Why Organic?

[GhostRider65]

Quote:
I never said I had no bad habits.....I drink too much pepsi, altho I'm down to only 2 or 3 cans a day....and I have a weakness for salty snacks.....and I cuss too much, but never around the grandkids.

LOL I hear that grandson here repeats everything he hears........

 

[galanie]

Quote:
I read a study once that said it was harder for a long time smoker to quit than it is for an alcoholic to quit drinking.

As a smoker that has been smoking for over 30 years and been trying to quit for the last 2 years, I certainly believe it.

 

[seedcorn]

Warning Will Rogers, Warning Will Rogers, this thread is starting to become about our bad habits..................

Those of you doing pure non-chemical (all types and not just commercial) and non-GMO, great. Most of us in our gardens are that way.

 

[Clay Mudd]

Quote:
Now I'm wondering if Jack Daniel's is using GMO corn.

 

[jaj121159]

Look at the bright side when comparing what we do to what big ag does.

Current Events:
The beef, pork and even chicken prices are going through the roof. It's due to the price of corn which is going up because of ethanol. NOT COMPLETELY TRUE! Yes ethanol is part of the reason corn and feed prices are going up, but not the only cause. Exports, even with the Japanese downturn are going through the roof. Beef, pork corn, soybean and even cotton exports are driving the prices. Like everything else the increase of exports is being driven by the Chinese. I believe we are about to see an increase in livestock production in the United States, mostly by big ag, but by family farmers. Especially in pork production the new model for custom feeding is smaller 2,460 head of finishing pigs in a barn with a deep pit under the barn. The manure is collected annually and injected as fertilizer into the fields raising the animal food.

Where does that put us as small producers? New markets are opening up for safely (at least in perception) or organically raised food which is done locally. Yes we are paying more for feed, but in turn with the prices of commercially grown meats going up our prices can stay competitive over even be more so in today's market. I also believe the demand for locally grown food is going to re-invent the family farm (the romantic perception) to some degree. This will allow smaller farmers to fill the niche created by the big boys selling so much overseas.

Another bright side is the demand for commercially produced fertilizer is decreasing due to the costs. This fertilizer is being replaced by manure. We are replacing any fertilizer in our gardens with chicken manure. Grain farmers are searching for local livestock producers to provide manure. Meanwhile while we scoff at government studies of methane produced by belching cows, these studies are actually coming up with ideas on how to better use and treat the manure and resulting methane.

 

[chickened]

Do you think the small organic farmer, if there is a larger demand for his produce will do what big Ag does to meet demands? The hope for increased profits has the same effect on the little guy just as much as the next guy.

 

[Wifezilla]

Do you think the small organic farmer, if there is a larger demand for his produce will do what big Ag does to meet demands?

Some will. There will always be sell-outs and posers.



"A new paper shows that consuming genetically modified (GM) corn or soybeans leads to significant organ disruptions in rats and mice, particularly in livers and kidneys. By reviewing data from 19 animal studies, Professor Gilles-Eric Séralini and others reveal that 9% of the measured parameters, including blood and urine biochemistry, organ weights, and microscopic analyses (histopathology), were significantly disrupted in the GM-fed animals. The kidneys of males fared the worst, with 43.5% of all the changes. The liver of females followed, with 30.8%. The report, published in Environmental Sciences Europe on March 1, 2011, confirms that “several convergent data appear to indicate liver and kidney problems as end points of GMO diet effects.” The authors point out that livers and kidneys “are the major reactive organs” in cases of chronic food toxicity.

“Other organs may be affected too, such as the heart and spleen, or blood cells,” stated the paper. In fact some of the animals fed genetically modified organisms had altered body weights in at least one gender, which is “a very good predictor of side effects in various organs.”

The GM soybean and corn varieties used in the feeding trials “constitute 83% of the commercialized GMOs” that are currently consumed by billions of people. While the findings may have serious ramifications for the human population, the authors demonstrate how a multitude of GMO-related health problems could easily pass undetected through the superficial and largely incompetent safety assessments that are used around the world."
http://www.responsibletechnology.org/blog/1340​

 

[Katy]

It was not very long ago that margarine was so much better for us than real butter, crisco was much better than lard and heaven forbid that we eat an egg for the fear that it was going to clog all our arteries, babies should never sleep on their backs, only their tummies and formula is so much better for them than breast milk, etc.....how long before the studies are proved wrong once again and they say oooops we were wrong GMO is as safe as any other?

 

[chickened]

I would like to see a study on just plain old food. Results would probably be similar. Funny they only post results from the GMO stuff. Rats can eat a lot of stuff that is toxic and live. Not to disagree for the sake of disagreeing I just don't have any faith in studies on either side of the issue. Maybe they should focus on a cure for bad food in the form of a simple pill then we could enjoy all the bad foods because they do taste so good.

 

[perchie.girl]

Quote:
doin a study right now. Okra rolled in cornmeal and fried in bacon grease..... heh heh heh... sorry I will go back to lurkdome....