Even if the U.S. Department of Agriculture starts taking action on the spread of genetically modified (GM) crops in the US, that won't stop their proliferation in other nations.

America does currently lead the world in GM crop acreage with 123 million, but it's followed by Argentina (42 million) and Brazil (23 million). Soybeans topped the list of GM crops worldwide at 60 percent, followed by maize (24 percent) and cotton (11 percent).

Although the above report claims the thrust of GM crop growth is an altruistic one -- to alleviate hunger, poverty and malnutrition worldwide -- all that tinkering with Mother Nature comes at a heavy price:

The creation of Frankenstein-like crop combinations that can harm your health.

Chances are very good you've eaten GM foods: At least seven out of 10 items at your neighborhood grocery store contain them. That said, there's some steps you can take that will help you steer clear of them:

• Reduce or Eliminate Processed Foods. Some 75 percent of processed foods contain GM ingredients. There are many reasons why processed foods are not optimal for your health -- for instance they often contain trans fat, acrylamide and little nutritional value -- so avoiding them will not only help you to cut back on the amount of GM foods you are consuming, but will also boost your health.

• Read produce and food labels. GM soybeans and corn make up the largest portion of genetically modified crops. When looking at a product label, if any ingredients such as corn flour and meal, dextrin, starch, soy sauce, margarine, and tofu (to name a few) are listed, there's a good chance it has come from GM corn or soy, unless it's listed as organic.

• Buy organic produce. Buying organic is currently the best way to ensure that your food has not been genetically modified. By definition, food that is certified organic must be free from all GM organisms, produced without artificial pesticides and fertilizers and from an animal reared without the routine use of antibiotics, growth promoters or other drugs.

• Look at Produce Stickers. Those little stickers on fruit and vegetables contain different PLU codes depending on whether the fruit was conventionally grown, organically grown or genetically modified. The PLU code for conventionally grown fruit consists of four numbers, organically grown fruit has five numbers prefaced by the number nine, and GM fruit has five numbers prefaced by the number eight.