Don't understand the importance of "non GMO"

[shortgrass]

Edited due to hostility. rough day

I do not consider the "free range" eggs on the shelf "free range". However, I know those hens aren't raised in battery cages. If your chickens exceed those requirements, then they are considered free range. However, if they fall short of meeting them, they are not.  If you keep a chicken in your basement, you cannot call your eggs "free range." If you use GMO seeds, chemical application within the past three years, or non-organic seeds, then you fall short of the criteria and your produce is not organic and you cannot sell it as organic. If you want to consider it organic for your eating, fine. But in selling and in discussion, it is not organic. 

I think you are obviously misunderstanding something here(in fact, you quoted what my process is word for word, then quoted it as disagreement, so I'm confused)... What it is, I'm not quite sure...but ..

I RAISE these crops. Not in my backyard. In FIELDS. BIG ONES. LOTS of them. BIG PEOPLE from the USDA inspect my paperwork, my soil, take samples, select seed, etc etc.... I do believe that THEY know what they are doing lol

And BTW, I can and DO use all sorts of OMRI nutrients and fertilizers. That's what it's FOR lol; organic food for organic crops to feed the organic food to chickens to get organic eggs...

 

[shortgrass]

I think it is time for some definitions:

"Certified Organic":  This is a legal term.  You are not allowed to use this term unless you have met certain criteria & have been "certified" by the state to call your products 'certified organic'.  To gain this status you must grow organically for a number of years before you can become 'certified organic'.

"Organically Produced" or "Organically Grown":  These terms refer to how the crop was actually grown in the field.  Just because a crop is grown organically does not qualify it to be called "certified organic".  A crop that is organically grown is typically grown using pesticides and practices that are considered to be qualified for 'certified organic' crops.  A GMO seed can be planted & organically grown but it could never be "Certified Organic".

Selective Breeding:  This is a practice that is as old as civilization.  Humans have been practicing selective breeding knowingly since we began collecting seeds to plant.  Nature by default selects who germinates in wet condition vs. dry conditions on the mere circumstance of which seeds germinate.  The ones that do grow then breed and their offspring are even more able to adapt to the environment.  Humans quickly understood this principle & stepped in to try to control the breeding.  We have set up sophisticated breeding situations to pick for color, height, shape, etc..... the list is endless.  These seeds include everything to open pollinated, heirloom, F1 hybrids, etc...

GMO: This is when a plant & a bacteria have sex (or other out of family cross breeding by lab technique).  I know that sounds outlandish but it is actually the truth.  There is no way nature could ever produce this seed.  The only way this seed can be initially produced is in a lab.  It would seem that the seed would be sterile but it is not.  It can cross pollinate with other corn crops & the genes can show up in the offspring.  If the genes are found in a crop that you are growing & you have not paid the patent royalties to grow these genes that the patent holding company can sue you for patent infringement.  This makes the old time practice of seed saving very challenging if your neighbor is growing GMO crops.

GMOs have not been in our food system that long yet they already dominate the food industry.  When I first started hearing about GMOs I thought the discussion was regarding selective breeding.  I scoffed at this paranoia.  I have a degree in Horticulture and felt very confident in my knowledge of plant breeding.  I really don't know what is safe & what is not.  My concern is that we do not have any good non biased science to back up the claims that this is a safe practice.  Until we have that knowledge I would like products labeled so at least I have a choice of what I am purchasing.  In the meantime I have no choice but to buy "organic certified" product to avoid GMO crops.

THANK YOU !! I'm lazy and tired from working in my GMO non gmo organic produced inorganic field in my backyard

That last paragraph summed it up for me too... A lack of non biased studies..its too new to know if its detrimental or not. I don't want to take the risk.

 

[torilovessmiles]

I see where I was incorrect about definitions. I won't apologize for being wrong, because I don't think being wrong is something to apologize for. I learned something new today because I shared what I thought I knew!

What I do apologize for, shortgrass, is being hostile to you and misjudging you due to my own misinformation. That is my fault. I've had a pretty rough day and was typing in response without thinking about how I sounded. I should have thought before I replied. Again, I sincerely apologize

 

[NatureChica]

I like to be a fly on the wall during debates and discussions. I want to comment but i dont like to pick on anyone's posts tho.
I wanted to post my personal experience and hopefully I won't be burned for it since im not citing anything I read. Pardon the typos its 2am here

I have been feeding my family a majority of whole foods that are labelled as organic and non gmo certified and we have seen some health problems vanish. Nothing major or miraculous mind you. My gut problems are gone. I used to have killer stomach pains after meals. I was tired, lethargic, sleeping badly, and didnt feel satisfied by my food. My son had a "lactose intolerance" from the time he was born. It was awful. The docs said it was the lactose. We switched to an organic whole milk and he doesnt have an issue.
Its all little stuff to be sure but I have an immense feeling of satisfaction knowing what im feeding my kids and knowing theres no propylene glycol in their meals. Its not for everyone. Some people will continue on they way they've been living and im okay with that as long as I get to live organically with food labels and Monsanto keeps their toxins to themselves.

 

[shortgrass]

I see where I was incorrect about definitions. I won't apologize for being wrong, because I don't think being wrong is something to apologize for. I learned something new today because I shared what I thought I knew!

