This is a very important reason to carefully scrutinize not only the ingredients in your pet’s food, but where they come from. What does GMO mean? GMO stands for genetically modified organisms, and they are becoming more and more prevalent in our food supply every day. Crops are modified to increase profit by increasing resistance to disease, or increasing production. What is the problem with GMO? Genetic engineering is done in such a way that the DNA of the plant is permanently altered. The scary part is that very little testing is done to determine what effects the altered genetics will have on the person or animal ingesting the food. The modified genes can be unstable and even incorporate into intestinal cells, modifying their DNA!
This can explain increases in diseases such as allergies, food sensitivities, autoimmune syndromes and cancer, even when supposedly ‘healthy’ foods are being consumed. You can learn more details about the genetic modification of our food supply at: https://responsibletechnology.org/
What does this mean for your pet and how can you feed foods that are GMO free? The answer is to read labels and ask questions of food producers. Anything labelled organic will be GMO free by definition. Avoid soybeans, canola, cottonseed, corn, and sugar from sugar beets. These are the crops with the highest prevalence of GMO. Remember too that there are many byproducts of these crops, especially corn, such as syrup, starch additives. Many companies are now labeling their products that are GMO free. You can find a more comprehensive shopping guide at http://nongmoshoppingguide.com/.
In general, fresh organic ingredients will provide the best chance of avoiding genetically engineered foods. Companies that do not use genetically modified ingredients will typically make that obvious on their packaging. Remember – pay attention, read labels and ask questions if labels are unclear. The time you spend will be worth the health benefits to you and your pets.