The case for Farmers' Markets

Let me start with the admission that this post really ought to have been written a couple of months ago but sometimes better late than never. 

I am a big proponent of Farmers' Markets and am a regular at our Sunday market.  There is something about growing your own produce that inspires a renewed respect for the hardy souls who toil the earth to grow our produce.  It is no surprise therefore that this post is about putting to rest some doubts that tend to creep up now and then about Farmers' Markets.  

Debunking the "Its expensive" myth

Prices at the markets tend to be fairly dynamic swinging wildly depending on the climate, rain, salmonella scares and even time of day that you show up at the market.  It is not uncommon for prices to start out high earlier in the morning only to be dropped to dirt cheap if you show up around closing time.  Last week I decided to keep an account and figure out what the actual expenditure was.  Since I never go to the market with more than $40, this is what I got for my $40 (no I don't go at closing.  I get there around 11am along with what seems like the rest of the city!)

- 2 bunches of organic carrots

- 2 organic red peppers

- 4 organic squash

- 2lbs of okra

- 1lb of green beans

- 1 bunch of organic kale

- 4 ears of organic corn

- 5lbs of organic plums

- 6lbs of organic peaches

- 1 basket of organic strawberries

- 3/4 lb of organic fingerling potatoes

- a bouquet of fresh flowers

That's not so bad is it?  But that is not all.  Check out this comparison for organic plums

Twin Girls Organic Farm (a local CA farm) - $1.00/lb

Coscto - $1.36/lb

Trader Joes - $1.49/lb

Since I rarely go to the other stores, I don't have their prices handy but am willing to bet that none of them undercut Costco (barring the folks at the Farmers' Markets of course)

The evidence is clear.  Farmers' Markets are not necessarily more expensive.  

It's not always organic

Yes, this is true.  Just because produce is being sold at Farmers' Markets, it is not necessarily all organic.  These farmers are also subject to the same expensive and time consuming certifications as the larger well known farms.  However, there is a big caveat.  

Just because they are not certified organic does not mean that the produce is not organic.  Legally, the farmers are not allowed to make organic claims but they are willing to talk to you about their farming practices if you pose the questions.  Here are some of the questions I ask when I encounter a non-certified farmer.

       

Do you use any sprays or pesticide?

What kind of fertilizer do you use?

Are you going to get certification?

How long before you get certification?  (the farm has to use organic practices for a minimum number of years before it can even be eligible for organic certification)

Where do you get your seeds from?

Do you save your seeds? (they would never be able to save seed if they were buying GMO (genetically modified organism) seeds.

I tend to go back week after week and ask the same questions to different workers in the stall.  I usually get a consistent answer.  Some of them admit to using some form of pesticide or fungicide.  Others claim to be pesticide free but divulge that they use chemical fertilizer.  Some are working their way to being eligible for certification.  And there are a couple who berate the certification process and its expense and unfairness and refuse to get certification.  (that's a topic for a future post)

In addition, it never hurts to check out the website of the organizing body for the Farmers' Market which lists all the vendors and their farming practices.  In my case, it is Marin Agricultural Institute.

I happily buy a mix of certified organic produce and "trusted" produce.  I also use EWG's Shopper's Guide to make an educated choice when I am not sure.  

Its not always locally grown

Last year, I came across this piece regarding fraud at some Los Angeles Farmers' Markets and I did think long and hard about this.  I personally tend to go by gut instinct but there are a few commonsense measures that one can take.  

Talk to the farmers

I like to talk to them about where the produce is from.  I ask them questions about what the weather is doing, what else are they are growing that season, how the harvest has been, heads up on whats coming next, recipes, anything.  You can find out a lot about the farmer and his practices just from talking to them.  One time one of the vendors started describing in detail what it is like to pluck apricots in the 100+ degree weather in Modesto and how his back was hurting.  Modesto is a ways off from Mexico :-)

Look around

Look at the boxes.  Look at the trucks.  Look for inconsistencies in produce, ie. out of season produce, random availability (mangoes and bananas at a Northern CA market should be a dead giveaway). It is easy to spot the small family farmer - he has small quantities of a variety of produce and often runs out of items if you are late.  

