GMO studies???

[k15n1]

In my garden, I avoid even hybrids because I want to be able to save seeds. It's that whole SS thing. What happens if you don't have access to a seed catalog when you need it? And it's just exciting to have the chance of discovering a mutant that tastes better, stores better, etc.

I have a technical background and a PhD in biochemistry and I'm surprised at the emphasis people put on organic/non-GMO on the basis of health. GMO crops and big-ag are a problem on so many levels. Let's not just talk about the health part. There are economic, moral, historical, and SS reasons to object to GMO.

 

[Joel_BC]

I have a technical background and a PhD in biochemistry and I'm surprised at the emphasis people put on organic/non-GMO on the basis of health. GMO crops and big-ag are a problem on so many levels. Let's not just talk about the health part. There are economic, moral, historical, and SS reasons to object to GMO.

There are those other reasons. Why not point Blaundee toward some resources (e.g., web sites, books) about those?

 

[moolie]

My family personally stays away from GMOs as much as possible for lots of reasons, it's nice to see some real depth coming into the discussion.

Beekissed, that second link (dated 2008) is super old info and not correct as regards GMO wheat in Canada, I personally know two farmers (father and son with adjacent land) in Rockyford AB who grow GMO wheat. They thought it would be great to get into, and have since learned that the promises of higher yields and less weeds are just not true. But once you start, you can't stop. The son (we know him because his wife works with my hubs) who farms wheat and canola in alternating years can't get out of his contract for several years and then would have to let his fields lay fallow for several years, allowing company reps to inspect the land whenever they want, before ever growing conventional crops again. He absolutely can't afford that, but he is also almost at a point where he can't continue on the way he is going. It's a huge mess. So they keep on with what they are doing, there is another son who farms further south down past Okotoks who I believe also grows GMO crops but we don't know him.

GMOs are not only in food, they are also in everyday items like clothing made from cotton. Cotton is a huge industry in India, as well as in the US, and GMO cotton has completely destroyed that industry in India and is responsible for farmers committing suicide over the huge debts that growing a patented crop ensure. http://www.france24.com/en/20130705...tton-fields-monsanto-farmers-maharastra-state

Then there are concerns like how GMO corn is somehow crossing with corn grown in parts of Mexico where GMO corn has never been grown--it's spreading by itself at this point. I can't point to any hard facts on this, I saw a documentary on tv a couple of years ago (I believe it was on CBC but a google search isn't helping me track it down) about it. It seemed from the documentary that there are groups of farmers in Mexico actively fighting the importation of GMO corn and I believe it is illegal to grow it there--something about Mexico being the world cradle of corn and how vital corn is to the traditional Mexican diet. But like I said, I can't back any of this up, it's just down to my memory of something I saw on tv a couple of years ago.

If anyone is concerned at all about GMOs and their affects on health, on farmers livelihoods, on communities around the world, and on commerce in general--do your own due diligence, learn what you can, talk to real farmers about the issues, and vote with your dollars. Grow your own, buy local and organic--know your producers of the things you don't/can't grow yourself.

 

[so lucky]

Moolie, I remember seeing something about both those crops you spoke of: the GMO cotton in India and being the cause of so many bankruptcies and suicides, and GMO corn creeping into Mexico where they are trying so hard to keep it out. This may have been a program on the RT channel in the US, which has a lot of controversial subjects on it.

We seem to be on a threshold now, when many more people are becoming aware, if not becoming ill, of the insidious nature of the GMO issue. Hopefully we can convince our leaders to put the brakes on, as it seems to be the US FDA and congress that has allowed this to happen unchecked, for the sake of $$$.

 

[Britesea]

The only way our leaders will change their mind about GMO's is if they find they are being affected negatively themselves. They really don't give a d**n about us "ordinary people".

 

[~gd]

Moolie, I remember seeing something about both those crops you spoke of: the GMO cotton in India and being the cause of so many bankruptcies and suicides, and GMO corn creeping into Mexico where they are trying so hard to keep it out. This may have been a program on the RT channel in the US, which has a lot of controversial subjects on it. Did you ever consider that the bankruptcies might to be due to the changes in the India Ag system. The same thing happened here in the US in the 1950s {long before GMOs} where the corporate farms did a number on the family farm.
As for Mexico, the fix was in. In 2001 Nature published the report pnly to find that some of the data was false [yep you can't trust scientists some will fake data to make their point] A subsequent large-scale study, in 2005, failed to find any evidence of contamination in Oaxaca

We seem to be on a threshold now, when many more people are becoming aware, if not becoming ill, of the insidious nature of the GMO issue. Hopefully we can convince our leaders to put the brakes on, as it seems to be the US FDA and congress that has allowed this to happen unchecked, for the sake of $$$.

The USDA is in charge of corn on the farm and in markets The FDA when it is food and packaged as such~gd

 

[moolie]

Been doing some (well, lots of) reading on this subject since the topic came up, and current news articles I've found include:

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/11/12/us-mexico-corn-idUSBRE9AB11Q20131112

http://www.businessweek.com/article...genetically-modified-foods-dot-mexico-says-no

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ocean-robbins/huge-gmo-news_b_4129311.html

2001 and 2005 are so incredibly long ago that stats from back then really don't apply to today's reality.

 

[Corn Woman]

www.reuters.com/article/2013/11/19/china-corn-gmo-idUSL2N0J31QG20131119 I find this very interesting. Personally I choose to not purchase GMO products and don't be fooled by the organic label. It's far too easy to have GMO pollen drift in crops that are grown organically. Every harvest would have to be tested to verify that it's non GMO. Makes shopping harder for sure. I have a free app on my phone to help with my purchases, which are few thanks to my ss nature.

 

[hqueen13]

Well said, @Sweetened
Thank and welcome!