| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| coffeemom |
Posted - Aug 23 2011 : 08:58:50 AM
Help, Mary Jane!
My 23 year old son recently took a temporary job at a small Monsanto plant near us. I have been working to switch us to a more healthy and organic lifestyle for the past two years. He recently told me that the people at Monsanto told him that organic isn't really organic, that every food is a GMO and organic is just a way to charge more. I find that hard to believe. Do you have insight into this as far as the facts about "organic?"
Thanks for your help.
Melody (coffeemom) #833 |
| 14 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Ace |
Posted - Sep 06 2011 : 1:31:03 PM
Hi there Melody!
I also stumbled upon this scholarly article:
http://arch.ttu.edu/w/images/d/d8/Genetically_Modified_Foods.pdf
It breaks down the GMO concerns very directly. Good luck with your research on this!
-ace
"Nothing is better for the inside of a person, than the outside of a horse" -Will Rogers
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| coffeemom |
Posted - Sep 01 2011 : 08:25:37 AM
Thanks Brian. I went to this blogspot and it is great! I bookmarked it and will refer to it often.
I wish these young people, like my son, would do a little research to get both angles on these issues. Instead, they seem to believe certain comments as "gospel" if they are from their employers. Poor kid; he really needs this job, but I don't want him brainwashed either.
Melody
FG #833 |
| Brian |
Posted - Aug 31 2011 : 10:20:21 AM
Hi Melody,
Sorry I don't have an answer about the organic pesticides at this time. Ace sent me a link to a cool GMO post from a blog. Check it out here: http://networkedblogs.com/migkj
Thanks,
~Brian
Check us out on Facebook: www.facebook.com/MaryJanesFarm |
| coffeemom |
Posted - Aug 26 2011 : 3:11:33 PM
Thanks for these great comments! Now I have another question: I know they spray their produce with organic pesticides: are these dangerous to humans as well? Will these products build up in our systems?
Melody
FG #833 |
| walkinwalkoutcattle |
Posted - Aug 25 2011 : 5:35:58 PM
lol. wow, Valerie! Yeah. That's a pretty cool video! Thanks for sharing!
Farmgirl #2879 :)
Starbucks and sushi to green fried tomatoes and corn pudding-I wouldn't change it for the world.
www.cattleandcupcakes.blogspot.com
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| vmfein |
Posted - Aug 23 2011 : 7:51:26 PM
ah yes big companies do love to spread their principles on others. Reminds me when I worked at Walmart years ago and had to watch a anti-union video. Then we were also supposed to tell anyone if someone mentioned anything that sounded similar to a union.
Farmgirl Sister #2619
http://www.etsy.com/shop/vmfein |
| 22angel |
Posted - Aug 23 2011 : 6:10:09 PM
I just watched a video about GMOs & the big companies (in particular, Monsanto) & how things are becoming more genetically modified b/c of cross pollination and chemicals applied to crops, as well as water run-off. Very interesting. I'll try to add some links.
http://vimeo.com/18994807 (23 minutes, but very informative)
http://civileats.com/2011/08/19/why-gmos-won%E2%80%99t-feed-the-world-despite-what-you-read-in-the-new-york-times/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6JIljR-jHGs (not really about GMOs, but interesting, nonetheless)
http://planetgreen.discovery.com/#mkcpgn=fbpg2
http://www.cog.ca/
Life isn't about finding yourself. It's about creating yourself.
"When I grow up, I want to be dirt." seen on a box through construction in Wyoming 2010 |
| Montrose Girl |
Posted - Aug 23 2011 : 6:08:45 PM
the organic topic is touchy around here. many folks have conventional orchard around here. It's hard to discuss organics, when all they see is the work that goes in. Organic has to spray more often, weekly compared to every few weeks with conventional, and the chemical makeup is the same (there words not mine). Since I'm not a chemist and I'm not familiar with all the various chemicals it's hard to debate it with them, not that many want to hear about it. We do have some organic farms in the area and I recently heard a cost comparison that organic was about 4 times the cost of conventional (this from one of the organic growers).
When I brought up the GMO topic and that the chemical from those plants was being found in pregnant women and their child once born, I got the (do you know how much the corn is sprayed) as if there was no difference. We have a variety of corn here that I don't think is Monsanto. Been around for years, but I could be wrong.