Don't have the time for all this

A friend once made an excellent observation.  These days, we spend inordinate amounts of time researching every single purchase, restaurants, movies, books, blogs, etc. Heck there are companies built around reviewing products and helping us making right consumer choices.  How then can we afford to take food and our health lightly?  It is a tragedy if we do not make the time to make the right choices about something that is so basic as food.  After all what can be more important than our health?  

So hit the Farmers' Markets and start exploring.  You will be rewarded with a richer and more delicious variety of produce with names that you have never even heard of.  'Flavor grenades' anyone?  That is just one of 5 varieties of plums being sold this season.  How about the 3 different kinds of 'Pluots"?  That's a cross between apricots and plums if you had not already guessed.  You will learn to appreciate fruits and vegetables that you have never seen or eaten before.    

I cannot bear to shop for produce at a regular supermarket anymore and my Sundays are planned around making a 1 hour pilgrimage to the market.  My kids now know that food does not come from stores.  They like to see the farmer who grew their food for them.  For those of you for whom the Farmers' Markets are too far or are getting ready to close for the winter, do try CSAs (Community Supported Agriculture) to get your produce.  

Whatever you do, don't just settle for what your big box grocery store has to offer.  

A question for my Farmers' Market groupies - what do you guys do to get around some of these concerns and get comfortable with shopping at the Farmers' Markets?

To eat or not to eat?

Came across this video this morning and I am not so sure what to think about it.  On one hand, I too am as grossed out as Jamie Oliver is in this video, but on the other hand I have to admit that his 'yuck' reaction seems to be more in line with 'since it is not something that we normally call food, it can't possibly be food'.

There are other cultures in the world in which bones, tendons, cartilages, organs, giblets, etc. are all considered usable and edible parts of an animal, cultures where animals are considered sacred enough to use all parts of the slaughtered animal and nothing is left to waste.



That said, I am still myopic enough to echo Jamie Oliver's 'yuck' reaction and am certainly not accepting of all the additives and chemicals that are added to make the paste 'yummy'.  I am now wondering at the wisdom of having agreed to let my kids eat Chicken Nuggets at McDonald's atleast once during our upcoming road trip.  Hmmmn.....what to do??

Of Alligators and Activism

We just returned from visiting family in central Florida.  The trip was awesome and we enjoyed spending quality time with our family.  However an incident with my 7 year old son is still bothering me and I am grappling with what it means for me. 

We decided to do a very Florida-esque thing and took an airboat ride out on one of the local lakes.  The ride itself is not exactly harmful to the environment (aside from the din of the motor) and the kids got to see an amazing number of marsh birds, turtles and alligators extremely up close and in the wild.  The gift shop attached to the tour operator however was a little questionable.  Along with other souvenirs, they also sold taxidermic baby alligator ‘trophies’ which were heads of baby alligators with intact gaping mouth and teeth finished off with a display base.  I could not believe that these were real alligators.  Alas, they were.  The heads are harvested from farms which breed alligators for meat and skin (and souvenirs it seems).  For whatever reason my son took a fancy to it and insisted that he wanted to buy one to take home.  I told him that since it was real there was no way we were going to buy it and he wanted to know why.  Aiming for shock and sympathy, I told him that they “chop” off the heads of baby alligators (like the cute one displayed in an aquarium in the same shop) to make the souvenir and that I was sure he did not want such a fate for baby alligators.  Pat came the reply, 

Son: "But the alligator is already dead.  He is not going to come alive just because I don't buy it."

Me: "Yes, but we are simply not going to buy something that was made by killing an alligator." 

