Genetically Modified Food Debate

[Ironberg]

It still rages to this day. Ever since the Starlink Corn incident, massive media hysteria came and went. We Americans are still blindly eatting our food, while the rest of the world has grown in it's uneasiness about all the modified soybeans, corn, wheat, potatoes, and also roundup ready seeds that have strange origins, and unidentified certification processes.

 

Earlier this month, Angola has rejected large amounts of food shipments from the United States because of it's dissagreement that genetically modified food is good in the long-run.

 

What do you think about the government regulation of modified crops and the farmers who cultivate them? What's your side of the debate? I've been doing a school project on this topic, and was curious about your opinions.

[TheDevilAside]

My dad's greatest hobby is gardening, and let me tell you.. the carrots he grows taste MUCH better than what you buy from the store, and they're bigger, too. I believe the carrots speak for themselves in this debate

[Ironberg]

I'll agree with you that organically grown food rivals most conventional stuff.

 

However, you have to remember that other carrots you find at the store were breed and modified to effeciently grow, be effeciently priced, and resist the heat of pests. My question is - if you were only given access to those carrots would they ultimately be non-benificial to your health?

[DLopez]

Heh...

 

I get a chuckle out of the thought that some countries are so worried about the possible health of their population due to genetically enhanced food, that they'd rather let their people STARVE, a known health hazard.

 

[Beka]

I do my best to buy natural/and or organic locally-grown fresh vegetables and organic packaged goods. For the most part, I don't eat packaged things like frozen foods, spaghetti sauce, cookies, etc, but when I do, they are organic and have only ingredients that I can identify and possibly be able to draw without an extensive knowledge of chemistry.

 

I think that conventional farming tactics are dangerous in the long run, as they pollute the environment and harm the farmworkers. How much of the actual toxins from food end up in our systems, I cannot tell. The most recent issue of 'Organic Style' magazine had an article about toxin content in people's bodies, but I was falling asleep when I read it. sigh.

 

But you know what? I ain't gonna risk it. I think that I owe it to myself and my children to choose products that are biodegradable and earth-freindly. I am slowly but surely turning over to mostly organic products in my home. My soaps that I use in the shower, my shave cream, my deodorant, my toothpaste, my face wash, my toner, my lotion, my sunscreen, my shampoo and conditioner, they are all naturally derived. I don't need to put complex lab-created chemicals onto my body every day, no way. The products I use to clean my home, my dish soap, my kitchen cleaner, and my laundry detergent are all natural. Again, I don't need to live in a house where all those toxic chemicals are floating around. Like, ew.

 

Sustainability is a major concern for me, since I'm young, and I expect to live another 60 or so years. If I live that long, I'd like to be living in a world that isn't on the brink of self-exhaustion.

 

I am also sloooooowly starting to get into gardening. I recently planted some garlic, and when fall comes, I will be planting more things. Most stuff I'm interested in growing doesn't seem to fare well getting planted in the spring, according to various gardening sites I've looked at. It might just be garlic, but hey, I gotta start somewhere, right? It is SO COOL to see something grow out of the ground after you put it there. It's like a weird baby that you're going to eat later .

 

I am also working on only buying locally grown produce, as transportation contributes to pollution, and certain chemicals or preservatives have to be added so the produce can survive the trip. But I live in California, so most things I like are pretty local. And luckily, I have access to grocery stores that specialize in organic, locally grown food. Not to mention the farmers market that happens three days a week in Berkeley.

 

I think that the government should regulate agriculture. I think that GMOs should be outlawed, and that we should make a move to sustainable farming. In the long run, I think it will be the wise choice. Besides, when you compare an organic vegetable to a conventional one, you can totally see which one is going to taste better and have more nutrients in it. At least at my grocery store that's the case.

 

GMOs creep me out. I would not want to put that into my body, no siree.

[SaiFightsMS]

Let's not forget there are countries in the world who use naturally organic human night soil as fertilizer. Something this country cannot and will not due because of the health hazards the practice can cause.

[ramymensa]

It's quite nice to hear about your problems there

 

We've got our share of food that's "modern",tasteless and expensive (because of all the processes). Still I can buy tomatoes that taste like tomatoes, garlic, that smells so strong that you wouldn't eat it 2 days before a meeting , cheese ... natural and yammy ...

 

I use to buy milk from a guy who's got cows and brings it 3 times a week. It's been checked so it's ok. It's a lot better than that from the packs. Very healthy and tasty.

 

I'd go with the natural stuff too. I have food with countless Es. It's a problem for us too

[unknown]

the best thing to do in this situation is to grow your own vegetables. thats what my mom does in the summertime. as for all the other packeged foods with all the chemicals in them, you cannot really get away from that. so the best thing to do is drink plenty of water to flush your system clean of all the toxins

[monkeygirl]

My experience with "going organic" sounds completely opposite....

 

One of our local grocery-store chains decided to go organic, no more preservatives, etc. Before, I would have trusted the veggies. They looked fresh and healthy, unbruised, etc. Ever since they went "organic", however, I don't dare buy things from there. They look half-rotten, colorless, and disgusting. I come from a very large farming area, and most of the big farms use preservatives, so the supermarket would have to transport these vegetables from far away, which is why they look so bad.

 

I'm all for science improving our foods and our lives...after all, we have modern medicine and computers, and so many things that science has brought us. However, I'd like to see science advance to the point where we start using "smart chemicals" that aren't harmful to the environment. Most of the pesticides we use are harmful because of run-off, etc. Then again, I don't really trust veggies that haven't had the pesticides on them (such as the kind sold by the local Amish fruit stands), because there are so many bad pests and nasty things that can happen to crops these days. So, I guess I'm just waiting for that "perfect produce": safe, healthy, and healthful to the environment. Until then, me=carnivore! j/k

[Beka]

Ever since they went "organic", however, I don't dare buy things from there. They look half-rotten, colorless, and disgusting.

 

I'm all for science improving our foods and our lives...after all, we have modern medicine and computers, and so many things that science has brought us. However, I'd like to see science advance to the point where we start using "smart chemicals" that aren't harmful to the environment. Most of the pesticides we use are harmful because of run-off, etc. Then again, I don't really trust veggies that haven't had the pesticides on them (such as the kind sold by the local Amish fruit stands), because there are so many bad pests and nasty things that can happen to crops these days. So, I guess I'm just waiting for that "perfect produce": safe, healthy, and healthful to the environment. Until then, me=carnivore! j/k

 

I don't know what kind of freaky rotten food you're getting, but everything I've ever had has been outrageously good.

 

science also bought us the A-bomb, and its negative effects are still being discovered.

 

There are such things as natural pesticides, and those are what organic farmers use. The human race has been growing things naturally without the use of fabricated pesticides for thousands of years. We've never needed them before to survive, we sure as heck don't need them now.