GMO or Non GMO?

[Lucky]

I've noticed a ton of folks online lately are down on GMOs. It seems to be mostly the eat healthy, farm to table, or natural only crowd that are the most vocal, but if you drill down in the comments section they aren't alone. From my research I can't find any real info or studies proving GMOs are bad other than personal beliefs. Does anyone have any info or links proving GMOs are actually bad for you? I sorta wonder if they outlawed GMOs if we could grow enough corn to feed the people.

The last rabbit hole I went down was on Grass fed vs Grain fed beef. After allot of looking I finally found what I was looking for. It actually took a guy making a workout/health type video on the benifits of grass fed over grain fed beef to head me in the right direction. He actually brought up GMOs as a reason to only eat grass fed beef too. Pretty interesting stuff if your bored and stuck inside all day.

I don't really have an opinion either way and generally eat whatever happens to be around that day so I'm not trying to argue with anyones point of view.

 

[M.Magis]

Its all internet folklore. Thats all people need these days apparently.

 

[Silver]

GMO's, growth implants, herbicides, fertilizer… these are obviously killing us. Oh wait, they are the reason modern agriculture is able to feed the world.

 

[Lucky]

GMO's, growth implants, herbicides, fertilizer… these are obviously killing us. Oh wait, they are the reason modern agriculture is able to feed the world.

I'm not too keen on the growth implants and herbicides being in our food. I'm not sure that it does any damage in the tiny amounts we eat but do think it does something. I'm definitely not worried enough to grow a garden though. The funny thing about growth hormones is how chickens are probably the worst and it's what people eat to stay healthy.

 

[sstterry]

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Chicken is definitely the worst. I saw a study a few years ago that showed that the reason for girls reaching puberty earlier these days was because of the hormones in chicken. This was wrong as per Simme below.

Btw, GMO is nothing more than speeding up what we were already doing. When you cross-pollinate or cross-breed animals, you are genetically modifying the resulting offspring.

 

[simme]

Growth hormones in chickens? Not in the US. Banned in the US in the 1950's.

Also about 60% of chickens produced in the US never receive antibiotics.

 

[4hfarms]

I believe the trouble with GMO is that it is not self sustaining. It cannot reproduce. It all has to be re seeded by prepared grains by companies like Monsanto. Draining the ground of nutrients by replanting the same crops because you have a contract to do so. Which in turn uses more fuel, fertilizer, weed killer etc.

 

[Silver]

I believe the trouble with GMO is that it is not self sustaining. It cannot reproduce. It all has to be re seeded by prepared grains by companies like Monsanto. Draining the ground of nutrients by replanting the same crops because you have a contract to do so. Which in turn uses more fuel, fertilizer, weed killer etc.

GM crops can certainly reproduce. Seed and input providers contract their products whether GMO or not. There are only 5 GMO crops in Canada, but there are contracts for inputs for all crops.

 

[J Hoy]

I believe the trouble with GMO is that it is not self sustaining. It cannot reproduce. It all has to be re seeded by prepared grains by companies like Monsanto. Draining the ground of nutrients by replanting the same crops because you have a contract to do so. Which in turn uses more fuel, fertilizer, weed killer etc.

You all might be interested in this study concerning what glyphosate, one of the main herbicides used on some GMO crops like corn, does to animals, especially developing young. Increased glyphosate residues in feed given to livestock can effect their reproductive health. Since most livestock owners have their animals for their reproductive capabilities, feeding them silage or grain with glyphosate in it would appear to be counter productive.
Glyphosate-based herbicide formulations and reproductive toxicity in animals.

Redirecting

 

[sstterry]

Growth hormones in chickens? Not in the US. Banned in the US in the 1950's.

Also about 60% of chickens produced in the US never receive antibiotics.

Then I stand corrected. I do know that the producers like tyson and koch only allow the growers to use thier own feed which they keep very secret.

 

[sstterry]

GM crops can certainly reproduce. Seed and input providers contract their products whether GMO or not. There are only 5 GMO crops in Canada, but there are contracts for inputs for all crops.

