Organic vs. conventional vs. gmo

[Saft]

Which foods do you always purchase organic?

Which foods do you pass on organic and purchase that are conventional or GMO?

 

[á´…eparted]

I don't have time at the moment to go into detail but I buy food
That's it. This whole anti-gmo movement is driven buy a bunch of anti-science ninnies and it drives me crazy.

 

[Saft]

This whole anti-gmo movement is driven by a bunch of anti-science ninnies and it drives me crazy.

There are plenty of scientists/geneticists that are not in favor of genetically modified food, and some countries are even making different kinds of bans on it after their scientists recommended it. If you are a proponent of GMO food, that’s fine, but to claim that the “whole anti-gmo movement is driven by a bunch of anti-science ninnies” is a bit much.

I’m sure you could cite research and I could cite research...

But the fact of the matter is that neither side knows enough about GMO food to make any definitive statements.

 

[Adam]

But the fact of the matter is that neither side knows enough about GMO food to make any definitive statements.

The fact of the matter is that there is a broad scientific consensus that marketed GMO foods pose no greater risks than conventional food.

"In contrast to adverse health effects that have been associated with some traditional food production methods, similar serious health effects have not been identified as a result of genetic engineering techniques used in food production. This may be because developers of bioengineered organisms perform extensive compositional analyses to determine that each phenotype is desirable and to ensure that unintended changes have not occurred in key components of food."

The only viable opposition to GMO come from angles unrelated to human health.

Lastly, please have some common knowledge and sense of shame when choosing which websites to get your information from in the future, staying away from conspiratorial hovels such as GlobalResearch.

 

[Saft]

Lastly, please have some common knowledge and sense of shame when choosing which websites to get your information from in the future, staying away from conspiratorial hovels such as GlobalResearch.

I could've linked a better site, true. I sort of just threw that one out there in haste.

 

[kyuuei]

Uhhh. The only organic foods I go out of my way to buy organic are ones that I like that have no alternatives usually (i.e. pink lady apples usually only come from the organic section around here), when they're on the clearance rack of my local farmer's market (that place has decent prices regularly so sometimes from there too), and when I grow it myself.

I know I'm suppose to care a lot.. and sometimes I do. I get in moods where I really want to care.. but I was raised poor, eating garbage and the same cheap foods each week, and I really think I came out okay despite it. I'd horrify vegan parents now-a-days telling them about my hot-dog and mayo sandwiches, the school lunches everyday where I'd have the same cheeseburger every single damn day, or how I ate nothing but pickles for 3 days in a row, or how I'd slam through 4-5 slices of that nasty American singles cheese in a day easily, meticulously eating around it until it became a fish so that I could pretend to be a cat and eat it.

I'm more conscientious now.. I make an effort to garden because it's better for you and it's cheaper. I buy cereals that are made with beans and such instead of sugary off-brand reese's puffs (you used to lose your head if you ate the last bowl of that in my house). I try to make healthier swaps now, and that's working really great for me. Using better sugars, non-fat milks or powdered milk (mostly because of the stupid amount of calcium in it for the price.. it's cheaper than supplements), fresh orange juices, etc. Keeps the costs down, but makes my diet really flexible.

I admire people who can stick with healthy foods 100% of the time--I watch them frequently on youtube and whatnot and how happy they are about eating raw dandelion weeds and shit. But it's not for me. I like fried chicken livers.

 

[Saft]

I know I'm suppose to care a lot.. and sometimes I do. I get in moods where I really want to care.. but I was raised poor, eating garbage and the same cheap foods each week, and I really think I came out okay despite it. I'd horrify vegan parents now-a-days telling them about my hot-dog and mayo sandwiches, the school lunches everyday where I'd have the same cheeseburger every single damn day, or how I ate nothing but pickles for 3 days in a row, or how I'd slam through 4-5 slices of that nasty American singles cheese in a day easily

I used to eat the same kind of crap too when I was younger. Neither I nor my parents knew any better. My biggest regret though is how much soda I consumed as a kid, in hindsight I can see how it affected my development.

meticulously eating around it until it became a fish so that I could pretend to be a cat and eat it.

