GM Foods and what they are doing to us...

[seedcorn]

... but when it comes to the rest, I just can't afford to shop anywhere else

It's all about choices. which is more important, you living by your high standards for others or getting all you can afford?

Edited for breaking rules 3,4 and 5

 

[DuckyBoys]

Quote:

You have more patience than I Seedcorn. I have an undergrad in animal science and a masters in toxicology - so yeah people can say I'm pro Ag and biased to the industry - but I agree with you anyway. (I don't work for the industry at present I actually work for a government environmental group...so I try to be fair.)

I think people need to reevaluate their definition of the word "chemical" because everything is a chemical - everything. All components of reality are made of of molecules - all molecules have elements, so before people start proposing that we stay away from "chemicals" they better understand what they are really saying because staying away from chemicals is literally impossible - we're made UP of chemicals.

Everything has a chemcial structure.

 

[silkiechicken]

I'd just have to say that all the food that we eat today is a GMO product. If it was not for traditional genetic engineering, or genetically modifying organisms though selective breeding thousands of years ago, we wouldn't have ever become such a large population of organisms who now have used science to expedite the process in order to try and feed the overwhelming population of the world greedy for food.

Edit: Often it seems those who react the strongest have never spent their time studying in the field of science. It really does make a big difference in the way you look at things.

 

[DuckyBoys]

Quote:
Very true...no one on this planet has EVER eaten unmodified corn that's for sure.

 

[seedcorn]

Ducky, as I get older, I am trying to develop more patience but my kids say it's a losing battle.....

I believe most people want to be fair but in Ag we have a huge seperation between those doing the work and the consumer. Most consumers are uninformed. I believe part of my job in Ag is to help educate as well as do my job. What I find interesting is some complain about American companies trying to kill us off with their products, byproducts, etc but yet we are living longer more productive lives.... Seems the American farmer is not doing a very good job of trying to kill us off w/cancer........

 

[seedcorn]

What's ironic??? I HATE GMO corn. Yet, in fairness, I defend the practice against uninformed.

In my perfect world, we wouldn't have GMO products in Ag, yields would be half, and the price would be 3X higher. There would be 3X more famers, working physically harder, farming less acres, and those in Ag would be financially well off instead of being on the bottom half of the financial world. The average family would pay 50% of their income on food instead of less than 10%. But I'm in Ag, and every president we've ever had wants cheap food.

 

[DuckyBoys]

Quote:
Yes, the American farmer is da*ned f they do and da*ned if they don't. (I hope every farmer I know makes money this year even if we have to pay three times as much at the store!)

I am the government liason between large corporate farms and complaining citizens...LOL...our department motto is "If eveyone's unhappy we're doing our jobs!" Meaning...I can't please them both...the citizens think the farmers are evil becasue they are big, the farmers think the citizens are mad because they didn't buy their land when they rolled into town.

I love every minute of it! Every stinkin manure lagoon, every old complainer, and every farm manager.

 

[seedcorn]

they are no longer stinkin manure lagoons or pits but rather natural occuring fertilizer holding facilities........manure from hogs is more valuable than the hog is itself in IN........now if we could just find a use for the smell??????? somehow catch the N and pipe it to corn fields???

 

[DuckyBoys]

Quote:
LOL...you hit so close to home about hog odor I just had to laugh!

Colorado is too dry to make use of most of the manure - stinkin agronomic rate regulation!

Pigs are next to worthless right now...we're losing some of the smaller "corporate" farms because the price of feed is too high.

Ag can never get a break all the way around, can it?

 

[seedcorn]

when fertilizers get to a certain price, dry the manure, ship it to corn states........ there's a cottage industry for you...