What’s In Our Food?

Oct 21, 2015

By Morgan Kontz

All mothers experience guilt at different points in our parenthood journey.

With my first pregnancy, I wanted to have skin-to-skin contact as soon as my daughter was born. I had watched this amazing video during our birthing classes of a baby being placed on a mother’s chest, and he squirmed and wormed his way to nuzzle up and nurse for the first time.

I wanted that moment.

However, life just didn't work that way. I was induced and was in the hospital for three days before I finally had her via Caesarian section. Then she was taken to the NICU for observation.

Things didn't go as planned. I nursed and pumped and supplemented for eight weeks, and then had to have my gall bladder removed. I didn't have enough of a supply up to go the recommended amount of hours "pumping and dumping." And I felt really, really bad about that. I called one of my closest friends and poured my heart out.

I was overly anxious about the situation, which I learned also affected my supply. I was so worried I was messing up by not getting enough breast milk. But she encouraged me to make my own decision, and not to let others influence it. That was the moment I realized how vulnerable we are as mothers, especially first-time mothers. I decided to stop nursing and to go to formula, because the anxiety just wasn't worth it.

There are so many formula options that it can seem overwhelming. My husband got an email from Similac. Upon reading it, I was upset because I learned that other formulas have something this one doesn't — GMOs, or genetically modified organisms. It's one more label that can be confusing for anyone, let alone a new mom.

After I clicked through their website, I realized Similac does a good job of telling consumers what their non-GMO formula is all about. And that makes my mom heart happy. Their site great for answering questions about feeding your little one, and it takes away some of that "mom guilt" that new mothers might feel.

More and more products are listing themselves as non-GMO, and as a farmer it pushes me to talk about GMOs, biotechnology and the benefits they have in our food supply. To read more about GMOs and biotechnology, check out these posts I have done in the past. And please, ask questions. If it isn't something I can answer, I will find someone who can.

Shopping The Outside Of The Grocery Store

Genetic Traits In Crops

Oh, What's In A Label

The Hottest Topic In The Food Industry: Part 2

The Hottest Topic In The Food Industry

Morgan Kontz lives on a farm near Colman with her husband, Jason, and two children. She blogs about her experiences as a first generation South Dakota farm wife and writes a monthly agriculture column for the South Dakota Magazine website.