If you avoid GMO's, I would love some help with questions I have.

[Jennefer@SSA]

We have been trying hard to cut all GMO's from our diet, but I have a few questions. First, I drink soy milk. Silk soy milk says on the carton that no GMO soy is used in their product. I am skeptical. What is the thought on this? I know that soy and corn are just about the biggest GMO crops in the US, and Monsanto soy is everywhere.

 

Next, if I stick with organic corn and organic corn products can I be assured that it is always GMO free? We have started using organic blue corn chips for nachos and other treats instead of regular tortilla chips. I cannot find organic corn tortillas though. :sad: Those are a staple of tex-mex cooking here in Texas!

 

I read recently that canola is another huge GMO crop. We only use first cold-pressed extra-virgin olive oil and canola. Now I need to switch that I guess. What do you use instead of canola when you cook things where you do not want that peppery flavor of evoo? I am thinking morning eggs, homemade bread and sweets.

 

Any other advice? Recommendations? We avoid dairy except occasional cheese so we were thrilled when our store started carrying Earth Balance soy free butter. Yum!!!

[The Girls' Mom]

Can't answer the other questions, but I just started using Grapeseed Oil instead of Canola. Costco has it. It has no strong flavors.

[G5052]

Your best bet is to really read labels. IMHO "No GMOs" from a large company is suspect, but I'd rather see that than no mention at all. Organic does not mean no GMOs, and organic is not always best. I buy local products from small farms that can't afford to cerify but who follow organic practices out of principle. I suspect that they're better than some of the certified farms.

 

I use olive oil in almost everything now, and buy an especially light one for the very few occasions that I need it even though it's refined. That said, I can't tell the difference between 2 tablespoons of EVO versus canola in waffles, and my kids didn't complain when I switched.

[KS_]

Organic does not mean no GMOs, and organic is not always best.

 

Certified organic does mean no GMOs:

 

http://organic.lovetoknow.com/What_Does_Organic_Mean

 

ETA: Although there is a lot of concern about cross pollination and cross contamination, but it's supposed to mean no GMOs.

Edited April 14, 2010 by KH_

[Faith]

http://www.helpguide.org/life/organic_foods_pesticides_gmo.htm

 

 

I keep with organics for things like that. I use only organic canola oil and organic olive oil. Organics ARE GMO free.

[bagel270]

Canola oil is from rapeseed that is mutated to make it edible. We aren't buying it anymore. I use safflower or sunflower oil instead now.

[Jennefer@SSA]

Out of the oils mentioned which are the lowest in saturated fats: grapeseed, sunflower or safflower? Or is there an even better choice?

 

We were only using canola and evoo based on our dr. recommendation when dh was losing weight since those 2 are so low in sat. fats compared to other oils.

Edited April 14, 2010 by Jennefer@SSA

[Jennefer@SSA]

Your best bet is to really read labels. IMHO "No GMOs" from a large company is suspect, but I'd rather see that than no mention at all..

 

Yep! This is why I was wondering about the Silk soy milk. Hmmmm.....

[LibraryLover]

Organic is supposed to mean no GMOs. That's the law. We can trust it or not, and we have good reasons to not, I suppose.

 

I would consider buying (and paying more) from companies with strong ethics. Eden is a brand I trust.

 

I am not a soy milk person. We have thyroid issues in our family including a relative with thyroid cancer.

[stormy weather]

. 

 

Edited February 23, 2015 by stormy weather

[Cricket]

Out of the oils mentioned which are the lowest in saturated fats: grapeseed, sunflower or safflower? Or is there an even better choice?

 

We were only using canola and evoo based on our dr. recommendation when dh was losing weight since those 2 are so low in sat. fats compared to other oils.

 

Have you considered coconut oil? That is great in baked goods. It does have saturated fat but supposedly it is a healthy fat.

[Orthodox6]

"Silk" can claim whatever it wishes, but I won't believe the assertions.

 

http://www.naturalnews.com/027450_food_foods_Dean.html

[LibraryLover]

Silk is not on my trustworthy radar. How are they producing that level of soy milk when the greatest majority of soy beans in this country are GMO? That's a huge order to fill.

 I wonder how any large organic supplier comes up with so dang much organic food. It's amazing.

Edited September 15, 2014 by LibraryLover

[Orthodox6]

It can cross pollinate because the organic soy farmers of Canada have sued Monsanto for contamination (after Monsanto sued and won against a farmer who ended up with some of their patented gene in his otherwise non-mansano crop. It was cross contaminated by pollinators)

 

Bizarre and a bit nasty-spirited. I'll speculate that the "offending" farmer did not want the intrusion in the first place !