What I do apologize for, shortgrass, is being hostile to you and misjudging you due to my own misinformation. That is my fault. I've had a pretty rough day and was typing in response without thinking about how I sounded. I should have thought before I replied. Again, I sincerely apologize

Hey that's pretty cool I wasn't expecting an apology, nor did I think I was owed one... There is a LOT of misinformation out there... False advertising and sneaky labels and marketing tactics... THATS who doesn't get the apology But hey, as long as it cleared up something...ANYTHING lol..then its all good to me

 

[shortgrass]

I like to be a fly on the wall during debates and discussions. I want to comment but i dont like to pick on anyone's posts tho.
I wanted to post my personal experience and hopefully I won't be burned for it since im not citing anything I read. Pardon the typos its 2am here

I have been feeding my family a majority of whole foods that are labelled as organic and non gmo certified and we have seen some health problems vanish. Nothing major or miraculous mind you. My gut problems are gone. I used to have killer stomach pains after meals. I was tired, lethargic, sleeping badly, and didnt feel satisfied by my food. My son had a "lactose intolerance" from the time he was born. It was awful. The docs said it was the lactose. We switched to an organic whole milk and he doesnt have an issue.
Its all little stuff to be sure but I have an immense feeling of satisfaction knowing what im feeding my kids and knowing theres no propylene glycol in their meals. Its not for everyone. Some people will continue on they way they've been living and im okay with that as long as I get to live organically with food labels and Monsanto keeps their toxins to themselves.

You'll see that look into Kamut and you'll be amazed...a lot of grains that are very healthy that haven't been hybridized etc; they are really easier on the digestive system; gluten intolerance disappears etc. Hybridizing can alter nutritional value in place of high production thank you Monsanto...

Btw, Kamut is just ancient wheat

 

[MeepBeep]

Also, would you care to link to the pages which the USDA states which types can be used in organic farming? I trust your judgement but I would like to read them myself

The USDA website has moved or removed many of the relevant documents, and I'm far to lazy to track them down... You will find them still reference in Google and on many other sites with quotes, but the USDA site itself has many 404 page not found errors...

Here is one though, from a FOIA request, scroll down to their reply on the page 5...

http://www.aphis.usda.gov/foia/foia...provided in request 11-089/11-089 Records.pdf

"the agency has no authority to regulate products created by mutagenesis techniques"

Thus we apply legal logic, if the USDA has no authority to regulate mutanenic products then they can not regulate their exclusion in organics...

This write up has a lot of reference links, scroll to about page 25, but again many links are not dead, even those on the USDA site... But, it eludes to multiple letters like the above where the USDA has stated they have no authority to regulate mutant crops...

http://animalscience.ucdavis.edu/an...ntations/2013/TrransgenicAnimalConference.pdf

Also as a simple verifiable proof, go back to my previous post in regards to the Rio Red (Rio Star) Grapefruit (Google it's history) it is in fact a product of radiation exposure and mutation, yet it's readily sold as organic as long as it was grown by organic standards... Just wait until this fall, you can find them labeled as 'certified organic' all over the place, even at Whole Foods, LOL...

Feel free to Google these terms as a starting point on further research...

Mutation Breeding
Mutagenesis
Cell Fusion

Or Google the phrase I quoted above for further reading, include the quotes in the search "no authority to regulate products created by mutagenesis"

 

[NatureChica]

Yup, we are primarily a grain free family for that reason. We dunno what to trust so we eat the occasional organic brown long grain rice and quinoa. I dont really need grain and neither do the kids. A bit every once in awhile doesnt hurt. Veggies, fruit, protein, and fiber in the form of plant...we are super well rounded and enjoying all the best stuff without a ton of filler. I would say we are probably low carb. Its not eliminated. I think moderation works for us.

 

[MeepBeep]

GMO: This is when a plant & a bacteria have sex (or other out of family cross breeding by lab technique).

And that specific limiting definition is what I personally object to, as it's a legal definition not a factual one...

Why is a plant exposed to copious amounts of radiation to force a mutation, not deem a Genetically Modified Organism? It makes no sense to limit the definition to only one type of genetically modifying process and exclude all the rest, when the plain definition of the words most certainly implies a much broader definition...

 

[torilovessmiles]

The USDA website has moved or removed many of the relevant documents, and I'm far to lazy to track them down... You will find them still reference in Google and on many other sites with quotes, but the USDA site itself has many 404 page not found errors...

Here is one though, from a FOIA request, scroll down to their reply on the page 5...

http://www.aphis.usda.gov/foia/foia...provided in request 11-089/11-089 Records.pdf

"the agency has no authority to regulate products created by mutagenesis techniques"

Thus we apply legal logic, if the USDA has no authority to regulate mutanenic products then they can not regulate their exclusion in organics...

This write up has a lot of reference links, scroll to about page 25, but again many links are not dead, even those on the USDA site... But, it eludes to multiple letters like the above where the USDA has stated they have no authority to regulate mutant crops...

http://animalscience.ucdavis.edu/an...ntations/2013/TrransgenicAnimalConference.pdf

Also as a simple verifiable proof, go back to my previous post in regards to the Rio Red (Rio Star) Grapefruit (Google it's history) it is in fact a product of radiation exposure and mutation, yet it's readily sold as organic as long as it was grown by organic standards... Just wait until this fall, you can find them labeled as 'certified organic' all over the place, even at Whole Foods, LOL...

Feel free to Google these terms as a starting point on further research...

Mutation Breeding
Mutagenesis
Cell Fusion

Or Google the phrase I quoted above for further reading, include the quotes in the search "no authority to regulate products created by mutagenesis"

I appreciate you going through all this work to find these for me, thank you!