Does eating GM food bother you?

[Hazell B]

Do you ever bother reading the tag on food you buy to see if it's GM or not?

Yesterday my partner was looking to check carbs, etc. on some chicken feed we sell when he noticed it contained GM soya. He said he didn't want it fed to our animals any more.

Fair enough, but he's never read a label on our own food!

I do, as it happens, so we have no known GM food in the house. It can be tricky to avoid, but I think I have managed it so far. However, I don't know if some GM foods aren't labelled as such or not. After all, a few drops of oil on the crisps is hardly worth the makers noting as GM or not, is it? ;)

[Wade91]

i have no idea what foods are GM, nor do i see where it really matters :confused:

[Hazell B]

It matters to some people as some GM isn't allowed to be grown here, yet is available to buy as food. It's also that many of us don't want GM foods grown at all because of the impact on our countryside.

Messing with nature has given us so many nasties from mad cows to fields that are just dust rather than their original black earth. It's also sparked some horrible allergies and illnesses in some areas of the world.

[BDunnell]

I naturally assume that everything I buy tends not to contain any GM items, although I must say I don't check.

[chuck34]

I am assuming that GM means genetically modified?

If so where do you draw the line on that? If you want to be technical about it, our caveman forefathers did that when they cross bred different grasses to give us corn, wheat, etc.

[GridGirl]

Good topic. If I'm honest I'd forgotten about GM foods untill a week or so when Countryfile did a feature on it. I would personally choose to avoid GM foods, although the thought of buying purple tomatos just the once would be quite a novelty.

[MrJan]

Couldn't really care, as far as I'm concerned GM could be a great way forward but I haven't bothered reading anything about it so not really an informed decision.

[slinkster]

To be honest I wouldn't have a clue. I read labels occasionally, I try to buy free range/vetinary checked meat etc so I check the labels for those. When it comes to GM I honestly don't think I'd know what to look for.

I've given up somewhat on listening to any news articles about food because I get sick of the constant contradictions in what is/isn't safe/good for you/going to kill you etc. :(

[Tomi]

i think the foodindustry should be obligated to clearly mark the products that includes GM items, its clear that not many want to buy food that include GM items.

[Brown, Jon Brow]

I'd say no but I don't know much about GM food and the associated dangers. I'm also not bothered at all by eating non-organic food.

[gloomyDAY]

I wouldn't buy anything from General Motors.









:D

[J4MIE]

Not bothered by it really, if it tastes good then I'll eat it. Wouldn't put me off buying anything.

[Mark in Oshawa]

What exactly is considered Genetically Modified food? Is it wheat grown from seed that is a hybrid of some sort? Show me corn or wheat that hasn't had some cross breeding and changes made to it. It is a necessity to grow both in colder climates such as Canada. Without this sort of crossing, the world's food supply would be less.

Now I know the GM stuff that is really making people nervous is that next step of GM with stuff like Tomatos, Soya, etc. That said, it is no more different than what Peter Fife did in the 1850's in Ontario with his creation of Red Fife Wheat. The lab is a lot more precise, but the process is still the same. We are tricking nature and pushing evolution faster. I feel a lot more comfortable with this, than spraying some of the pesticides and fertilizers wildly all over the place.

Most people who get bent out of shape on GM food have that luxury of being picky. Most of the world doesn't

[schmenke]

...If so where do you draw the line on that? If you want to be technical about it, our caveman forefathers did that when they cross bred different grasses to give us corn, wheat, etc.

No. Tinkering with DNA to produce more robust crops is a relatively new phenomenon. :s

Doesn't bother me in the least bit. Besides, It won't be very long before feeding the word's population won't be possible without endeavors like genetic modification :mark:

[donKey jote]

The only thing on a label that has affected my choice in the past has been the country of origin.
Whether it's GM-food or not wouldn't bother me in the slightest :)

[tmx]

At first I thought you meant food produced from General Motor.

[Easy Drifter]

The most popular corn on the cob is 'Peaches and Cream' or a variant called Bi-Colour. It is very much a hybrid and sells because of marketing.
I personally dislike it. I much prefer the older sweet corns but all are hybrids.
For early corn I get 'Maple Sweet' and now 'Incredible' both of which have been around for years. I have to drive 35 k to get them at one farm as all other local stuff is the 'Peaches and Cream' variety.
Look at tomatoes and the dozens of varieties. All modified.

[gloomyDAY]

GM foods offer no variation.

So, can't wait for tons of food to be discarded due to one single disease.