[mcconnellboys]

Soy is THE biggest GM crop in America/Canada now. I just finished Seeds of Deception this evening and according to that book, there are GM soy and corn contaminants pervasive in our entire food supply now. The big eye opener for me in reading this book was that tons and TONS of food additives, preservatives, fixatives, flavorings, etc. contain GM organisms. So if you're buying products that have more than just a handful of simple ingredients in them, chances are you're getting some GMO contamination in your diet (sorry)......

[mcconnellboys]

I seem to be as allergic to this as I am to palm oil, that is commonly being used now. You might need to experiment in changing oils to make sure you don't react to the new things gaining favor in the marketplace now....

[mcconnellboys]

Again, according to things I've been recently reading, all organic producers have had to accept that there will be some level of GM contaminants in their products. The contamination is pervasive. There's no sort of regulation regarding how much contamination is acceptable, but it can't be prevented, so it will have to be accepted.....

[mcconnellboys]

I'm sorry, but no GMO's in organics is not the law. Here's some info on this:

 

http://www.flaginc.org/topics/pubs/arts/OrganicsAndGMOs2007.pdf

 

 

"D. NOP Regulations Do Not Bar Sale of Goods Simply Because GMOs Are Present

 

Another important NOP regulatory section related to GMOs is one that does not directly

address excluded methods or GMOs at all. Section 205.671 states that:

When residue testing detects prohibited substances at levels that are greater

than 5 percent of the Environmental Protection Agency’s tolerance for the

specific residue detected or unavoidable residual environmental

contamination, the agricultural product must not be sold, labeled, or

represented as organically produced. The [Agricultural Marketing Service]

Administrator, the applicable State organic program’s governing State

official, or the certifying agent may conduct an investigation of the certified

operation to determine the cause of the prohibited substance." (Bold and italics mine.)

 

...

 

"Although section 205.671 refers specifically to tolerances established by EPA, in the

absence of an EPA tolerance for GMOs, there was some discussion during the NOP

rulemaking whether USDA would itself set a maximum legal level for GMOs in

organic production and handling. Some commenters had suggested that a tolerance

for GMOs should be established, but this proposal was controversial because of the

strong consumer expectation that organic food should be “GMO-free.†USDA did

not establish a maximum legal level for GMOs in the final rule, yet the preamble to

the final rule notes that the NOP regulations do not set a “zero tolerance†standard

for the products of excluded methods. This requires a conclusion that current NOP

regulations do not require that food be “GMO-free†in order to be certified organic.

The preamble to the final rule states that the presence of the products of excluded

methods acts as a “warning indicator†to the certifying agent, but does not

necessarily indicate a violation of the NOP regulations. That is,

As long as an organic operation has not used excluded methods and

takes reasonable steps to avoid contact with the products of excluded

methods as detailed in their approved organic system plan, the

unintentional presence of the products of excluded methods should not

affect the status of an organic product or operation." (Bold and italics mine.)

[LibraryLover]

In the spirit of the law, organic is not supposed to be GMO


The USDA National Organic Program (NOP) defines organic as follows:

Organic food is produced by farmers who emphasize the use of renewable resources and the conservation of soil and water to enhance environmental quality for future generations. Organic meat, poultry, eggs, and dairy products come from animals that are given no antibiotics or growth hormones. Organic food is produced without using most conventional pesticides; fertilizers made with synthetic ingredients or sewage sludge; bioengineering; or ionizing radiation.

Edited September 15, 2014 by LibraryLover

[Jennefer@SSA]

Organic is supposed to mean no GMOs. That's the law. We can trust it or not, and we have good reasons to not, I suppose.

 

I would consider buying (and paying more) from companies with strong ethics. Eden is a brand I trust.

 

I am not a soy milk person. We have thyroid issues in our family including a relative with thyroid cancer.

 

Is thyroid cancer somehow linked to soy? I do not allow my boys to have soy milk; they drink almond milk. I have debated switching myself to that as well. I would love to hear more if there is some link to soy and any cancer.

[Jennefer@SSA]

Have you considered coconut oil? That is great in baked goods. It does have saturated fat but supposedly it is a healthy fat.

 

I was using coconut oil for awhile until I realized how high in sat. fat it was. A friend tonight told me the same thing as you - it's a healthy fat. It seems there is much debate. When you google it, you find as many for as against. It's so hard to know who to trust. I loved using coconut oil for our eggs though!

[Jennefer@SSA]

Silk is not on my trustworthy radar. How are they producing that level of soy milk when the greatest majority of soy beans in this country are GMO? That's a huge order to fill.

 

This is exactly what made me question their claim in the first place. Monsanto soy is supposedly so pervasive in the American food supply that I wondered how in the world Silk was getting enough soy to produce such a huge amount of product. Hmmmm....thinking I need to switch to almond milk.

[Jennefer@SSA]

ETA:Link to Institute for Responsible Technology

Non-GMO shopping guide

 

Thank you for the links. They were very helpful!

