GMOs

laele75

Somebody attacked my mother on facebook before being more concerned about the law up on the books that allows petitions to be shoved in your face anywhere, including them knocking your door or calling you than GMO labeling. Of course, I jumped all over the bint for attacking my mother, but In all honesty, I could not find one unbiased article about them on Google search. I see a lot of natural and clean eating sites denouncing them as Satan and causing every malaise known to man. And then there's the seed companies arguing against them.

Anybody know where there's any real evidence that GMOs are bad or is it just another 'this food is bad' paranoia?

Carnivor0us

Hopefully this thread won't turn into a bloodbath, but GMOs are considered GRAS in the United States. I don't know of any studies that proves they're harmful.

ReillyCraig

Here's a study I recently found about Hamsters who were given GMO soy milk as opposed to their regular nutritional GMO free diet. After a few generations, they were unable to produce babies. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jeffrey-smith/genetically-modified-soy_b_544575.html

I stay away from GMOs as much as I possibly can. I would say that about 65-80% of my diet is GMO Free, Most of that is aswell organic.

And yes, the seed companies will obviously tell you they are doing good. There is no money in a business admitting its harm to others. Its all about the money. ALL

_EndGame_

Here's a study I recently found about Hamsters who were given GMO soy milk as opposed to their regular nutritional GMO free diet. After a few generations, they were unable to produce babies. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jeffrey-smith/genetically-modified-soy_b_544575.html

I stay away from GMOs as much as I possibly can. I would say that about 65-80% of my diet is GMO Free, Most of that is aswell organic.

And yes, the seed companies will obviously tell you they are doing good. There is no money in a business admitting its harm to others. Its all about the money. ALL

Monsanto comes to mind...

Carnivor0us

Here's a study I recently found about Hamsters who were given GMO soy milk as opposed to their regular nutritional GMO free diet. After a few generations, they were unable to produce babies. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jeffrey-smith/genetically-modified-soy_b_544575.html

I stay away from GMOs as much as I possibly can. I would say that about 65-80% of my diet is GMO Free, Most of that is aswell organic.

And yes, the seed companies will obviously tell you they are doing good. There is no money in a business admitting its harm to others. Its all about the money. ALL

To be fair, it could have been due to the soy, not the fact that it's GMO soy. Hamsters don't live off soy milk anyway, so it's not surprising that they couldn't get enough nutrients to reproduce from something that isn't balanced for them.

fallingken

Check out www.Quackwatch.com and www.whatstheharm.com and www.sciencebasedmedicine.org for starters.
Or you can read this artical about the "study" mentioned http://rumorskiller.blog.com/2011/09/30/genetically-modified-foods-cause-infertility-hamster/

CeleryStalker

In for the imminent bickering, but hoping for some good information between all that.

If you are concerned about consuming GMO's, know that in the US, the only crops that are GMO-grown are Soybean, Corn, Cotton, Canola, Squash, Papaya, Alfalfa, Sugarbeet. Stay away from those items and you're golden.

ReillyCraig

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qY3NmDYfQMU/UU1sU-EeDBI/AAAAAAAAB8Q/r-v-F8__fLs/s1600/20111226_WOM593.gif

We have a winner. 66.8 million Hectares of GM crops in united states.
the only close competitor is Brazil with 25 million Hectares. But with Brazils Insanely corrupt (just like the U.S.A) what does that say?

Like I say its all about the money, and America wants a whole lt f it t get out of their debt.
Also look at this stat map. Its which countries REQUIRE GMO labelling, no if ands or buts. Sadly, and obviously our fat *kitten* (Speaking as a community not personally ;D) arnt on that list.
http://media.mercola.com/imageserver/public/2012/August/gmo-map.jpg

Barbellgirl

There hasn't been one single clinical human trial on the safety of GMOs. Monsanto tells the FDA that they are safe so they are everywhere in our food chain. Most advanced countries have food labeling laws that label whether the product contains GMO ingredients. We can't seem to get that passed here in the US despite Obama using it as a campaign promise.

There's actually a lot of information out there if you just look. You'll likely find better research studies and articles from outside our country though. Monsanto spends a lot of money to protect it's financial interests here.

laele75

I am not trying to start a bloodbath, I am genuinely distressed at the total lack of unbiased information. How is anyone supposed to form an educated opinion if the actual facts are so slim?

I know, I know, it's the internets. Some of us try.

Thanks for the article. I'll give it a look.