Son: "But why?  I am not killing it.  Someone else did it.  I just want it because it looks like a toy."

Me: "Well, we are not going to buy it because if we do then the people selling it will think more people want it and will kill more baby alligators."

Son: [by now in frustrated tears] "I really want it and I don't get it and I don't care.  I like it."

Me: [pulling the parent trump card] "Well, I am sorry but you simply cannot have it.  It is not the right thing to do."

On the car drive home, I proceeded to give him a long lecture in what it means to stand up for what you believe and how we can prevent things by not supporting certain activities that are against your principles and blah, blah, blah.  Suddenly I realized that I was trying to give him a lesson in activism.  Well I know that the 7 year old did not really care for what I was saying but I hope someday he understands.  In the meantime though I have been wondering how much of this activism I am applying to my own beliefs.  For the time being, lets just talk about food beliefs :-)

Double Standards?
Yes, I do try to buy organic, free range, GMO free, local, seasonal, etc. when it is available.  If it is not easily available then I must admit that about 20% of the time, I will buy whatever is conveniently available (ex. wheat, rice, oil, pasta, etc.).  My family still eats out at restaurants a fair bit with absolutely no information on their food sourcing all the while nursing the nagging knowledge that it is definitely not organic nor is it free range.  In principle, I disagree with the big industrial organics due to their environmental, labor and economic impacts.  That said, I do go ahead and buy Earthbound greens at Costco.  So what gives?   All too often, I succumb to taking the easier road just because it is there and is easily available.  How does one face up to the hypocrisy of refusing to let a 7 year old take home a souvenir on grounds of principle but not apply it in other arenas of your life?

Nah, I am not about to go off the deep end and turn a total hippie (not yet atleast while pragmatism still rules) but at some point we should all start thinking about what food activism means for us.  In the food circles, often there is mention of ‘vote with your fork’ and I do believe that it is a great start.  How can we as consumers or rather as ‘eaters’ ask demand for more organic, GMO free, free range choices?  Should we reject choices that simply do not meet our standards?  For example, I have stopped buying grapes completely till they are in season which is the only time I can find organic grapes.  I am sure there are other such choices that can be made as easily.  

Is there more beyond ‘vote with your fork’?  I am sure there is.  A few days ago there was a posting on Facebook titled ‘Food is Political’.  I did not fathom how intertwined food and politics are until some recent readings (from Marion Nestle and Raj Patel).  The cynical part in me has always passed up on petitions and letters to legislators as something that did not really amount to much.  Marion Nestle’s book, Food Politics, has totally shed a different light on the power of corporate lobbyists, media blitzing and public opinion on legislative processes.  Up until now it has been the likes of Monsanto, Cargill, etc. who have leveraged these processes for their corporate benefit.  What we need are more non-profits, public watchdogs, think tanks, community organizations, farmer networks leveraging media, lobbyists and public opinion to drive food and water safety issues across the political spectrum.  Only then will we stop hearing stories of farmers being sued by Monsanto for having their non GMO fields being cross contaminated amongst other ridiculous tales.  
 

The Challenge is on!

Thanks to my son (who did not get his alligator head and has since forgotten about it), I have decided to challenge myself (and you too if interested) over the next 3 months to:
1) Reduce by 30% eating at restaurants that do not have known organic/free-range sourcing
2) Switch to organic staples, ie. wheat, rice, cooking oils, legumes
3) Figure out how to participate in the politiical process for food legislation

I am not sure of how to go about #3 but will report back on my progress.
In the meantime chime in with your ideas on how we, ‘eaters’ can become food activists and get our voices heard (and live with a clearer conscience when denying our children their whims).

How much is too much? Sugar that is.

