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Where does your food come from? How was it grown? What difference does it make? And what does this have to do with life in the city? I’m not completely ready to answer all of these questions, but I’ve learned a lot. And this past Saturday offered a chance to learn more.

Natural food downtown starts with the Market Square Farmers’ Market. Offering whatever is growing, farmers and crafts-people bring in their goods every Wednesday and Saturday from the beginning of May. Only vaguely aware of the market before moving to the city, we soon found it to be a lifeline for fresh foods from May through final harvest seasons in the fall. Could we taste a difference? Maybe, maybe not, but it was more satisfying to talk to the person who grew the vegetables and could offer tips for cooking and simply form a connection from the meal to the person who made it possible.

As the years have passed, Urban Woman and I have learned a great deal about foods from Kristen and Charlotte at Just Ripe as well as various farmers at the Market. Brianna Lamberson introduced us to the whole issue of GMOs (Genetically Modified Organisms) when she sponsored a showing of the film Genetic Roulette: The Gamble of Our Lives. We’ve become much more conscious of what we buy and we want to know more about it. We started asking farmers at the market if they have GMO-free produce. It’s led to conversations which have taught us more. I’ve talked to farmers who have corn grown from heritage seeds right along-side corn grown with Monsanto or genetically modified seeds.

This past Saturday, downtown Knoxville was abuzz about these issues. The day started with the Farmers’ Market and all the goodness it has to offer. The weekly battle, right now, is for strawberries. They go to only the earliest shoppers, so you best be quick. We’ve been enjoying asparagus and a wide variety of greens for salads.

But this particular Saturday also offered some pretty heavy food for thought, as well as for our bellies. Two showings of the documentary film GMO, OMG were offered, free to the public, at the Square Room. The Square Room donated the space and the fee to bring the movie to Knoxville was paid by Century Harvest Farms. Christopher Burger of Century Harvest Farms was on hand to discuss issues related to GMOs from the perspective of a farmer. His farm raises grass-fed beef (no hormones) and non-GMO crops.

The film follows the progress of a father who becomes concerned with what he’s feeding his children. He learns about GMOs, which broadly fit into two categories concerning crops: crops that are genetically altered to produce pesticides so that bugs die when they eat them and crops that are genetically altered so that they may be safely doused with Round-up (extremely toxic pesticide) and continue to grow. So, on the one hand you ingest a food that has been infused with poison to kill bugs (by exploding their stomachs) or you ingest food that has been doused in poison repeatedly as it has been grown. This worried this particular father.

So, he set out to find answers. He learned that seed producers (such as Monsanto and Dupont) see the seeds for several times their cost just a few years ago. The seeds may be used once and no seeds may be retained from the crop. The age-old farming practice of putting aside seeds for next year is replaced with buying new seed each year. He learned that no longitudinal studies had been completed prior to approval in the US., that many countries across the world are banning the seed, while our state department encourages their use.

He found that increasing amounts of these pesticides are being found in humans. He found French study that found breast tumors occurred much more frequently in rats exposed to GMOs, a rise that may parallel increases in breast cancer rates in the United States. (The study has been hotly debated.) Seeds sent to Haiti were burned, while in the US about 90% of all corn and soy beans produced are produced with GMO seed. Finally, overwhelmed, the father retreats to the Redwood National Park and camps with his family, fishing and cooking what they catch. Then he realizes the fish are raised by the park service and stocked in the streams. They are fed GMO corn products before they are released.

I talked to Mr. Burger after the film and he pointed out that his crops get cross-pollinated with GMO corn from the next farm over and there is nothing he can do about it. He plants heritage seeds each year, but has to buy them new each year because of the cross pollination. Current law would allow Monsanto to come onto his farm and charge him for his crops even though he did not use their seeds. Further, President Obama has given special protection to Monsanto and they have strong allies in Congress on both sides of the aisle. Mr. Burger told me an area of ten miles in every direction would be required to prevent cross-pollination.

Meanwhile, outside, in Krutch Park a group of about seventy-five gathered to protest Monsanto and to call – not for a ban on GMOs, which probably makes sense – but for simple labeling so consumers might make up their own minds. The issue has been discussed and rejected, so far, in Tennessee. Nationally it has gotten no where. Some counties across the country have banned GMOs, following the lead of Europe and many countries across the world.

Birke Baehr, a teenage farmer who has written a book about organic farming, spoke to the crowd as did a medical doctor who discussed some of the physical implications she fears from the modified foods. The group then marched to Market Square and held a rally on the steps of the Market Square Stage. A man spoke to the crowd about growing all his own food for his family. He gave a young girl a bag of heritage seeds.

It’s an issue worth investigating. It’s overwhelming once you start learning more. The simple request to label our foods so we know what we are eating doesn’t sound like too much to ask. Research by non-affiliated scientists is desperately needed. We may be altering our food supply forever in a way that might already be damaging us. Are people paying enough attention to notice? If you’d like to learn more about labeling efforts in Tennessee, you may do so here. The controversy continues with both sides insisting the science is on their side. Don’t say I didn’t warn you that it would be complicated.