It's a tough topic and one I wish I had a better primer on, though I know it for myself explaining it to others that don't want to hear it, well, some days you just have to let things go.
http://www.inntheorchardbnb.com/ |
| Alee |
Posted - Aug 23 2011 : 12:41:58 PM
Oh man! Mosanto has some good pr people on staff. They are trying to get every employee to continue the pr without having to pay more for it. GMO seeds are the reason there are vast varieties of plants beco
Ing extinct. Our food variety is bottlenecking and most people don't realize. Did you know so e people think the only type of tomatoes are red and either round or oval (Roma)? We are poising variety, flavor and health benefits not to mention destroying vast amounts of cropland with pesticides that are blanket applied. These strong pesticides kill off microbes and enzymes that have symbiotic relationships with the plants that grow in them.
Alee
Farmgirl Sister #8
www.farmgirlalee.blogspot.com
www.allergyjourneys.blogspot.com
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| Laila |
Posted - Aug 23 2011 : 10:51:46 AM
I think Monsanto is evil. All they care about is making money so of course they will make it sound like organic isn't any better than gmo's. Unfortunately, even though we buy something labeld organic doesn't mean it totally is. My brother delivers feed to farmers for a local feed mill. He delivered organic feed to an organic dairy farmer and the milk truck was there picking up. My brother then went down the road to another farmer to deliver regular feed to this one who is not organic. While there the same milk truck came to pick up this farmer's milk. My brother asked the driver how he could pick up at this farm because it is not organic. The driver said he was from New York and could not go back with a partial load of milk so he picked up the non-organic farmer. I think the big company's like Monsanto and Walmart are putting pressure on congress to relax organic standards and congress is giving in.
Sorry for this long post but I get a little perturbed about this.
Laila |
| Brian |
Posted - Aug 23 2011 : 10:29:00 AM
I couldn't resist. So Monsanto's claim that all Organic foods are GMO can only be true because of Monsanto's Roundup ready products (corn, soybeans, alfalfa, etc...) being planted near conventional fields planted with non-GMO seeds or, organic fields planted with (obviously) non-GMO seeds. Turns out pollen doesn't stop at fence lines. GMO Alfalfa is hitting the markets and this is causing big issues within the organic dairy industry since dairy cows are traditionally fed a lot of alfalfa. Bees don't stop at fence lines either.
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| Brian |
Posted - Aug 23 2011 : 10:26:00 AM
I don't know how to answer this while staying nice and speak about Monsanto in the same sentence. A jaded person would think that Monsanto is spilling BS in order to further their interests. In the interest of not being jaded, I'll pretend that they are taking some very small real world examples of problems within the Organic industry and stretching them across the entire Organic program.
1st and foremost, for a product to be labeled as Organic it needs to be 100% non-GMO. This is for growers and for producers. For our line of Organic Backpacking foods we are required to produce documentation certifying the organic status (which disallows GMO's). Since there are times where a certain ingredient is not commercially available in Organic form we need to provide documentation stating that the non-organic ingredient in free of GMO's. Since I have it on my desk it is found in the USDA National Organics Program (7 CFR Part 205) Sections 205.105 (e)(f)(g).
I am not saying that big money and industrial agribusiness have not worked to weaken enforcement of the Organic program or downright side stepped it. The Aurora dairy fiasco is a recent example. Like many issues it seems very difficult to find an actual "both sides of the story" resource. I suggest checking out the cornucopia institute (one sided) for updates on abuses and legislation regarding family farming and organics. I am certain that there are plenty of other resources for keeping tabs on organic farming and industry that other chat room members can point us too as well. I could write for hours about this but I am afraid that I have to get back to other things.
Oh yeah, Cornucopia can be found here: http://www.cornucopia.org/
~Brian
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| mountainmomma |
Posted - Aug 23 2011 : 09:55:06 AM
Unfortunately much of what they said is true. That is why there is a community of people that are saving and trading heirloom seeds. So if you must buy an organic product, know that it is more nutritious and worth the higher price. Avoiding adding any more chemicals to our bodies is well worth the price too. Our makeup is not designed to process these chemicals and if they aren't eliminated they are stored in the body causing havoc later on.
That's just my opinion.
Miriam |
| Sobyn |
Posted - Aug 23 2011 : 09:27:33 AM
Monsanto is evil...that's my only insight :) (ok in all seriousness I think they are saying that to cover their own butts and protect their interest). NOT all food is GMO but more and more is and the more that is the more it taints the Non-GMO. I'm not the right person to give you the actual data but it is out there. Hopefully someone will chime in. But I strongly disagree with their statement (then again I think GMOs should be illegal or at least required to be labeled, they have proven to be bad for the environment and ecology). Its also a reason that buying local is your best bet.
Farmgirl Sister #3275 |
