Do you avoid GMO's?

[karenbaco]

I swear my life was so much better before the internet. All this talk about GMO's and cancer has made me crazy!

 

[kacaju]

No

 

[Kimberlyann11]

No

 

[low-key]

I dont know what a GMO is, but Im voting to avoid it

 

[Hannathy]

since I had no idea what you were talking about without googling it, my answer would be no.

I eat everything and anything I want, the answer to everything is moderation.

If people just remembered that they could eat, drink or do anything they wanted.

I don't pay any attention to the latest craze of what is good or isn't good for you, it will change in a year and most of the time it is wrong.

I do think you are generally better off sticking to "real" food such as butter instead of margarine, sugar not artificial sweetener, etc.

I wish we irradiated more food so there was less wastage with spoiled food.

 

[KaLyn]

Nope.

 

[usnuzuloose]

We just bought eggs that were GMO free, and I could tell a big difference in the taste. I will buy my eggs from that person again. I will not go back to store bought eggs.

 

[ellone]

I swear my life was so much better before the internet. All this talk about GMO's and cancer has made me crazy!

I don't eat GMOs - also buy diary from cows not fed GMO feed and avoid meat from animals fed GM diets.
Institute for Responsible Technology is a great place to get info on them.

It's not just cancer, it's diabetes & thyroid disorders among many other things. They increase the use of glyphosate (which is in 75% of water & air samples). Scary thing is Scotts made a GMO grass which is immune to glyphosate (aka Roundup) so more of it will get into our water & air.

 

[DeaverTex]

Nope. Chemicals make me strong, like a bull. Or was it full of bull... Never mind.

 

[jsmith]

I think you have to exercise common sense and not get sucked into some of the 'science' on the internet. ALL food items are genetically modified-some like cattle and hogs were selectively bred to be what we see today-same goes for most veggies-they have been selected for the varieties that were most resistant to disease, or cold-or whatever characteristic that farmer wanted more of. Most of what the GMO hysteria is about is organisms that are genetically engineered-these crops have had their genetic structure changed intentionally rather than being bred for a specific characteristic so the genotype changed over time.. Corn tends to be the one that attracts the most attention because some varieties have been engineered to be insect resistant. How ever-just as chocolate is safe for humans and poisonous to dogs-the substances the plants produce that kill insects are ignored by human systems. the 'gmo' items that I do try to avoid-soy, canola and corn-not because the genetic engineering its self is a huge issue for me but because they have been engineered to be resistant to the Herbicide Round up-and the plants absord the chemicals-which are carsinogenic-and do not metabolize them out before they are harvested.

 

[kacaju]

LOL this is what I get for not seeing what GMO was.... I thought you were talking about not drinking from plastic bottles.

 

[LJSquishy]

Yes, I avoid GMOs as much as possible. I will not purchase food unless it is organic or specifically has the non-GMO label. I choose to not support companies/food with GMO ingredients but just as important is buying food with less toxic pesticides, etc, which is also why I buy organic. I do think GMO labeling should be mandatory -- while I won't purchase GMO food, I don't care if others want to. Just give everyone the choice and knowledge.

I also only purchase grass-fed pastured meat (pastured chickens eat bugs, grass, worms, etc). Even my milk is 100% grass fed. Pastured meat & eggs are very important to me..."cage free" or "free range" means nothing. I choose to only support farmers who raise animals humanely. We get our eggs from my husband's coworker who has a very small farm (just chickens and a few pigs). We eat much less meat than we used to...partly because humanely raised meat is very expensive (the absolute cheapest meat you can get is a whole chicken for $5/lb) and partly because I stopped making the meat the focus of the meal and it's now mostly used as an ingredient. For instance, we rarely have a chicken breast...usually I'll shred chicken into something or I'll split one breast into 3 thin cutlets and stuff/roll them with a mixture of things.

 

[ellone]

Corn tends to be the one that attracts the most attention because some varieties have been engineered to be insect resistant. How ever-just as chocolate is safe for humans and poisonous to dogs-the substances the plants produce that kill insects are ignored by human systems.

A little misconception here. The corn is made so that it produces the BT toxin. The bugs that eat it die from their stomachs basically exploding. So not insect resistant. The corn is actually a pesticide itself and the corn is classified as a pesticide by the EPA.