Weirdo.

I'm more conscientious now.. I make an effort to garden because it's better for you and it's cheaper.

Gardening is something I would like to learn how to do. Teach me.

 

[kyuuei]

I used to eat the same kind of crap too when I was younger. Neither I nor my parents knew any better. My biggest regret though is how much soda I consumed as a kid, in hindsight I can see how it affected my development.

I always hated soda, even as a kid. My big bad habit is salt and breads.

Gardening is something I would like to learn how to do. Teach me.

To go against most avid gardeners:
Just buy some cheap potting soil/mulch mix and mix it up with whatever crappy dirt you have. Plant a bunch of shit. See what grows and what doesn't. The stuff that sucked at growing, try again in a pot--if it still sucks at growing, maybe give up on it. The stuff that grows well, just keep feeding it water. I use cedar chips to keep bugs away because it's free and easy to do. I also used to collect leaves in the fall and let them sit in a pile in the corner. About a year later they turn into better mulch. That stuff + ashes from the fire pit = decent soil. When you get sick of your plants, let them grow and die out. Then let it all mulch up for the next year while you plant next to that spot. You can switch back and forth like that.

I never weed. I just pluck out the particularly nasty weeds. The harmless ones that don't grow very high I keep them there, and they help suppress the shitty thorny weeds from coming in.

 

[Tellenbach]

Organic kale, spinach, berries. I don't know if one can buy organic cashews, almonds, and peanuts.

P.S. It's blueberry season and organic blueberries are real cheap right now.

 

[Kullervo]

I just buy food from local producers as much as I can, not because it is "organic" (a very misleading term as all food is by definition organic) but because it is fresher and doesn't have to be caked with preservatives. It goes without saying that pumping food full of inorganic chemicals and hormones isn't good for your health, and I feel sorry for Americans in this respect.

GM technology could reduce the need for a lot of the above while mitigating the health risks. I don't see a problem with the technology. The problem is that it will become patented and monopolies will form.

 

[prplchknz]

When I was a kid my mom tried to feed me healthy non-processed food, I wouldn't eat and she finally had to give in and buy junk just so I would eat. Now I prefer the non-processed stuff. I would not eat wheat bread and other things.

 

[gromit]

Mostly I just buy what is cheapest. If it is something I peel, I don't even think about organic. If it is something like strawberries or lettuce, I tend to buy non-organic, but if the organic is on sale for only slightly more expensive, I might buy the organic.

I think it's better to eat more non-organic vegetables than fewer organic vegetables.

But I honestly havent' researched it a ton.

GMO/non-GMO doesn't really seem like a big deal to me, but maybe it should? Again, I haven't looked into it that thoroughly.

 

[kiddykat]

I think you can google up on ones that contain most to least pesiticides and spend money wisely on that? Or grow your own? Something like cucumbers would be great (they contain high amounts of pesticides- non organic).

I personally try to buy all organic as much as I can. Some things like frozen pineapple is hard to find organic and very expensive!

 

[Saft]

I think you can google up on ones that contain most to least pesiticides and spend money wisely on that? Or grow your own? Something like cucumbers would be great (they contain high amounts of pesticides- non organic).

I personally try to buy all organic as much as I can. Some things like frozen pineapple is hard to find organic and very expensive!

This is the EWG’s 2014 list of dirtiest to cleanest conventional produce:

Lower numbers = more pesticides

1. Apples
2. Strawberries
3. Grapes
4. Celery
5. Spinach
6. Peaches
7. Sweet bell peppers
8. Nectarines – imported
9. Cucumbers
10. Cherry tomatoes
11. Snap peas – imported
12. Potatoes
13. Hot peppers
14. Blueberries – domestic
15. Lettuce
16. Kale / collard greens
17. Plums
18. Cherries
19. Nectarines – domestic
20. Pears
21. Tangerines
22. Carrots
23. Blueberries – imported
24. Green beans
25. Winter squash
26. Summer squash
27. Raspberries
28. Broccoli
29. Snap peas – domestic
30. Green onions
31. Oranges
32. Bananas
33. Tomatoes
34. Watermelon
35. Honeydew melon
36. Mushrooms
37. Sweep potatoes
38. Cauliflower
39. Cantaloupe
40. Grapefruit
41. Eggplant
42. kiwi
43. Papaya
44. Mangos
45. Asparagus
46. Onions
47. Sweep peas – frozen
48. Cabbage
49. Pineapples
50. Sweet corn
51. Avocados

EWG's 2014 Shopper's Guide to Pesticides in Produceâ„¢

The average potato had more pesticides by weight than any other food.

