Many of my colleagues in the "whole foods" movement don't share my view, but all tinkering with food isn't a bad thing. By adding iodine to salt, we've probably eliminated mental retardation caused by iodine deficiency. We already have flaxseed oil, designed to have higher levels of cancer-fighting lignans, and I can certainly envision, for example, a tomato with higher levels of vitamin A.

So should food technology be used to engineer lower-calorie food?

What's the lowdown on buying organic? It's pretty hard to tell, with the mixed messages we are getting as consumers these days. The definitive study, though, tells us that not only is organic more nutritious, but it is better for the ground water and soil.

A few facts on organic foods:

• they contain up to 90% more antioxidants than conventionally grown food
• they've got higher levels of minerals
• as cancer-fighters, they win the race

Seems as though we should always buy organic, with those stats. Due to availability -- and our budgets! -- buying everything organic may not be an option, and if we're looking to do a real service to the environment, buying what's available locally is a better choice.

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Heinz Tomato Ketchup is my favorite, however the third and fourth ingredients on the label after tomatoes and distilled vinegar are high fructose corn syrup and corn syrup. No wonder I like it.

But now HJ Heinz is cross-pollinating to produce a tomato five to ten percent sweeter than varieties it currently harvests. Keep in mind, this is not a noble move to improve consumer nutrition -- it is a business decision. The cost of corn syrup is up 25 percent, and high fructose comprises ten percent of the cost for a bottle of ketchup. Annually, they'll save millions with a sweeter tomato.

Regardless of intention, it's a win-win to me. Heinz makes more money and we eat less high fructose corn syrup. Even better, the tomatoes are not genetically engineered.

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If you are as skeptical about genetically-modified foods as I am, then you probably want a way to be sure you aren't unknowingly purchasing GMO foods. And if you aren't skeptical, then maybe knowing that GM foods caused lung damage and cancer in laboratory rats might make you take a second look at eating GM foods.

The True Foods Network has created a list of common GM foods that you can print out and take with you to the supermarket.

The list has twenty categories, including baby foods, cereals and snack foods.

Did you know that if you buy any conventional cereals, such as Cheerios, Frosted Flakes and Raisin Bran, that you'll be eating GM foods. You are in danger with almost any processed food, which is just another reason to eat whole foods.

It will be worth your time to get to know the GMO Food Guide.

Where do you stand on the GMO foods issue?

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Although many of us eat organic fruits and veggies to get away from pesticides and herbicides that may have left residue on that tasty mango or tomato, did you know that there are more reasons to buy and eat organic?

The nutrient content of many farms (if they can be called that) was depleted long ago and there are an abundance of normal, everyday grocery store fruits and vegetables that simply taste great, but have little to no nutrients to offer. Remember, if the soil in which things are grown is depleted of nutrients, the things growing in that soil will be devoid of nutrients as well.

How about organically grown tomatoes? Recent research that compared conventional and organic foods found that there was a much larger amount of flavonoids in organic tomatoes than in conventional tomatoes. Sounds about right to me. Is organic worth the price premium? It is from my corner.

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Hay fever is about as unpleasant experience as many of us will ever have. The short fevers, sinus infections, runny noses and scratchy throats are not the preferred way to spend a few days or even a few weeks.

A genetically modified form of rice currently under development in Japan is said to be able and bring relief to Japanese citizens who struggle with hay fever.

For some, the term "genetically modified" anything sounds scary, and especially when related to food consumption. In this case, modified forms of rice could be engineered with health-enhancing characteristics that would be designed to help consumers battle the effects of hay fever.

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