They also insert a color gene into the the seed and the company can tell exactly what year the seed was produced. If they catch a farmer trying to replant seed there is a huge price to pay and they also audit the farms to make sure they plant all of the seed from that year and don't hold any back.

 

[Silver]

They also insert a color gene into the the seed and the company can tell exactly what year the seed was produced. If they catch a farmer trying to replant seed there is a huge price to pay and they also audit the farms to make sure they plant all of the seed from that year and don't hold any back.

Yes, there has been some high profile lawsuits up here over the years targeting farmers who either had volunteer GMO plants in their crop or had replanted their seed.

 

[Silver]

All this talk about glyphosate toxicity reminds me I should look into buying my Roundup for next year as the price has come down nicely.

 

[greybeard]

Bunch of new age hippies......

 

[sstterry]

Yes, there has been some high profile lawsuits up here over the years targeting farmers who either had volunteer GMO plants in their crop or had replanted their seed.

The contract they have to sign is about 2 inches thick.

A friend of mine is a row cropper and he got audited. They use drones and computers to calculate the seeds per acre. At the end of the audit, they asked him where the other 50lb of seed was. He had forgotten that he had one bag left to plant in a field that had been too wet. It really scared him until he remembered the unplanted bag.

 

[Lucky]

I had know idea that much went into planting crops these days. A few months back a friend of mine told me he talked with a farmer that planted a corn variety that had 7 ears per stalk. Monsanto has a terrible name in health kick crowds as does Cargill.

I also hadn't heard about the ban on growth hormones in chicken feed. The chicken growers around here all say there's something in the feed when a chicken can reach 7 pounds in 45 days.

 

[simme]

I also hadn't heard about the ban on growth hormones in chicken feed. The chicken growers around here all say there's something in the feed when a chicken can reach 7 pounds in 45 days.

My family has grown chickens for almost 50 years. It's not in the feed so much. Mostly in the genes and environment. Commercial broilers genetics are about growth rate and feed efficiency. That leaves some compromise on joints, health and mortality. Not much diversity in broiler genetics now. 50 years ago, broilers would consume about 2.3x pounds of feed per pound of live weight and weigh 4.5 pounds at 7 weeks. Now the number is 1.6x feed conversion and 6.5 to 7 pounds at 7 weeks. Much better feed efficiency. 50 years ago, southern chicken houses were mostly naturally ventilated curtain sided houses with mostly natural lighting. Today houses are totally enclosed with lots of fans, heaters, evaporative cooling, inlet air controls, light dimmers and computer controlled. Lights and feeders come on and the chickens eat and drink. Lights go dim, feeders off and the chickens rest. Lights go out and the chickens sleep. Feed intake and chicken activity are controlled by light levels.

 

[Lucky]

My family has grown chickens for almost 50 years. It's not in the feed so much. Mostly in the genes and environment. Commercial broilers genetics are about growth rate and feed efficiency. That leaves some compromise on joints, health and mortality. Not much diversity in broiler genetics now. 50 years ago, broilers would consume about 2.3x pounds of feed per pound of live weight and weigh 4.5 pounds at 7 weeks. Now the number is 1.6x feed conversion and 6.5 to 7 pounds at 7 weeks. Much better feed efficiency. 50 years ago, southern chicken houses were mostly naturally ventilated curtain sided houses with mostly natural lighting. Today houses are totally enclosed with lots of fans, heaters, evaporative cooling, inlet air controls, light dimmers and computer controlled. Lights and feeders come on and the chickens eat and drink. Lights go dim, feeders off and the chickens rest. Lights go out and the chickens sleep. Feed intake and chicken activity are controlled by light levels.

Very interesting information. The guys here grow for Pilgrims. They all have a different take on the chicken biz but the one thing they all have in common is none of them seem to like it.

 

[Ebenezer]

Growth hormones in chickens? Not in the US. Banned in the US in the 1950's.

Also about 60% of chickens produced in the US never receive antibiotics.

Last I read the early girl stuff was due to compounds coming from plastics.

 

[mwj]

Some people are very proud of what they THINK they know!