GM food. Do you care?

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redoak
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GM food. Do you care?

Post by redoak »

Are you happy that you are probably already consuming GM (Genetically Modified) food?
Although I believe it's supposed to be labeled in the UK, there are many foods that may contain small amounts unlabeled, or animal products from animals fed on GM do not have to be labeled!
I always try to avoid buying anything containing GM products, and this is one reason that I now tend to buy more organic food.
If you're concerned, put 'say no to GM' into a search engine, and find lots of information.
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wendy
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Re: GM food. Do you care?

Post by wendy »

Not at all happy.
I also try hard not to have GM foods. I even insist the hens and other animals food is non GM.
Never eat processed food, but I think that tinned tomatoes are and it is difficult to cook without them. Unless you want to use fresh of course and I cannot stand the smell of fresh tomatoes.
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LittleBrownFrog
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Re: GM food. Do you care?

Post by LittleBrownFrog »

It frightens me that in such a short space of time, just a couple of generations, we've become almost anaesthetised to these things - it's a slippery slope. :?
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wendy
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Re: GM food. Do you care?

Post by wendy »

)t' LBF
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redoak
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Re: GM food. Do you care?

Post by redoak »

I think there are a lot of people that are not happy, but many of them think that there's nothing they can do about it, and then there's also lots who just don't even know/understand that it's going on at all.

I emailed Te$co today. I was feeling annoyed about them changing their policy, and they are the only supermarket that I have a loyalty card for.
Anyway, I told them that because they have changed their policy, I'm going to boycott them completely from now on! - that really put the fear of god into them {rofwl}
- I was very surprised to get a phone call 10 mins later. It was customer services saying that they have NOT changed their policy!!
So I asked why then is it all over the media that they have? The answer was "I don't know"
I said I'll do some more research and try and find out the correct position.
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Re: GM food. Do you care?

Post by fabindia »

redoak wrote:Are you happy that you are probably already consuming GM (Genetically Modified) food?


No, definitely not. GM is positioned as the savior of the world, given the population explosion. It could turn out to the destroyer of our world.
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Re: GM food. Do you care?

Post by albertajune »

I absolutely don't want to eat GM food, but fear that I probably already am. For instance, even having our allotments, we have to buy seeds. Do they come from modified crops? The original reason given for growing it, was to help countries that have such huge populations, who for various reasons can't grow enough food to sustain themselves. I think that the money factor reigns supreme now in this country and there is probably nothing that we can do about it.
I'm sure that the future will see different health worries from what we see today, through eating unpure food.
Already there is an epidemic of obesity. I do wonder if this could that be to do with anything that is used in the growing and rearing of produce.
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Mo
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Re: GM food. Do you care?

Post by Mo »

Do I care?
Well, I do and I don't.

From one point of view that it's just what we have been doing since the agricultural revolution or earlier, but faster. I.e. changing plants and animals by selective breeding to make them suit our purposes.

But if big firms are doing it so that they can sell more fertilisers & pesticides, or claim to 'own' plants and stop farmers saving seed from their crops. And if escapes into the countyside alter the ecology. Then maybe it's not so good.

I read that Monsanto are trying to patent ordinary varieties of food.
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LittleBrownFrog
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Re: GM food. Do you care?

Post by LittleBrownFrog »

There's a big difference though between the kind of selective breeding that you're talking about and the Frankenstein's monster of genetic modification. We're also talking about potentially vast swathes of land being devoted to single crops, which isn't good for biodiversity
"Happiness is like a butterfly; the more you chase it, the more it will elude you, but if you turn your attention to other things, it will come and sit softly on your shoulder..." Thoreau.
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redoak
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Re: GM food. Do you care?

Post by redoak »

I found this interesting article on the Soil Association website. It gives me a little hope for the future.
http://www.soilassociation.org/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=N0PEfS7855A%3d&tabid=390
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redoak
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Re: GM food. Do you care?

Post by redoak »

Oh, and Wendy, I emailed Napolina and had this reply:
We can confirm that all Napolina tinned tomatoes are Genetically Modified free.
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secret squirrel
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Re: GM food. Do you care?

Post by secret squirrel »

I hate the idea that whatever we eat has been tampered with. Sadly we've been fed this stuff for AT LEAST 3 decades, "by stealth". {mr.angry}
Even the seeds we buy to grow at home, i reckon come from GM sources.
I was told by my GP 30 years ago that there was no link between food additives and childrens behaviour and also allergies. NOW however they are admitting that there is, after i was branded neurotic because i said there WAS!!
Why have so many people got food intolerance and allergies? It has to be connected with what is in the food we buy, surely.
There was not a single person in my family with an allergy yet EVERY one of my 4 children, now adults, has food issues of one sort or another.
Doesnt seem to matter if you buy budget food or pay a lot from main-lone supermarkets, it seems to be the same. You simply cant guarantee you are eating what you think you are!

Saw a programme last year where they said that if you buy British grown tomatoes, they are NOT modified. Hmmmmm, is it the truth i wonder? Would be nice to think it was.
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Richard
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Re: GM food. Do you care?

Post by Richard »

Hi

There's a very interesting take on this by Kate Humble in the Daily Telegraph, I can see where she's coming from.

I guess that in many Countries GM is part of the answer to starvation, but her point about meat should be a luxury rather than fast food and sandwiches has a good vibe to it.

Read the Telegraph article Here

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silverback
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Re: GM food. Do you care?

Post by silverback »

I treat meat as a luxury already!, given the price, and how many of us can afford to eat bacon for breakfast, chicken for lunch, and steak for tea! >dowhat< , bit of a crass statement if you ask me. As far as GM crops go, until a natural way of feeding the population of the earth comes along, then it looks like there is no choice!.
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Re: GM food. Do you care?

Post by silky »

We’ve been eating GM foods for over 100 years.

The true carrot is purple in colour and not red.
There was only two or three types of cabbage now there‘s about 40.
Potatoes have been modified and walkers had their own potatoes made just to make a better fried crisp.
I could go on and on, but over the years we have accepted it.
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