 Refined sugar is always made out to be the big bad wolf in the context of a healthy diet.  Where is the joy in food if there is to be no sugar around?  Sugar in all its incarnations, ie. refined white sugar, brown sugar, cane syrup, jaggery, molasses, brings out a unique flavor in foods.  In fact, my mom’s traditional cooking has to have 3 complementing flavors in all foods - salty, sweet and sour.  Sweet foods are also inherent to most cultures appearing in various celebrations and rituals. Like with salt, we simply can't turn our backs on sugar.

The more pertinent question should be how much sugar is acceptable and when does it start becoming a problem?  There is a really neat, interactive infographic that shows how many calories are consumed on an average per day by Americans and where these come from.  Per the graph, in 2008, from a daily total of 2673 calories, added sugar makes up a whopping 459 calories.  To look at it in more measurable terms, that is about 28 teaspoons of sugar!!  Mind you this is only added sugar.....not the sugar that is intrinsic in milk, fruit and carbohydrates which are counted separately in the graph and processed differently by the body.  

Sheesh!  Where is it all coming from?  
I couldn’t believe it when I first saw the infographic.  However that very evening I was scheduled to work the snack bar at my son’s baseball game.  As kids came up with their precious dollars, the only things that seemed to be flying off the shelves were assorted candies some of which I have never even heard of.  The most popular of all was the giant Pixy Stix which is a long straw filled with nothing but sugar (so said an 8 year old who came by twice for just those).  But come on now, that is hardly typical, is it? Maybe not but it is still easy to see how it can add up.  Consider some of the examples

Obvious culprits especially with kids
- cake, cookies, icecream, candy, soda, sweetened beverages, desserts
Innocuous treats
- crackers, fruit juices (from concentrates), waffles, pancakes, jelly, muffins
In staples
- cereals, bread, flavored oatmeal, flavored milk (chocolate, ovaltine, etc.), flavored yogurt, ketchup
Cleverly hidden in seemingly healthy foods
- pasta sauce, soups, deli meat, salad dressing, canned fruits, fruit leather
Unknown
- restaurant foods, ready to eat foods

The list is actually much longer considering that added sugar appears in our foods under many different names - raw sugar, white sugar, brown sugar, cane juice, evaporated cane juice, corn syrup solids, high fructose corn syrup, honey, molasses, fruit juice concentrates, maltose, dextrose, sorbitol, fructose, maltodextrin, xylitol, etc.

I suppose it is not so surprising after all that we have those additional 459 calories or 28 teaspoons of sugar in our diets.  

Much ado about nothing?

I was once asked what the big deal about sugar was and I stumped to give a convincing answer.  When I came home and thought about it, I came up with a few reasons as to why excess sugar is bad for us some of which are backed by scientific research and others which are claims and beliefs of alternative health practitioners.  

• The empty calories displace other nutritious foods from your diet
• Excess sugar is converted to body fat thus increasing chances of obesity and risk of Type 2 diabetes
• Impairs blood sugar regulation causing frequent fluctuations in blood sugar which can negatively impact cardiovascular and kidney health
• New research links excess sugar to heightened insulin levels setting the body up for Type 2 diabetes, high cholesterol and the dreaded “cancer”
• Weakens digestive and gut health potentially leading to more serious autoimmune disorders including inflammatory bowel disease
• Hinders with the absorption of Vitamic C by the body thus reducing immunity
• Aggravates mood and behavioral issues with sugar highs and lows
• Promotes tooth decay and poor dental health
• Sugar is an addicting substance and there is definitely something such as a sugar craving(I should know. I am quite susceptible to those)

Over the years there have been studies conducted by various scientists and physicians on different indigenous populations such as the Inuits, Andean tribes, Okinavans and others with notable levels of good health and longevity.  For generations, these populations had few or no incidences of chronic diseases or cancer  However with the introduction of the so called ‘western diet’ which includes large quantities of refined carbohydrates and added sugar, the incidences of diseases such as cancer and diabetes are becoming more prevalent.  This observation should count for something too.