[songbirdie]

Here is a link where you can read about many studies done since 1960 until now that show the links between soy and several health issues. I like this particular site because she always tells where and when the study was done and you can actually go research and find out if it's true. SO MUCH of what's out there on the internet about health/nutrition is so completely false and you can't tell where they get their information. This site is not like that, thankfully.

http://www.shirleys-wellness-cafe.com/soy.htm#1

[Orthodox6]

Is thyroid cancer somehow linked to soy? I do not allow my boys to have soy milk; they drink almond milk. I have debated switching myself to that as well. I would love to hear more if there is some link to soy and any cancer.

 

I don't know about links to cancer. I do know that feeding a lot of soy products to a young girl can lead to the medical condition of "precocious puberty". Direct experience, in fact, with my dd. The pediatric endocrinologist confirmed the link. :sad:

[Guest Cynkalan]

http://www.nongmoproject.org/

[Sevilla]

Out of the oils mentioned which are the lowest in saturated fats: grapeseed, sunflower or safflower? Or is there an even better choice?

 

We were only using canola and evoo based on our dr. recommendation when dh was losing weight since those 2 are so low in sat. fats compared to other oils.

 

We use evoo and coconut oil (extra virgin, cold pressed by Nutiva or Vitacost). I don't believe that natural saturated fats or unhealthy and to the contrary believe they are necessary for optimal health.

[Sevilla]

I was using coconut oil for awhile until I realized how high in sat. fat it was. A friend tonight told me the same thing as you - it's a healthy fat. It seems there is much debate. When you google it, you find as many for as against. It's so hard to know who to trust. I loved using coconut oil for our eggs though!

 

Here's where critical thinking about the issue is important:

1. Why would a completely natural saturated fat be bad for us - especially since we need saturated fat in our diets?

 

2. The many claims that coconut oil are bad are usually based in the fact that up until a decade or so ago, the coconut oil available here in the US was *HYDROGENATED* (it was orange and in the popcorn aisle at my store b/c people used it to make popcorn). Hydrogenated oils = transfats = horrible fats for your heart/health.

 

Up until a few years ago, transfats were lumped into total fat/saturated fat content and NOT distinguished. Hence, the whole idea that 'saturated fat is horrible for you - eat as little as you can' hypothesis and dietary recommendations.

 

There is a huge difference in how our bodies process natural fats vs. chemically processed fats, and one bonus of eating coconut oil or other higher (natural) fat foods is that you fill up much quicker and stay satisfied longer.

 

Now, if you combine eating junk food and add in saturated fat from CO that won't do you any good ;). But if you replace processed junk with healthier natural foods (including moderate intake of saturated fat) then you'll just feel good.

 

Ex. I had a smoothie today that included a banana and whole avocado along with full fat coconut milk. It totally filled me up for a LONG time. Between the avocado and coconut milk it was a LOT of saturated fat - but none of it was highly processed/trans fat/added sugar which are bigger issues in weight gain than a God-created source of food with very little processing required.

[Susan C.]

 

Next, if I stick with organic corn and organic corn products can I be assured that it is always GMO free? We have started using organic blue corn chips for nachos and other treats instead of regular tortilla chips. I cannot find organic corn tortillas though. :sad: Those are a staple of tex-mex cooking here in Texas!

 

I read recently that canola is another huge GMO crop. We only use first cold-pressed extra-virgin olive oil and canola. Now I need to switch that I guess. What do you use instead of canola when you cook things where you do not want that peppery flavor of evoo? I am thinking morning eggs, homemade bread and sweets.

 

Any other advice? Recommendations? We avoid dairy except occasional cheese so we were thrilled when our store started carrying Earth Balance soy free butter. Yum!!!

 

I use white corn tortillas. Supposedly, GMO is just yellow corn. Doritos has organic tortilla chips.

 

Are you allergic to milk? I cook my eggs in butter. I use palm oil shortening (Spectrum brand) in place of veg. shortening.

[HappyGrace]

We've been organic for years but have recently changed our one holdout-canola oil-to avoid GMOs as much as possible. (We still used it previously due to dh's high chol and previous heart attack.) CO is fine due to the reasons mentioned above about sat fat. We now use that and olive oil only.

 

Food for Life makes a lovely organic corn tortilla-I think it is only three ingredients and is non-GMO. It is found in the freezer case to stay fresh.

Edited May 21, 2012 by HappyGrace

[SonshineLearner]

I have a whole thing of corn tortillas in my freezer that are organic..... Azure Standard has them.... :) There are a few different brands that I've found :)

[LibraryLover]

I want to be onboard with the Silk organic thing...I do.

 

But how on earth are they managing to do this at such a clip? The cross -pollination must be insane.

[LibraryLover]

As for oils...how do you use oils? If I need to cook foods super-hot, I use peanut or safflower oil, otherwise I use cold -pressed EVVO.

Edited May 21, 2012 by LibraryLover