Last night, after doing a talk for 18 awesome Moms and Dads I was told I should train others. I thought I would share my response as a blog post for all the Moms who want to know how to share about about GMOs and just don't know where to start. Feel free to copy, paste and formulate your own outline or talk.
First of I want you to know one thing. There is no "right way" that I have or anyone else has. The way to do a talk in front of others is to trust yourself. You have everything it takes and all the love in the world to do a perfect talk in front of your best friends or in front of thousands. Now how can you say that? You might ask...you don't even know me...you don't know that I am shy, or soft spoken, or I just can't look people in the eye...I can't be a speaker. Phooey to that, is what I say.
I know you. You are a Mom. You love with ever fiber of your being where you don't even know there are fibers. Your commitment goes to unknowable depths and then some. You are more powerful and more clear and more moving than any fancy advertising or well oiled marketing report ever. When you are present to that love you have for your children, you can do anything. So my "training advice"is that you set aside any chatter in your head that you can't do this or don't know how and take a deep breath. Just think about how adorable your kids are and how you would like them to experience the profound love that you have for them, for their own child one day, that they created and birthed, and then get on with it.
To be a speaker about GMOs:
1) First Introduce yourself and ask by show of hands how many people know about GMOs.
Get a feel for the room and acknowledge them for being there to learn new information (whether they know about GMOs or not) to address their/families well being. It's not easy information and you really want to acknowledge them for their courage.
2)Let them know your intention for the evening in your own words but something like "The intention for this evening is that you leave completely clear about what a GMO is, what the possible health impact could be and what you can do about it. I also intend for you to be empowered to share with others about GMOs.
3) Then authentically say in less than 3 minutes what had you be there. ( practice this, write it down, be clear just so that you are comfortable ) Share your story concisely, keeping in only the most important parts you know they will relate to, understand and be moved by. Touch on before finding out about GMOs and what had you get to the place to want to find out about them. Share your feelings.
4) Show Robyn O'Briens Ted X Talk 18 minute video on YouTube.
5) Get a few people to share how they feel. Expect them to be pretty speechless, so share how you felt, give them the space to relate to your anger, sadness and fear.
6) For a 1-1.5 hr presentation then show, from You Tube, the Genetic Roulette 10 minute version.
7) Address that this movie points out that not everyone is impacted the same way by GMOs, but that every time we do eat them, it is a gamble. Share some facts to help them decide if they want to gamble.
Read the facts from a few new studies, you can use my blog's resources, the 2012 Corn Report, the Glyphosate exposure to Farmer's Family case study and brand new peer reviewed independant scientific published study that shows the link between glyphosate ( which is sprayed directly ON the GMO crops) and the skyrocketing rise of most western diseases like autism, alzheimers, diabetes, infertility, parkinsons etc.
and
8) Address the behavior aspect of GMOs: read an excerpt of Barbara Stitt's book "Food and Behavior the Natural Connection" found on blog, called Violent Behavior and Junk Food, on my site.
9) Then just ask what can we do about this? You might want to hear their answers. If they are still speechless, share what you did and do, how you eat GMO free, etc. You know more about GMOs than most and just let them know you are not a scientist, just a mom that wants to share to Empower Moms to raise Healthy Kids. Inside of that commitment, there is nothing you can say that would be wrong. The most important thing is just to come from love, be who you really are, be compassion
and self expression.
10) Finally, empower them to make a difference. Make sure to note that they can all just eat organic and be fine. Why that doesn't work is because your son/daughter's future spouse is out there somewhere...their child's wife or husband is out there somewhere...and you would all like for their ovaries/parts to work. You would all like for our children to be able to experience the profound love of creating a child of their own flesh and heritage. So what works is to SHARE...and if one Mom shares with 10 people, has a movie night like this, and they share with 5 people, who share with 5 people, then that one person will be personally responsible for 1270 people finding out about GMOs! Ask for a show of hands who thinks they can do that. Acknowledge that if all ten raised their hands, that over 12,000 people will find out about GMOs from tonight!!!
11) Then share about Moms Across America March and how, in one day, across the nation, we can have million of moms and their families find out about GMOs. YES we Moms can do that. We can cause the tipping point of consumer rejection in which food manufacturers will need to replace their ingredients with non GMO. AND labeling for those who don't know about GMOs. This is our country, our children and our freedom to choose what to feed our families. Just grab a trike, a balloon and your kids and join a parade!
Ask who will march by show of hands.
BONUS: If you are really committed to developing your self expression and leadership, I love www.landmarkeducation.com because the courses have empowered me to take on leadership in my life that I never thought possible. I recommend these courses more than anything else. Why take on something else? Because we all have ideas about ourselves that stop us ( not experienced enough, too soft spoken, too busy... etc) . It's time for us Moms to set those aside and BE THE ONES to transform the food industry. At Landmark you get completely empowered to come from what you are committed to..that future you want..rather than all the reasons why you might not do it. Don't let those reasons stop you! No matter what you do, take on the bonus or not, it's time!!!
It's up to us. It's up to you. Monsanto may have a lot of money but the love for our children is bigger than their wallets. The FDA and government may have a lot of power but we have the gift of gab...we will share...no one can stop us....and we buy 85% of the food! It really is up to us, we are the ones with the power.
My new Motto is: BRING IT ON! I am MOM.
Try that on. Book a talk or movie night today. Just look at your calendar book something a week or two out and call up/FB your friends. It might feel scary but the empowerment you are creating for others will be more exhilarating and fuel you.
Lastly, THANK YOU. Many people will benefit from your courage to wonder how you can step up and present a talk about GMOs.
With all the Gratitude in the World,
Zen Honeycutt