Last but not the least, there are researchers from Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and Harvard Medical School who are wary of the cancer risks of sugar.  (See Gary Taubes recent article, titled “Is Sugar Toxic?”). When researchers worry about something so should we.  


Naysayers will have you believe that none of this evidence is conclusive enough to cause too much concern.  Hmmn.....I rather think that the evidence is suggestive enough for me to worry.  Besides who are these naysayers?  More likely than not, they are folks with vested interest such as the Big Ag, Corn Refiners Association, sugarcane growers and refiners and their lobbyists.  Gosh, don’t they think we can recognize a conflict of interest in their advertising and public service announcements?

Here to stay?
Sugar does have a special place in most cultures.  Originating in ancient India where it was processed from sugarcane, sugar spread to the Arab world and subsequently to Europe in the 12th century.  It flourished in the new world thanks to a cruel slave economy and in modern times, the sugar industry has been complicit in labor exploitation in developing nations.  In the early days, refined sugar was a luxury reserved for royalty and the wealthy but over time it became more accessible and ironically, today it seems to be the key ingredient in the manufacture of cheap, processed foods.  

Sugar has a pretty tight foothold in the culinary expression of most cultures. Sweetened foods are usually a staple during festivals and religious celebrations in many countries.  Humans especially children also intrinsically seek out sweet flavors.  How then are we to turn away from something that dominates our historical, biological and cultural being?  

We don’t!  Instead we should recognize that the excessive use of sugar has slowly been creeping up on us and we should try to find a balance.  Moderation and making informed choices and/or trade-offs is probably more palatable than simply giving up all forms of refined sugar.  

Last week, my mom and I made a traditional Indian savory bread/snack from millet (bajri) and fenugreek (methi) leaves mixed with spices and we did throw in a bit of sugar to balance out the flavors.  My heart sank when she was pouring in the sugar but after some calculations we determined that we had 1g of sugar per serving (2 pieces).  Compare that with

3g of sugar per serving of Orowheat Whole Wheat bread (1 slice)
5g of sugar per serving of Kashi Heart to Heart cereal (1/2 cup)
9g of sugar per serving of Activia Vanilla yogurt (1/2 cup or 4oz cup. Of the 17g listed, 8g are from naturally occurring sugars in the milk)
13g of sugar per serving of Ragu Chunky Style spaghetti sauce (1/2 cup)

What gives?

I suppose obsessive label reading is in my future while my children look askance at me since I am forever changing rules on them.  My daughter seems to have adapted though.  She did not bat an eyelid at the Dr.’s office and opted for the Barbara’s Snackanimal crackers instead of the obligatory lollipop.  Damage averted?

10g of sugar in the lollipop
3g of sugar in the 5 animal crackers she ate

Next challenge?  To teach my kids that fruits can be a treat too and save dessert for those special days only.

Rocket Science made easy :-)

Here is a flowchart from blogger Darya Pino at Summer Tomato to get you around the modern day supermarket.  If not anything else, it is sure to bring a smile to your face.  Happy Monday!

Organic Shmorganic

Seems like everyone is selling organic produce these days from the prestigious Whole Foods to the savvy shopper’s paradise, Costco.   Heck when Walmart gets into the business of organic produce, you know the day of reckoning has come.  Lets back up and figure out what ‘organic’ means in the first place.

Organic foods are those that are produced using environmentally sound methods that do not involve modern synthetic inputs such as pesticides and chemical fertilizers, do not contain genetically modified organisms, and are not processed using irradiation, industrial solvents, or chemical food additives.1

And what about Organic certification?

Certified organic food in the United States is grown according to standards set by the National Organic Program of the USDA (US Department of Agriculture).  According to those standards, Organic food is produced without using most conventional pesticides; fertilizers made with synthetic ingredients or sewage sludge; bioengineering; or ionizing radiation. Before a product can be labeled "organic," a USDA accredited certifier inspects the farm where the food is grown to make sure the farmer is following all the rules necessary to meet USDA organic standards.