The BT toxin is not good for humans. A study of pregnant women (in Canada I think) found an alarming amount of it in their blood and in their unborn children's blood. Either it is accumulating in our systems or our guts have been genetically modified by the corn we eat to produce the toxin.

And the bugs that the BT toxin was supposed to kill are getting immune to it. Natural selection at work.

 

[Geoff_M]

No, and I avoid buying "organic" products too. Until there is a demonstrable benefit, I'm not paying the premium.

 

[Breezy_Carol]

No.

 

[Sacha_L]

We avoid them. I only purchase organic fruits, veggies, eggs, milk, sugar ect... I'm working on the meat and fit it in as much as possible but I can't always with my budget. I really wish they would label everything though. If it's not "harmful" why are they complaining? I personally can't even drink non-organic milk anymore. It tastes off to me. And the taste difference in meat, eggs and veggies is astounding. I really appreciate that fruits/veggies are labeled with their country of origin. I don't want anything grown in countries like Mexico, China ect..I don't trust their purity. All that said If you want to eat them it's your choice but I really have an issue with what the GMO seed companies are doing to farmers. It's big business at its worst. There are a few great documentaries if anyone is interested.

 

[rodeo65]

Yes, we avoid them. I was amazed after we switched at the smell of ground beef cooking. It smelled like it did when I was a kid - not the disgusting smell we'd become accustomed to and "hid" with lots of garlic or onion. Lots of other different tastes and smells but that one had the biggest impact.

 

[mnrose]

Yes, I avoid GMOs as much as possible. I will not purchase food unless it is organic or specifically has the non-GMO label. I choose to not support companies/food with GMO ingredients but just as important is buying food with less toxic pesticides, etc, which is also why I buy organic. I do think GMO labeling should be mandatory -- while I won't purchase GMO food, I don't care if others want to. Just give everyone the choice and knowledge.

I also only purchase grass-fed pastured meat (pastured chickens eat bugs, grass, worms, etc). Even my milk is 100% grass fed. Pastured meat & eggs are very important to me..."cage free" or "free range" means nothing. I choose to only support farmers who raise animals humanely. We get our eggs from my husband's coworker who has a very small farm (just chickens and a few pigs). We eat much less meat than we used to...partly because humanely raised meat is very expensive (the absolute cheapest meat you can get is a whole chicken for $5/lb) and partly because I stopped making the meat the focus of the meal and it's now mostly used as an ingredient. For instance, we rarely have a chicken breast...usually I'll shred chicken into something or I'll split one breast into 3 thin cutlets and stuff/roll them with a mixture of things.

My pasture raised chicken is $4 a pound (fully dressed, whole chickens). Beef (entirely grass fed) is around $5.50 a pound....across all cuts and by the quarter. Bison (my splurge) is around 10.00 a pound (again, grass fed). I guess I'm glad I live in farm country! When ever possible, I go with grass fed, directly from the farmer. We raise a lot of our own veggies/fruit, but our growing season is short, so we inevitably supplement. We try to do organic. But, if not organic, then non-GMO. I just don't think all that chemically engineered crap is right for our bodies.

We try to eat mindfully. Of course, I also would prefer to support my local economy when possible...so if I find a direct from the farm source, that is also my preference.

 

[tvguy]

The GMO debate is sooo complicated.

Saw an interesting discussion on it on CNN. One of the "experts" made an interesting observation. In the western world one billion people are concerned that years of eating GMO food could have a negative impact on your health. In the third world, one billion people are concerned about starving to death, and GMO food is one way to prevent that today.

Clearly a first world debate.

And don't confuse organic with non-GMO. No link. Also, anything like seedless grapes, seedless water melons, seedless oranges are among the first crude forms of GMO. And forget eating tomatoes if you want to avoid GMO. A natural tomato is almost inedible.

On the flip side, I have no problem with GMO products being required to be labeled as such. It would open a lot of eyes.

 

[Geoff_M]

The GMO debate is sooo complicated.

Saw an interesting discussion on it on CNN. One of the "experts" made an interesting observation. In the western world one billion people are concerned that years of eating GMO food could have a negative impact on your health. In the third world, one billion people are concerned about starving to death, and GMO food is one way to prevent that today..

This TED Talk, Michael Specter, on "The Danger of Science Denial", sums up my feeling about the so-called "Frankenfoods" hysteria quite well. Ditto for the anti-vaccine crowd... two sides of the same coin.