My skepticism stems from being raised in corn country. It was my understanding that almost all corn and soy were pretty much hybrids. I learned that over 20 years ago. I really do have a hard time believing something with so little evidence available is so overwhelming harmful, when basically we've been doing the same thing with selective breeding since domestication and agriculture began.

Is it because of the genetic tampering that people are concerned? I can see some genetic tampering would be worrying. But I have a hard time believing everything on clean eating sites. Period.

Plus the idea of the European Union banning them sounds just as much 'our farmers need revenue, let's make sure we can't buy from America' as concern over how healthy the food is.

AJ_G

Here's a study I recently found about Hamsters who were given GMO soy milk as opposed to their regular nutritional GMO free diet. After a few generations, they were unable to produce babies. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jeffrey-smith/genetically-modified-soy_b_544575.html

I stay away from GMOs as much as I possibly can. I would say that about 65-80% of my diet is GMO Free, Most of that is aswell organic.

And yes, the seed companies will obviously tell you they are doing good. There is no money in a business admitting its harm to others. Its all about the money. ALL

In the future, link to the actual scientific paper on the study, not an article about a study written by "Jeffrey Smith: The world's leading consumer advocate promoting healthier non-GMO choices"

ReillyCraig

Monsanto is the worst, with over 30 of their executives in the United states parliament system, they have so many strings to pull they dont have enough puppets.

Their "single yield" crops allow for one season of growth and do not produce any seeds due to genetic manipulation. This has caused 600,000+ Farmers in India (and in some cases their families) to commit suicide to prevent lose of their homes due to insane debt due to Monsanto.
Think about that. 600,000+ suicides...... And rising every day.

Also every year (May 12, and Oct 12) there is a bi-annual world wide protest "March Against Monsanto" where people gather at local parliament and share in GMO free foods, music, and share awareness to Monsantos evils.

Carnivor0us

Plus the idea of the European Union banning them sounds just as much 'our farmers need revenue, let's make sure we can't buy from America' as concern over how healthy the food is.

Bingo.

Protecting their own economic interests in the guise of public health isn't beneath any country. It doesn't prove that the EU truly thinks GMOs are unhealthy, they just want to keep food prices higher.

AJ_G

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qY3NmDYfQMU/UU1sU-EeDBI/AAAAAAAAB8Q/r-v-F8__fLs/s1600/20111226_WOM593.gif

We have a winner. 66.8 million Hectares of GM crops in united states.
the only close competitor is Brazil with 25 million Hectares. But with Brazils Insanely corrupt (just like the U.S.A) what does that say?

Like I say its all about the money, and America wants a whole lt f it t get out of their debt.
Also look at this stat map. Its which countries REQUIRE GMO labelling, no if ands or buts. Sadly, and obviously our fat *kitten* (Speaking as a community not personally ;D) arnt on that list.
http://media.mercola.com/imageserver/public/2012/August/gmo-map.jpg

Well we know which side you are on...Americans aren't fat because of GMOs, they're fat because they consume calories in excess and they are not very active...

ReillyCraig

Did I say that? I said that our fat *kitten* arnt on that list. Which means that it is probably a contributing factor. I didnt say it was the only factor. Calm down bro.

And I dont think you have to tell anyone on this site that calories are what make people fat, we all know that like the back of our hands.
The handfuls of things that made our continent so fat are countless. Large portions,HF Corn syrup, Polluted dairy and unneeded lactose, Industrial gluten use, Freezer ready foods, poor labelling. I could go on for days.

laele75

Monsanto is the worst, with over 30 of their executives in the United states parliament system, they have so many strings to pull they dont have enough puppets.

Their "single yield" crops allow for one season of growth and do not produce any seeds due to genetic manipulation. This has caused 600,000+ Farmers in India (and in some cases their families) to commit suicide to prevent lose of their homes due to insane debt due to Monsanto.
Think about that. 600,000+ suicides...... And rising every day.

Also every year (May 12, and Oct 12) there is a bi-annual world wide protest "March Against Monsanto" where people gather at local parliament and share in GMO free foods, music, and share awareness to Monsantos evils.

What part unbiased did you miss exactly, hoss?

I didn't ask of the company that made them was reputable. They clearly aren't if they're not releasing information readily. I want to know of actual honest to God studies that exist that prove they're bad. Not your political agenda against an obviously unscrupulous company.

