GMO "foods" and Monsanto...

[veggie_balls]

What are your thoughts on GMO foods and monsanto genetically modifying our food? I believe that this is extremely detrimental and traces of their roundup product is becoming more abundant in our environment now. I'm guessing the only way to be sure not to feed my family GMO foods (including additives) is to buy organic or to look for the NonGMO labels. Any info is greatly appreciated!

[Gershon]

I eat mostly organic food except when I eat out.

There have been chemicals in our foods all my life - they just keep changing. It's not that I'm not concerned, but I know there is no way to stop it. If I buy organic, I theoretically don't have to worry about them, but who knows if some are cheating?

I think the loss of seed diversity will eventually create problems in the world. I also don't like what Monsanto is doing to farmers in other countries.

In one of his videos, Dr. McDougall said GMO foods are a distractor. He isn't saying they are good. What I understood him to say is we can become so concerned about GMO foods that we forget to keep our eyes on the goal of eating a healthy diet. He said the same thing about focusing too much on exercise. It is an important factor, but not the most important one.

It's possible some people might decide that with GMO foods and chemicals, it's impossible to eat a healthy diet, so why bother trying? Maybe it's better for people changing their diet to at least buy the right foods first, and then make the transition to organic. Some people can't afford the difference in price to buy organic, so they do what they can do. For instance, I just paid $4.99 for 2 pounds of organic brown rice. The "natural" version was $2.99, so I can see why some would choose the "natural" version.

In my opinion, the best thing I can do to protest and stop Monsanto is to buy organic food. This will bring down the prices for everyone, and eventually it won't be profitable to sell GMO chemical soaked foods.

[colonyofcells]

It is hard to prove that non organic food is killing people in the long term or that gmo goods will kill people in the long term since there are some people who reject epidemiology studies. I just follow my common sense and avoid the pesticides in non organic food and the haphazardly gene manipulated untested gmo foods. I also try to keep cell phones away from my body if possible. What I heard about the way gmo is done is scary. They seem to just blast the desired gene material into the target genes and hope it hits the right places.

[vgpedlr]

I'm afraid the genie is out of the bottle on this one, and it is not going back in. Even something like DDT, which has been illegal for decades, persists in our environment. Fortunately the body has an amazing ability to detoxify, especially when given lots of veggies. Eating low on the food chain minimizes one's exposure, Dr. Greger has excellent videos on this. I buy organic when I can, but don't stress over it when I can't. I want to support that kind of agriculture, even though it isn't as organic as it once was. I agree with McDougall that it is not the main issue. People are not dying from GMOs, but they are dying from the rich Western diet, which was around long before. First things first.

[colonyofcells]

It seems that global warming has already started to affect the ability of our crops to create plant protein tissues and I guess this is affecting their survival so we might soon need gmo to try to create plants that will survive the worsening global warming problem that might kill all our crops.

[nayasmom]

Not to rain on anyone's parade, but the "organically grown" label on foods is not a guarantee that it is "non-gmo". The label of "organic" only refers to how it's grown, not what is grown.
Unless the labeling specifies "non-gmo", then you never are sure, even if it's organically grown. Lundberg Family Farms, for instance, verify that NONE of their products are gmo, ever. They do not use organic farming methods in all of their crops, just the ones certified organically grown. However, I would buy ANY products from them because of their environmentally sound crop schedules. I like that they plant vetch in winter, and rotate the acreage so that parts of the land is left to rest a year or so. They also go out and move nests before flooding their growing fields. All of that is in addition to their non-gmo policy in all of their crops.
Robyn

[veggie_balls]

Thank you all for the responses! My family and I have been plant based, no-added-oil, low sodium for 2 years now and we haven't cheated once. So, I'm really concerned about this GMO issue because we've worked so hard and I figure we are doing the right thing (I lost 65 lbs, I'm a triathlete, came off of meds, my wife has MS, but med and symptom-free, etc.).

So, I guess we just try our best to avoid and not stress too much. We can afford to buy organic and the way we see it is that we are "voting" by what we buy in the store. Buying organic and making them restock certain items more often tells them that this is what a lot of people want. And, I hate to wish misfortune upon another, but I hope that the meat industry, dairy industry and GMO food companies feel the sting of lost profit from one more family not partaking in what they are about. One can dream...

