Wednesday, November 7, 2012

FOOD - Questions answered by the experts

Last week I shared with you a video from a project that I am proud to have been able to be a part of. The project, coordinated by The Center for Food Integrity, is a five-part video series that pairs consumers (like me) with experts to answer questions that all of you are thinking about GMOs and food. The videos are part of a bigger website that everyone accross the country should have bookmarked www.bestfoodfacts.org. The website allows people like you and me to ask questions about our food and get answers from real experts. What a great concept!

Now that all five videos are available, I wanted to share the entire video series with you. Of course you can go here and watch all five of them on the Best Food Facts website or check them out below. You might also notice one of my fellow California Women for Agriculture sisters Karri Hmmerstrom, our State CWA President, in the Environment video with her entire family. Nice work Karri!

So without further ado, here they are!
 
GMO 101
We paired up a mom of two boys, Colleen Cecil, with Dr. Denneal Jamison-McClung, Associate Director of the Biotech Program at the University of California-Davis, to get a baseline understanding of what GMOs are, what they do in the plant and where you can find them in the grocery store


GMO Labeling
We dove into the topic of GMO labeling with Dr. Ruth MacDonald, chair of and professor in the department of food science and human nutrition at Iowa State University, and Chicago mom Joelen Tan of What's Cookin', Chicago?. Those in favor of GMO labeling say it's a matter of "right-to-know." Those opposed to it say it could invoke fear in consumers and offers no additional nutritional information. What do you think?


Genetically Modified Crops Harm Environment?
In this video focusing on impacts GM crops have on the environment, a mom from California, Karri Hammerstrom, asks tough questions of environmental scientist Dr. Cecilia Chi-Ham from the Public Intellectual Property Resource for Agriculture at the University of California-Davis.


Are GMO Foods Less Nutritious?
Registered Dietitian and director of university nutrition at Washington University, Connie Diekman, links up with Farrah Brown, a part-time nurse and full-time mom, to talk about whether GM foods are more or less nutritious than other foods.




Are Genetically Modified Foods Dangerous To Eat?
This video explores the food safety issues related to GM foods through a conversation between an Illinois mom and blogger, Betsie Estes, and a plant molecular geneticist, Dr. Sally Mackenzie, from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.



Thanks to CFI for allowing me to be part of this project. I learned so much and made some new friends and it doen't hurt that they are bio-tech experts too.  Thanks for stopping by! ~mrs.c

Friday, November 2, 2012

My YouTube Debut - for Education of Course!

So I am not a food celebrity but I did get to spend one day being followed around by television cameras, with microphone attached to me, a make-up artist making sure my face was not shining and my bra strap was not showing, learning about the food I eat. I can honestly say I know what a reality television star feels like now - only the filming part, not the revenue part. This project, by The Center For Food Integrity was for education so I was excited to donate my time.
 
Here is part of the crew.
 The goal was to create a five minute video about GMO's. I got to play the part of a mom with questions (I was perfect for the role; I had lats of questions.  My co-star was Denneal Jamison-McClung who is an awesome mom and an Associate Director at UC Davis Biotechnology Program. She was the GMO expert. She to was perfect for her role!  The video was shot at UC Davis all over the campus. The video is for a five part series that will be available the website www.bestfoodfacts,org. The website "gives you the opportunity to connect with food system experts around the country who have done the research, checked their work and want to share the results." The site is great for people who have questions about their food and want to get answers from credible sources and not sponsored lobbying groups.
 
My co-star, fellow mom and new friend Denneal Jamison-McClung
We spent most of the day having a conversation just like any two moms might have about shopping, food, our kids, etc. The difference was we were being watched and recorded. Denneal rocked her part of the video in my opinion. Her job was to educate me about GMO crops, how they are made and why they exist. The meat of the program was to hopefully get on video the right answers that all of you might ask yourself as you walk the grocery store isles. You can be the judge below. I am sure the stopped and asked me to start over more than here .
Here is what it looked like from my viewpoint. Camera guy, producer, sound and a few other important people in the background that you can't see.

I am not a fan of watching myself on video, never have, never will. Probably the horrible experience in college having to watch myself gives oral reasons for livestock judging practice over and over again. The experience this time was not horrible, it was fun but I still don't like seeing myself on video. Yes I am weird, deal with it. So without further delay, here it is. Try not to be harsh, I don;t plan on getting any nominations. However I hope the video will offer a chance to get answers to maybe a few questions you had. I know it answered all of mine.
 

 
Thanks for stopping by! ~mrs. c

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