A single grape sample contained 15 pesticides. Single samples of celery, cherry tomatoes, imported snap peas and strawberries showed 13 different pesticides apiece.

Three other things they mentioned were about kale, collard greens, and hot peppers.

Two American food crops - leafy greens and hot peppers - are of special concern for public health because residue tests conducted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture have found these foods laced with particularly toxic pesticides. Among the chemicals at issue are organophosphate and carbamate insecticides no longer detected widely on other produce, either because of binding legal restrictions or voluntary phase-outs.

They recommended that people who frequently eat those three things to buy organic varieties, and if they can’t afford organic, to cook them in order to diminish the pesticide levels.

...
[MENTION=9486]gromit[/MENTION] conventionally grown strawberries are one of the worst things when it comes to pesticide exposure. They’re often one of the top things mentioned in different articles of “things to only eat if they’re organic.”

12 foods to eat only if they're organic - Canadian Living
Organic vs. Nonorganic: What Should You Buy? - ABC News

 

[Saft]

GM technology could reduce the need for a lot of the above while mitigating the health risks. I don't see a problem with the technology. The problem is that it will become patented and monopolies will form.

Isn't that already happening with Monsanto?

 

[gromit]

There is kind of a culture of "OMG everything you do is horrible for your health!!!" that just starts to get pretty exhausting if you buy into it all.

Yeah it would prob be better to eat organic strawb and stuff. But organic is just more expensive (sometimes even 2x more expensive)'and I don't know if I can justify that at this point, on a student budget.

I am hoping once I'm a little more settled with life to start cranking out lettuce and other greens in a small side yard garden bed. My parents do that and have almost more than they can eat.

I actually have been growing some kale and chard, and they're doing ok, but still pretty small. Don't know if I'll get to eat any of it before I leave for my internship in MT. The soil isn't great here, very clay-y, so it would be expensive to improve the soil quality quickly just for one, maybe 2, years of harvest

 

[Noll]

There's two episodes about organic food and anti-GM food on Penn & Teller: Bullshit!, unfortunately it seems like the episodes aren't on YouTube anymore. But basically what they said is that organic food is overpriced bullshit and that anti-GM food people are selfish first world hippie fucks. Other than that I don't know much about it, but I do think it's overhyped. I'd bet it's the typical hipster health hysteria, the kind of people who think gluten is bad even though they aren't allergic etc. If organic food is so good then why isn't all food organic? Surely we would have made the change quickly. Like anything else, the organic food industry is about MONEY, MONEY, MONEY. Of course they'll hype it and have ridiculous prices!

 

[Ivy]

There is kind of a culture of "OMG everything you do is horrible for your health!!!" that just starts to get pretty exhausting if you buy into it all.

This. Certain aspects of GMO foods are an issue for ethical reasons, but there's no sound science proving it's harmful to human health. There's not just one thing that makes up what "genetically modified" means, anyway. It's the latest boogieman in the food industry.

 

[ceecee]

This. Certain aspects of GMO foods are an issue for ethical reasons, but there's no sound science proving it's harmful to human health. There's not just one thing that makes up what "genetically modified" means, anyway. It's the latest boogieman in the food industry.

Right. Fortunately I grow a good amount of what we eat and I buy directly from local farms much of the year. I do buy organic for some things but I don't go overboard. The milk/butter/cream/eggs we use are exclusively from a farm and it's organic. It's great that it's organic but the main reason I get it is that the dairy is so fucking good I can't go back to store bought. Even better than the Euro butter I used before.

 

[Ivy]

That's us too. I buy from a local produce delivery service, including all our meat and dairy, because I believe in buying local when possible and because it tastes damn good.