[Drew_ab]

Not to rain on anyone's parade, but the "organically grown" label on foods is not a guarantee that it is "non-gmo". The label of "organic" only refers to how it's grown, not what is grown.
Unless the labeling specifies "non-gmo", then you never are sure, even if it's organically grown. Lundberg Family Farms, for instance, verify that NONE of their products are gmo, ever. They do not use organic farming methods in all of their crops, just the ones certified organically grown. However, I would buy ANY products from them because of their environmentally sound crop schedules. I like that they plant vetch in winter, and rotate the acreage so that parts of the land is left to rest a year or so. They also go out and move nests before flooding their growing fields. All of that is in addition to their non-gmo policy in all of their crops.
Robyn

You are wrong. Something labelled organic CANNOT be GMO. I could try and find the reference, but the gentleman who was on the Rich Roll Podcast a few episodes back was talking about it. Him and his son are currently running across America against. GMO foods and Monsanto.

[Joseph65]

Here is your reference, the federal government.

http://blogs.usda.gov/2013/05/17/organic-101-can-gmos-be-used-in-organic-products/

[nayasmom]

Thanks for the link, Joseph. I notice it is dated 2013, and I had read about it several years ago that "organic" could include gmo. I'm wondering when that definition of organic was specified, so you know? The article itself doesn't appear to have the particulars.
Robyn

[Grateful4blessings]

My take is that the hysteria against GMOs is overwhelmingly scientifically unfounded. Dr. McDougall laid it out:

"Since becoming commercially available in 1994, no reputable medical journal has published even one case of disease in humans caused by consuming GMO foods."
http://www.drmcdougall.com/2013/08/31/g ... straction/

I started doing more research last year on GMO foods. I was curious if the myriad of GMO-adverse memes and articles that kept popping up in my Facebook news feed were based on fact. Nope. Over 90% of them were false. I was really surprised to learn that GMOs have around 2,000 studies to back them up. I was previously told by many people that GMOs haven't been studied that much, which simply isn't true.

Check out this article via the Genetic Literacy Project. It's pretty eye opening.
http://www.geneticliteracyproject.org/2 ... 0wedqhX-uY

This isn't to say I agree with all of Monsanto's business practices. However after examining the scientific evidence I'm not nearly as worried about GMOs (from a health standpoint) as I was before.

[Joseph65]

The organic label was first established in 2000 by the Federal government. How it has changed over time I'm not sure. However you do have to be careful. There are currently three levels of organic. The first is food that is labeled 100% organic because it is ALL organic, then you have the 95% category which can be labeled "organic" but can't use the 100% expression. Last you have the 75% class which can state that the product is "made with organic ingredients."

[Joseph65]

The problem I have with GMO products is you're never sure what kind of genes they've spliced into the plant. Take the tomato, in order to prevent spoilage and freezing they've spliced an artic fish gene into the plant. The last thing I want as a vegan is to have fish genes spliced into my veggies.

[nayasmom]

In all likelihood I was probably reading pseudoscientific arguments about gmo and organic, then. My information comes from reading material posted on websites about 3 or 4 years ago, at most. Like the business of cancer, or the business of promoting high protein diets, there's an awful lot of foolish information out there and I should be more discriminating in this particular arena.

Having said that, my objections to gmo are varied but not insignificant and certainly not hysterical. Monsanto promotes its round-up ready seeds. That means that their seed is genetically engineered to be impervious to round-up. Do I want to eat food that is impervious to round-up? Not just no but HELL NO.
And guess what? As the "weed" world produces round-up resistant generations, Monsanto steps up to the plate with a yet more dangerous and toxic product, and thereby genetically engineers more round-up ready seed. Mmm mmm good? Yeah... no.

Since profit is the name of the game, anyone who plants round-up ready seed is legally barred from saving seed for the next year's crop. All seed must be purchased new each planting season from Monsanto.

Then there's the problem of soil saturation. How long does this stuff stay in the soil? How much has leached into groundwaters? And so on.

With all this nastiness about patenting of seed, genetic engineering, round-up-proofing of seed, etc, I don't really care if there are any definitive and/or conclusive studies proving that Monsanto seed is safe for consumption by man or beast. I have the wherewithal to make the decision for myself if I want to be exposed to it,a nd my decision is that I don't want to be exposed to it.

The argument is no different from the one over injecting growth hormone into milk cows or antibiotic into food animals. There's not one study that ties in those practices with ill health or increased ill health in the consumers of this stuff, but I'm not going to risk being right in my suspicions by eating that stuff or feeding it to my dogs.
Robyn

[Joseph65]

I've already been a victim of Monsanto once with cancer from exposure to Agent Orange. Roundup was formulated from the same chemical base as Agent Orange. That's why I stay away from any product that contains a GMO that was developed around Roundup. The genetics of the plant might or might not be dangerous but I know darn well that Roundup is a killer.