However the entire ‘organic’ discussion is fraught with contradictions.  There are numerous organic certifications but also seemingly equal number of tainted organic produce scandals.  On one hand we have Michael Pollan urging that we shop locally for our produce and then my friend in NJ promptly reminds me that their Farmers’ Markets operate only April through October.  They are at the mercy of the supermarkets for the rest of the year.  And what about the cost of buying organic which can be so prohibitive?  Amidst all this confusion how should one approach the basic task of buying healthy produce which is really all we want?

Tatsoi anyone?
Tatsoi (Brassica narinosa or Brassica rapa var. rosularis), also called spinach mustard, spoon mustard, or rosette bok choy, is an Asian variety of Brassica rapa grown for greens. [from Wikipedia]

My  local farmers’ market is devoid of the gazzillion salad greens you might find at the San Franscisco Ferry Building Market.  However I do come across  interesting finds such as tatsoi, broccolini, mango plums as well as some of the more ‘ethnic’ produce such as fenugreek leaves, okra, amaranth leaves.  Of the 15 odd produce stalls in the market, there are only 4 that sell certified organic produce and most of these guys don’t sell the ‘interesting’ ones mentioned above.  The farmer who sells Tatsoi does not have any certification but always claims that his produce is grown organically and is pesticide free.  Indeed I have on occasion found a caterpillar or some other pest feasting amongst the leaves so it must be pesticide free, right?  The first time that happened, my knee jerk reaction was to pronounce the produce as ‘spoilt’ but then I remembered the times when I have pulled out Swiss Chard from my little veggie patch and found it to be a haven for a few different bugs which had to be rinsed off pretty vigorously.  My produce was far from being ‘spoilt’.  Since my tatsoi guy does not use any fertilizer, pesticide, herbicide, irradiation, etc., I asked him why he did not get organic certification.  He responded quite matter of factly, “because we don’t want to keep giving the agency $700-$800 every year for doing nothing.”  Therein lies the problem with acquiring organic certification.  It is simply too much of a financial and labor burden for the smaller farmers since in additional to the steep fees, there is a lot of paperwork and record-keeping involved.

Trust Thy Farmer!

How then is the average consumer supposed to be assured whether what they are buying is really healthy or not?  It is a tough call to make but my tactic has been to talk to the people who are growing the produce as much as possible.  Once you start frequenting the market, you start recognizing the faces, you see entire families of farmers working the stalls.  You notice that they are practising sound farming techniques like crop rotation, etc.  You would never find them just selling one vegetable.  In fact their stalls look like a scaled up version of what a backyard vegetable patch would yield - smaller quantities of many different vegetables.  These are the people who know exactly where and how the fruit or vegetable grows.  They are happy to tell you how to pick a good one from a pile.  They will tell you the truth if you will but ask them.  They don't make false claims and their goal is to make a honest living.  For example, at my local market, there is a fruit seller from Visalia, CA who has an amazing variety of fruits throughout the seasons - plums, peaches, grapes, pomegranates, oranges, pears, you name it.  When I spoke to him, he vehemently claimed that he did not spray anything and that his produce was pesticide free but admitted using fertilizer to amend the soil.  That precludes him from getting any organic certification.   Do I buy his produce?  Yes I do.  At some level, I have equated pesticide free to be healthy.  

Organic at Costco
What about the certified organic produce at the supermarkets or at Costco, what is known in the food circles as ‘industrial organic’?  It is a little bit of a complicated issue.  On one hand, I do place an implicit trust in the organic certification labels because at the minimum it assures me that there are no health damaging pesticides or herbicides involved.  However the large scale operations tend to be mono-culture, ie. specializing in one or two select crops, require organic soil amendments and drain local water resources. Added to that is the fact that there is almost always some kind of processing involved with the big organic operations, ex. triple-washing, bagging as well as transportation over long distances.  The success of industrial organic then is largely achieved by ignoring the sustainability and environmental issues.  All that said and done, how can you argue the affordability of buying a big box of certified organic spinach or organic apples at Costco prices?  I can’t.