If I wanted to have that conversation, I'd start in on Wal-Mart.

kelsully

I am not trying to start a bloodbath, I am genuinely distressed at the total lack of unbiased information. How is anyone supposed to form an educated opinion if the actual facts are so slim?

I know, I know, it's the internets. Some of us try.

Thanks for the article. I'll give it a look.

My skepticism stems from being raised in corn country. It was my understanding that almost all corn and soy were pretty much hybrids. I learned that over 20 years ago. I really do have a hard time believing something with so little evidence available is so overwhelming harmful, when basically we've been doing the same thing with selective breeding since domestication and agriculture began.

Is it because of the genetic tampering that people are concerned? I can see some genetic tampering would be worrying. But I have a hard time believing everything on clean eating sites. Period.

Plus the idea of the European Union banning them sounds just as much 'our farmers need revenue, let's make sure we can't buy from America' as concern over how healthy the food is.

I have not read a lot but I can say that with a basic knowledge of Biology as a high school biology teacher, that selective breeding is a bit different than GMO. With selective breeding you allowed plants to germinate in a more natural way...you might control which pollen gets to what flower to increase the odds of getting desired traits, however, just like there is always a 50/50 chance that a baby will be a boy, there are many families that have all of one gendered kid. Selective breeding allows for dominance, recessiveness, multiple genes etc to still be a determining factor to what we get.

With GMO's, if my understanding is correct, DNA is extracted from a plant with a desirable traits and injected into a seed, altering the DNA. It has been speculated that this practice is partially, note I say partially, responsible for the increase in food sensitivities. The food being grown is changing faster than the flora in our gut can change to learn how to digest the different proteins etc being formed by the DNA of these new super foods. Therefore people are struggling to properly digest and utilize certain foods. I don't know if that is true but it makes sense to me.

I don't know if they are good or bad or neutral, but I do think they should be labeled, because no one knows. If food products are labeled I as a consumer can decide how to support or boycott the practice. Let the free market take over on this one.

AJ_G

Monsanto is the worst, with over 30 of their executives in the United states parliament system, they have so many strings to pull they dont have enough puppets.

Their "single yield" crops allow for one season of growth and do not produce any seeds due to genetic manipulation. This has caused 600,000+ Farmers in India (and in some cases their families) to commit suicide to prevent lose of their homes due to insane debt due to Monsanto.
Think about that. 600,000+ suicides...... And rising every day.

Also every year (May 12, and Oct 12) there is a bi-annual world wide protest "March Against Monsanto" where people gather at local parliament and share in GMO free foods, music, and share awareness to Monsantos evils.

What part unbiased did you miss exactly, hoss?

I didn't ask of the company that made them was reputable. They clearly aren't if they're not releasing information readily. I want to know of actual honest to God studies that exist that prove they're bad. Not your political agenda against an obviously unscrupulous company.

If I wanted to have that conversation, I'd start in on Wal-Mart.

You're playing a dangerous game haha

Carnivor0us

Monsanto is the worst, with over 30 of their executives in the United states parliament system, they have so many strings to pull they dont have enough puppets.

Their "single yield" crops allow for one season of growth and do not produce any seeds due to genetic manipulation. This has caused 600,000+ Farmers in India (and in some cases their families) to commit suicide to prevent lose of their homes due to insane debt due to Monsanto.
Think about that. 600,000+ suicides...... And rising every day.

Also every year (May 12, and Oct 12) there is a bi-annual world wide protest "March Against Monsanto" where people gather at local parliament and share in GMO free foods, music, and share awareness to Monsantos evils.

What part unbiased did you miss exactly, hoss?

I didn't ask of the company that made them was reputable. They clearly aren't if they're not releasing information readily. I want to know of actual honest to God studies that exist that prove they're bad. Not your political agenda against an obviously unscrupulous company.

If I wanted to have that conversation, I'd start in on Wal-Mart.

I too would want to see those studies - real studies, not some experiment where they switch out a complete and balanced feed for a lone ingredient that happens to be GMO and draw a conclusion from that. That's sloppy, sloppy science.

MrsBingley

Gmo=genetically modified. It could be good, bad or neutral for health. It all depends on what is modified.

I'm much more worried about the possible effects on the environment, or on small farmers.

(Environmental effects could be good or bad, but the effect on small farmers is probably entirely bad)

agrimony

About.com has an entry with some good links in it regarding GMO.

http://biotech.about.com/od/Genetically-Modified-Organisms/a/The-Controversy-Of-Genetically-Modified-Food.htm