Is buying organic defeating the purpose if it is Cargill?

[mamabahre]

We are very limited in what brands of chicken feed we can get where I live...Pretty much Cargill or Blue Seal...
We are on the Cargill Organic grower right now because non GMO/organic is important to DH and I for our chickens and future eggs.
However, I cannot stand Cargill as a company and consider them far from ethical. Unfortunately we can't get the Blue Seal in an organic form or I would purchase that instead.

DH and I are debating. I am of the mind to switch to Blue Seal (although I can't stand the GMO implications) because I feel like it is a better quality product and a bit cheaper.
DH wants to stick with the Cargill organic because it is Organic which means specifically no GMOs.

We have been debating this as it looms closer closer to us needing to buy a new bag of feed for the hens. I just don't know which is better at this point and maybe someone has the same issues and has figured it out without their heading blowing up....Just tell me what to do!

 

[schellie69]

I can't even get organic where I live I only have county lane that or the one that has no meat in it. If non-gmo is important then stick with the organic. I would love to buy a feed with no GMO in it.

 

[hippiechick53]

Are you sure about the organic not containing GMO's? I may be wrong, but I understood that unless it states No GMO's then it may contain them even if it's organic.

 

[pechara]

Quote:
you are correct on that

 

[mamabahre]

Quote:
you are correct on that

well that isn't true for human food at least. Part of the USDA Organic certification is that the product does not contain GMOs... now the problem with that is that the regulations allow up to 5% non organic ingredients (think stabilizers etc) which one can assume are GMO...The only way to be completely sure is if a product is labeled 100% organic..

I don't know if the regulations are different for animal feed but the bag states that it is USDA organic therefore I am confident (based on my knowledge of the USDA regulations) that 95% is at least non-GMO....Also another reason organic means non gmo is because the 2 heavy hitters in GMO crops, corn and soy, were modified specifically to be "roundup" ready... organic crops CANNOT be sprayed with conventional pesticides..Although big agri has managed to urge the usda to allow the use of "alternative" pesticides on organic crops, that is a whole other issue though...

 

[dkvart1]

Don't know it applies to animal food, but I recently wrote a letter to a company concerning human food and this is the response I got:

"Debra,
Thank you for your letter concerning our GMO Policy. Certified organic ingredients are not allowed to contain GMOs. All non-organic ingredients in organic products are not allowed to contain GMOs. (Name of company deleted) make sure all ...of our ingredients are certified by a 3rd party certification group called Oregon Tilth. Oregon Tilth has been approved by the USDA to certify handlers of organic foods. To find out more about Oregon Tilth go to www.tilth.org

I hope this information is able to put you at ease."

Sadly it did little to put me at ease... okay... it can't contain GMO's, but certified organic can contain non organic ingredients? HUH? If that also applies to critter food... how then does one comply with a wholly organic regimen to become certified organic?

Could they be any more confusing about things?

 

[mamabahre]

Quote:
Actually I think I get what they are saying...Because Organic can mean up to 5% non organic they are just verifying the 5% no non-organic ingredients does NOT contain GMOs...I think that is what they are saying at least, which is in fact a comfort to me at least because I already knew that "organic" doesn't mean 100% organic. It means 95% organic but I really didn't want GMOs...So yeah that is helpful. Thank you!

 

[Cindy in PA]

Organic is not supposed to contain GMOs. The certifying agency (PCO in Pennsylvania) cannot be there for every truck of grain however. It matters greatly where you get your organic feed and if they test for GMOs. I believe someone said that Nature's Best out of Kreamer, PA tests every batch and allows no more than 3% GMOs. It is next to impossible to get 100% non GMO, because of pollen drift. I'll take their 97% over regular feed any day. If you have a question, call the feed producer & ask. You have to trust your source. Another problem is Organic grain from CHINA (oxymoron?). Call the producer & ask, that's the best you can do.

 

[mamabahre]

Quote:
I was looking for a vendor around here for Nature's Best and NO ONE has the chicken feed...Ugh, I asked the local grain store if they would order it and apparently unless I am interested in a PALLET I am out of luck...

I think I will just do that, call Cargill and ask them specifically...yay...

 

[Cindy in PA]

Quote:
I was looking for a vendor around here for Nature's Best and NO ONE has the chicken feed...Ugh, I asked the local grain store if they would order it and apparently unless I am interested in a PALLET I am out of luck...

I think I will just do that, call Cargill and ask them specifically...yay...

It is sometimes hard to find organic. I can get Nature's Best in most stores here in SE PA and there are also two small producers in Lancaster County & Chester County, but I haven't made the 50 mile run for their feed yet. Maybe if you give us an idea where you are located, someone else might have a source for organic feed. I know how it is to be not have a choice, for conventional feed here there is not much besides Purina, they are a monopoly. Good luck.