[anthonyvop]

If your corn is yellow and tender it is genetically modified.
If your Tomatoes are red and juicy it is genetically modified.
Chickens, Pork Beef....all genetically modified.

I can go on and on but to put it simply...man has been gentically modifying food since the first man switched from hunter to agrarian.

[Tomi]

The only thing on a label that has affected my choice in the past has been the country of origin.
Whether it's GM-food or not wouldn't bother me in the slightest :)

Same here the origin is most important to me as well.

[Easy Drifter]

Since I eat mostly Buffalo, Elk and Venison I guess I eat less GM food than most. Mind you almost all of it is farmed, not wild. Once in a while I get some wild Venison but not often.
Those who eat a lot of fish that are not farm raised also get non GM foods. I often order non farmed fish when eating out but the side dishes will be GM, including potatoes and rice. Mind you living here I sometimes get real wild rice.
Also available are wild blueberries and raspberries.
Hoping for some Bear and Moose this fall, both wild.
I do miss hunting at times.

[chuck34]

No. Tinkering with DNA to produce more robust crops is a relatively new phenomenon. :s

Doesn't bother me in the least bit. Besides, It won't be very long before feeding the word's population won't be possible without endeavors like genetic modification :mark:

What's the difference if it's done in a lab or by cross breading "in the field"? I'm failing to really see the difference?

And obviously it doesn't really bother me at all either.

[Eki]

Why did I read the title as "Dogs eating GM food bother you?"?

[Hondo]

No food at all bothers me. Like Hazell's pardner, I use more care in selecting Sweetie's food ( IAMS ) than I do in selecting mine. On the other hand, I usually use fresh meats and fresh or frozen vegetables and don't mess with a lot of processed, junk, or fast foods. I do keep a weeks worth of canned goods in the pantry in the event of an emergency,i.,e., storm, power outage, etc.

[555-04Q2]

Eating GM food does not phase me at all. If it tastes good, I'll eat it.

[ShiftingGears]

What's the difference if it's done in a lab or by cross breading "in the field"? I'm failing to really see the difference?


In the lab you can add new DNA to plants that you can't add through cross pollination. Farmers can use salmon genes to make tomatoes riper.

Essentially, new DNA is being added to food from various organisms and I am sure that in several places the potential side effects have not been fully investigated.


An article over a specific genetic engineering case worth thought:
http://www.ejnet.org/bgh/nogood.html
Not unbiased, but definitely worth reading.

[schmenke]

That's right.
Today's modifications are done at the genetic level in a laboratory, not simply throwing a couple of different seeds together to see what they produce. The latter is simply selective breeding.
What we are doing today is at the microscopic level, searching for specific traits from DNA strands from one source (crop) and then splicing them into the strands of others to produce a more robust crop.

[anthonyvop]

Eating GM food does not phase me at all. If it tastes good, I'll eat it.
Not only food but women also.

[Garry Walker]

Dont care even slightly. If I see something I like in the store, I will buy it and eat it.

[veeten]

Not only food but women also.

Cannibal... ;) :p

All the same, the 'folks' that do a lot of public ranting on this issue are often the same ones that are more appable to other types of control-based issues, such as smoking, diets, and other things that are left to the general public to decide upon.

Their 'beef' is, that if left to the public to decide, a substantial number may not choose to persue their point of observance, which has the tendency to make them quite agitated. So, it is their self-appointed mission to change how people make such choices, even to the point of using legal coersion (ie, Laws and Legal actions) as means to that end. Even science isn't an obstacle for them, as in the use of what is termed "Junk Science" (an ability to make the ends justify the means by making up faux scenarios and then applying methods to make it seem plausible).

[Hondo]

If these genetic food modifers were so smart they would produce a donut that caused you to pee non-skin irritating gasoline as a side effect.

[Hazell B]

Some of you don't understand the difference between GM and 'pedigree' foods - which is rather worrying me. Are people so utterly uncaring about their diet?

It's no good blaming the farmers once you're dying of cancer ten years down the line, you know! The idea is to know what you're eating now and take responsibility for yourselves.

Anyway, GM is stuff that's been messed with at a genetic level. It's not cattle bred to be heavier or corn that's a funny colour (that's a virus in the corn, by the way, and is perfectly natural). GM's soya oil that's had frog DNA added to stop certain diseases of the crop, or whatever, and is utterly un-natural. It could never exist in nature at all.

Remember what happened when people bought cheap meat and then got vCJD? That was down to scientists saying cattle could be fed blowback meat from diseased sheep - sure as hell not natural.