Healthy?  Organic?  Is there is a difference?
I suppose we all have to make our choices somewhere or the other.  For me it has boiled down to a multi-step decision making for buying my healthy produce.  

1. Buy local certified organic
2. Buy local ‘assured’ organic or ‘assured’ pesticide free  (yes, it is a huge leap of faith but I choose to believe the farmers I have spoken to)
3. Buy supermarket organic from so-called small farms (believe it or not, there is organic produce in supermarkets that comes from local or relatively local farms.  Read the labels and skip the stuff from Chile for the time being)
4. Buy industrial organic
5. Buy conventional if it is not listed on the Dirty Dozen of produce

Somewhere here there should be the option of buying a share in a CSA (Community Shared Agriculture) where you get a box of certified organic produce from a local farm on a regular basis.  I have no opinions on CSAs just yet since I have not tried them but have plans of doing so in the near future.  

And last but not the least, there is the exemption which I call ‘buy no matter what’, ie. something I have to buy whether it is organic or local or whatever only because I am spoilt and won’t give it up no matter what (for me this includes mangoes and bananas amongst a couple of other items).  The trick is to keep this list at a minimum.  

The bottom line is that we want produce that is healthy without breaking the bank.  In an ideal world we would want it without having hurt the planet or infringed upon someone’s human rights but for the time being lets just worry about getting healthy produce, OK?




1 Allen, Gary J. & Albala, Ken, ed (2007). The business of food: encyclopedia of the food and drink industries. ABC-CLIO. p. 288. ISBN 9780313337253.

Consumer Beware!

How often do you pick up a box of cereal or some other food in the grocery store and try to make sense of the endless list of ingredients?  Even if you manage to pronounce all of them correctly, how much of it do you get?  I mean really get it?  Is it harmless?  Is it responsible for this health issue or the other?  When do the alarms go off in your head?  

For all you iPhone users out there, here are a couple of apps which might make that trip to the grocery store a little bit easier.  

Choose Healthier Foods
The application from Fooducate Blog appears to give information on ingredients, serving sizes and a grade.  I think it also provides some alternative products.  The blog is pretty impressive too (started by a dad who seems to have similar qualms as me about what to put in our kids’ mouths).
http://www.fooducate.com/blog/category/fooducate-mobile-app/

Avoid GMO foods (Genetically Modified Organisms)
This application from the ShopNoGMO Project is free and lists the brands and products which have been verified to be GMO free.  It also lists common GMO crops and ingredients which use them.    
http://www.nongmoproject.org/consumers/search-participating-products/iphone-app-shopping-guide/

They have a pdf version as well over here
http://www.nongmoshoppingguide.com/download.html

As a non iPhone user, I guess I still have to rely on Google and memory to decipher the ingredients.  However here is a helpful tip - a product that says ‘made with organic ingredients only’ is required to have a minimum of 70% organic ingredients but it also has to have 100% non-GMO ingredients.  I guess one should just stick to products made with 'organic ingredients only' to avoid GM.  Hmmmn, wouldn’t it be much simpler to have products with GMOs in them labeled as such?  Apparently 9 out of 10 Americans would like that but the FDA is probably paying more attention to the Monsanto lobbyists with much deeper pockets.  I wonder if it has something to do with those 53% of Americans who say they would not buy GMO foods if the products were labeled as such.  That is a gripe for another posting as is the whole argument against GMO in the first place.  

In the meantime, here are a couple of action related links if you want to voice your opinions about GMOs.

http://organicconsumers.org/monsanto/

Not to get all political and stuff but really it should be consumer demand that controls the fortunes of the big food corporations.  Then why is it the other way around right now?  We ought to take action to change that.  After all it is a matter of our health and future.