the future belongs to us.

Please go to www.momsacrossamerica.com and contact us. We look forward to connecting with champions of change!

- Zen Honeycutt, Mom of three boys, Founder & Director of Moms Across America

Zen Honeycutt's Bio

Zen Honeycutt is the Founding Executive Director of Moms Across America, a non-profit National Coalition of Unstoppable Moms. With the motto "Empowered Moms, Healthy Kids " Moms Across America has grown rapidly, over 600 leaders have created nearly 1000 community events in all 50 states in the past 5 years. Moms Across America empowers and amplifies the voice of the mom locally and nationally to create healthy communities by raising awareness about GMOs and related pesticides in our food. Zen has been featured on major mainstream news stations and documentaries. She is an international speaker, and author of Unstoppable: Transforming Sickness and Struggle into Triumph, Empowerment and a Celebration of Community. Zen Honeycutt is a former Consumer representative to the California Organic Products Advisory Committee. 

We have many committed and passionate moms on our team. Zoe from PA, Anne of WI, Laurie from OR, Natalie of CA, Beth of VA, Nanette of WA and Amber of WA are our core Major Mom Team. We welcome support from skilled professionals or passionate moms with a few hours of week to pitch in. Contact [email protected] Thank you!