You need to educate yourselves, folks. I mean it, for your own sakes :)

By the way, the "it'll feed the starving" argument is crap. They can't afford GM seed, just like they can't afford AIDS drugs, water and so on. GM is not and won't ever be available to help those starving to death as all the rights seem to be privately owned money spinners ;)

[ShiftingGears]

Not only food but women also.

GM women? Where do you get them?

[ShiftingGears]

Some of you don't understand the difference between GM and 'pedigree' foods - which is rather worrying me. Are people so utterly uncaring about their diet?

It's no good blaming the farmers once you're dying of cancer ten years down the line, you know! The idea is to know what you're eating now and take responsibility for yourselves.

Anyway, GM is stuff that's been messed with at a genetic level. It's not cattle bred to be heavier or corn that's a funny colour (that's a virus in the corn, by the way, and is perfectly natural). GM's soya oil that's had frog DNA added to stop certain diseases of the crop, or whatever, and is utterly un-natural. It could never exist in nature at all.

Remember what happened when people bought cheap meat and then got vCJD? That was down to scientists saying cattle could be fed blowback meat from diseased sheep - sure as hell not natural.

You need to educate yourselves, folks. I mean it, for your own sakes :)

By the way, the "it'll feed the starving" argument is crap. They can't afford GM seed, just like they can't afford AIDS drugs, water and so on. GM is not and won't ever be available to help those starving to death as all the rights seem to be privately owned money spinners ;)

I concur.

[Camelopard]

This is a real problem though.

It is good of monsanto to say they won't prosecute the farmers for growing their intellectual property, unlike they have in some other areas of the world. (sarcasm)

http://www.smh.com.au/environment/gm-canola-found-outside-containment-area-20090924-g4s9.html

GM canola found outside containment area

BEN CUBBY

September 25, 2009
GENETICALLY modified canola has already escaped from its containment areas in southern NSW, just over a year after a moratorium on growing the crop was lifted by the State Government.
Canola matching a genetically altered strain patented by the agribusiness giant Monsanto was found growing beside the Riverina Highway, and apparently at other locations, near Jerilderie.
Many farmers who decided not to grow Monsanto's modified ''Roundup Ready'' canola are concerned that their commercial status as GM-free producers is compromised, and believe the apparent biosecurity breach may threaten export earnings.
''The problem is that farmers will end up growing GM canola whether we want to or not,'' said Jerilderie farmer Gay Marshall, who found the stray GM plants near the farm she runs with her husband Dick.
She sent them for testing at a commercial laboratory.
When the moratorium on the GM strain was lifted in March 2008, the Government promised the strain would not get mixed in with the traditional crop.
''GM canola will be segregated from non-GM canola - people will know what they are eating,'' the Primary Industries Minister, Ian Macdonald, said at the time.
However, the biggest grain handler, Graincorp, announced in May that it would be mixing the crops together. This means that processed foods that use canola oil, including many types of biscuits, potato chips and baby food, will soon contain some genetically modified material.
It is regarded as safe for human consumption by the Commonwealth Office of the Gene Technology Regulator.
But farmers who were planning to retain their GM-free status are now concerned that there is no way to stop GM seeds getting into their fields.
Asked if the discovery constituted a biosecurity breach, Mr Macdonald said in a statement that stray roadside plants were easily destroyed by slashing them down or with herbicides.
''This everyday occurrence is taken into account when industry standards and protocols are developed for supply chains,'' Mr Macdonald said.
Responsibility for managing roadside weeds fell to the Roads and Traffic Authority, he said.
Asked if contamination of non-GM crops would affect exports, he said: ''This issue is irrelevant to export opportunities because there are established markets for both GM canola and conventional canola.''
Monsanto's statement to the Herald on the issue contained some of the same phrases used by Mr Macdonald.
A spokeswoman for Monsanto, Honi McNaughton, said that although the company had sued farmers overseas for producing crops with its patented genes after their fields were contaminated, that would not happen in Australia.
''We're not going to be pursuing anybody for growing a couple of plants in their fields,'' she said. ''Those people we have acted against in the past are people that have illegally saved seeds and used it without paying us for our intellectual property.''
The non-GM group Biological Farmers of Australia said experience with GM canola in Canada showed that within a few years the majority of the canola crop would be completely interlinked with GM material.
The Network of Concerned Farmers said there were reports of modified canola taking root in wheat and other crops.
''It was always inevitable that there would be contamination by GM canola once the moratorium was lifted,'' a spokeswoman, Juliet McFarlane, said. ''The idea that we were going to get a choice about growing GM canola was always a joke.''
************************************************** *******



People wonder why I don't like and don't trust large coporations. Their GM modified crops escape into a non GM field and they have the hide to prosecute you!!!!! What a joke.

