Hodgepodge - GMOs Topic

Lovestv 01/01/15
Yes, Publix supermarkets here in Florida do not have any produce that was raised with GMOs for the past 17 years. That's where I shop so I don't worry about it.

Dietitian 01/02/15 replied to Lovestv
That's pretty cool - an entire market devoted to non-GMOs.

FYI to all: organic foods/drinks do not contain any GMOs. And organic meat/milk requires that no GMOs were used in animal feed.

If folks are interested in the science relating to GMOs (safety, etc), the National Academies (U.S. organization) has a good website: http://nas-sites.org/ge-crops/?utm_source=GE+Crops&utm_campaign=d01e2b9752-GE_Crops_Committee_and_SOT_Change11_18_2014&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_9401205dbb-d01e2b9752-227257505

Best,
Kathy Isacks, MPS, RD, CDE

KLoewen 01/11/15
There is also a documentary on GMOs on Netflix (in Canada anyway) called "GMO OMG"

Justjennie 01/12/15
Definitely want labeling. Some items in the store that I shop at states on the label that it's non-GMO but not all. This past summer we had our own garden so we have a lot of veggies that we harvested and froze that are 100% non-GMO and no pesticides were used. I also get raw milk from a local farm and they use NO antibiotics or hormones.

I don't trust the GMO stuff. Any food that is modified to make it pest resistant can't be good.

Sunshine&Berries 01/13/15
Not really. I swallow synthetic hormone every morning, so I guess it would be silly to worry about synthetic food. I'm thrilled about this new Fair Life Milk! Extra protein! Yay!

Maybe I'm being naive, but it think that if it hurt people they wouldn't sell it. If they hurt people, they go out of business and they don't want that. Right? I hope so!

I know almost nothing about it, though. Maybe something will come out that makes me worry. Hope not!

Sunshine&Berries 01/13/15
Cheerios have labeling to say they're GMO-free.

Justjennie 01/22/15 replied to Sunshine&Berries
Honestly I'd say you're being a bit naive in that line of thinking. How many times have there been FDA approved drugs that have been yanked from the market because of horrible side effects? Watch t.v. at any given point and you'll see countless ads for these FDA approved drugs with a list of side effects that are worse than what your ailment actually is -- like giving you cancer, TB, or my favorite, a "fatal event".

I for one am concerned about the GMO corn that is actually on the list of one of the most toxic chemicals out there. Corn. That you EAT is TOXIC. Yeah, no thanks. I also just did a search on this "Fair Life Milk". Um, yeah. Doesn't sound that yummy to me. Sounds like their process is removing all the goodness from the milk like the natural bacterias and all the stuff that's actually good for you. And sorry but I really don't think milk should actually have long shelf life. Give me raw milk over processed milk any day!

I would honestly prefer packages be labeled whether or not the food contains GMO's that way I, as the consumer, can decide whether or not I want to buy the product and frankly it would be NOT. There is just something sketchy about food that is resistant to the natural elements. This past summer I had a garden and the produce that I sowed from it was a million times better than store bought and about 95% of the garden was planted with heirloom seeds which means they're not genetically modified and they can be reharvested and replanted year after year (oh yeah. That's another thing. You can't reharvest your GMO seeds if you're a farmer. You will get fined. Not only that but I don't think they reproduce properly so yeah. That's sketchy as well). I also get raw milk from a local farm -- where the cows spend all their time outside grazing in a real pasture! -- and make my own cottage cheese and yogurt, farm fresh eggs from true free-range chickens and am in the process of getting all natural 100% hormone and antibiotic free beef from a local farm as well.

There's too much sketchyness going on in the food industry now with the pushes to make things last longer and meet the FDA "standards".

Snoozenlose 02/04/15
2 points Justjennie

Firstly selective breeding is in one way genetically modifying DNA. It is far from natural selection (inseminating a cow with a turkey baster because that combination of cow and bull will make a fine diary cow). This is combining DNA that would never normally or naturally mix.

Secondly, the scary one, all it takes is a bee to pick up some pollen from a GM crop and fertilise a non GM crop and you then have no idea what you are eating unless you grow it in an insect free/wind free environment. This freaks me out a bit.

Also: genuine question: does organic really mean GM free because my understanding of organic is just pesticide free. In fact pesticides are so heavily regulated that the stuff they spray (yes organic food does get sprayed) isn't really regulated at all and can contain metals etc.

Dietitian 02/05/15 replied to Snoozenlose
Organic & GMOs: Hi Snoozenlose, certified organic in the U.S. is GMO free - all levels. This is a nice USDA document of the National Organic Program - GMO's: http://www.ams.usda.gov/AMSv1.0/getfile?dDocName=STELPRDC5096493

Best,
Kathy Isacks, MPS, RD, CDE

Justjennie 02/06/15 replied to Snoozenlose
I understand selective breeding but with the GMO's they are made pest resistant and pesticide resistant. You can spray down your entire field of crop with Roundup and the crop won't die. That in itself doesn't sound "natural" and if the plant is resistant to a pesticide it makes me wonder what is in it that is harming me.

Hodgepodge - GMOs