[christophulus]

The theory behind GM food is very appealing - more disease resistant crops that can grow using less water etc etc. In practice, there hasn't been anywhere near enough information released about them. I'm not bothered about eating them though, I figure I've been eating non-organic pesticide-laden food all my life and it's done me no harm so far!

[Daniel]

This is a real problem though.

It is good of monsanto to say they won't prosecute the farmers for growing their intellectual property, unlike they have in some other areas of the world. (sarcasm)

http://www.smh.com.au/environment/gm-canola-found-outside-containment-area-20090924-g4s9.html

GM canola found outside containment area

BEN CUBBY

September 25, 2009
GENETICALLY modified canola has already escaped from its containment areas in southern NSW, just over a year after a moratorium on growing the crop was lifted by the State Government.
Canola matching a genetically altered strain patented by the agribusiness giant Monsanto was found growing beside the Riverina Highway, and apparently at other locations, near Jerilderie.
Many farmers who decided not to grow Monsanto's modified ''Roundup Ready'' canola are concerned that their commercial status as GM-free producers is compromised, and believe the apparent biosecurity breach may threaten export earnings.
''The problem is that farmers will end up growing GM canola whether we want to or not,'' said Jerilderie farmer Gay Marshall, who found the stray GM plants near the farm she runs with her husband Dick.
She sent them for testing at a commercial laboratory.
When the moratorium on the GM strain was lifted in March 2008, the Government promised the strain would not get mixed in with the traditional crop.
''GM canola will be segregated from non-GM canola - people will know what they are eating,'' the Primary Industries Minister, Ian Macdonald, said at the time.
However, the biggest grain handler, Graincorp, announced in May that it would be mixing the crops together. This means that processed foods that use canola oil, including many types of biscuits, potato chips and baby food, will soon contain some genetically modified material.
It is regarded as safe for human consumption by the Commonwealth Office of the Gene Technology Regulator.
But farmers who were planning to retain their GM-free status are now concerned that there is no way to stop GM seeds getting into their fields.
Asked if the discovery constituted a biosecurity breach, Mr Macdonald said in a statement that stray roadside plants were easily destroyed by slashing them down or with herbicides.
''This everyday occurrence is taken into account when industry standards and protocols are developed for supply chains,'' Mr Macdonald said.
Responsibility for managing roadside weeds fell to the Roads and Traffic Authority, he said.
Asked if contamination of non-GM crops would affect exports, he said: ''This issue is irrelevant to export opportunities because there are established markets for both GM canola and conventional canola.''
Monsanto's statement to the Herald on the issue contained some of the same phrases used by Mr Macdonald.
A spokeswoman for Monsanto, Honi McNaughton, said that although the company had sued farmers overseas for producing crops with its patented genes after their fields were contaminated, that would not happen in Australia.
''We're not going to be pursuing anybody for growing a couple of plants in their fields,'' she said. ''Those people we have acted against in the past are people that have illegally saved seeds and used it without paying us for our intellectual property.''
The non-GM group Biological Farmers of Australia said experience with GM canola in Canada showed that within a few years the majority of the canola crop would be completely interlinked with GM material.
The Network of Concerned Farmers said there were reports of modified canola taking root in wheat and other crops.
''It was always inevitable that there would be contamination by GM canola once the moratorium was lifted,'' a spokeswoman, Juliet McFarlane, said. ''The idea that we were going to get a choice about growing GM canola was always a joke.''
************************************************** *******



People wonder why I don't like and don't trust large coporations. Their GM modified crops escape into a non GM field and they have the hide to prosecute you!!!!! What a joke.
Yeah that's one of the most outrageous things that's ever happened. Sadly it's been going on for years though :(

As for the effects of food it has been said that people nowadays don't decompose as quickly when put in the ground as our ancestors did because of all the preservatives in food these days. Could be an urban myth though....

[emporer_k]

I don't really see what the problem is with GM food.

[Daniel]

I don't really see what the problem is with GM food.
THe problem is that we don't know what the problems may be.

[veeten]

GM women? Where do you get them?

from Hollywood. ;) :p :

[Easy Drifter]

GM women? Clearly you get them from a GM Dealership, especially one that is being closed. :D :eek:

[olla86]

I always check my food because I take care of my health