frankenfoods go bye bye

[hsingscrapper]

Is there anyone else here trying to change your family to a non-gmo lifestyle or have you always lived that way?

 

We are trying to eliminate frankenfoods from our diet. Not throwing anything out but won't repurchase that brand when it's gone. I have experienced sticker shock on milk at $4.29 a gallon.

 

Any ideas on how to reduce the cost without reducing quality? It's a little late to start a garden and raising our own critters isn't happening in the city.

[Kalmia]

I've been able to find some of our organic non-GMO nonperishibles online for much less than the supermarket. Order in bulk to get free shipping and use the coupon codes they often send you after your first order. But don't order so much that you can't finish it all before it expires. Amazon and Vitacost are two sites that have low prices. The farm market is our other go-to source. Direct from the farm is cheaper than supermarket.

 

Remember when you buy, that you are really just paying the true cost of producing the organic and healthy foods, while the frankenfoods are heavily subsidized by the government. Their cheapness is an illusion and their unhealthiness will cost you in health care.

[sheryl]

I've learned so much recently. What is GMO free again, exactly. I'm trying to keep all of this sorted and it's confusing.

 

I'm trying to go soy free and msg free. Next is "maybe" gluten free. And, I know GMO is important too. Are all of these ideas automatically organic. I buy organic as much as possible.

 

Basically, I'm confused...some. :D

[TranquilMind]

Is there anyone else here trying to change your family to a non-gmo lifestyle or have you always lived that way?

 

We are trying to eliminate frankenfoods from our diet. Not throwing anything out but won't repurchase that brand when it's gone. I have experienced sticker shock on milk at $4.29 a gallon.

 

Any ideas on how to reduce the cost without reducing quality? It's a little late to start a garden and raising our own critters isn't happening in the city.

It's hard, and you basically have to not eat out. We just pray over our food then, and trust for the best.

[athena1277]

I've learned so much recently. What is GMO free again, exactly. I'm trying to keep all of this sorted and it's confusing.

 

I'm trying to go soy free and msg free. Next is "maybe" gluten free. And, I know GMO is important too. Are all of these ideas automatically organic. I buy organic as much as possible.

 

Basically, I'm confused...some. :D

 

There is no need to be gluten free unless you have celiac disease or are glulten sensitive. Gluten is the part of the bread that makes it hold together. It is not unhealthy unless you have one of the conditions I mentioned.

[The Girls' Mom]

We are trying to eliminate GMOs too. It is hard, and more expensive, but I can't justify shoving that mess down my kids any longer. I buy organic, whole foods, and try to buy NON-GMO certified whenever I can. I stay away from soy as much as possible (the most insidiously GMO'd food out there)

 

The killer is the cost of organic wheat flour :001_huh:

[Alte Veste Academy]

The easiest way to avoid GMO foods is to buy organic. But yes, it gets expensive. The biggest cost for us is grass-fed meat but if you have access to local farmers and a big freezer, you can save a bundle. I cook virtually everything from scratch, but the good news is that the quality of homemade is much better.

 

This shopping guide is helpful. I also like shopping at Trader Joe's because they purposefully source from non-GMO suppliers.

[Munchkins_mama]

It makes me so happy to see that people are starting to care about where their food comes from and what's in it! :001_smile:

 

Making everything from scratch and starting with organic ingredients is the only sure fire way to make sure you aren't getting any GMOs.

 

Ordering in bulk from places like Azure Standard, or your local grocery store can keep the costs down. Try not to stress about it too much this winter, but next spring look into planting a garden or learning to preserve fresh foods if you can't garden. Make it a slow process or you're going to freak out and end up eating everything and just feeling guilty.

[NotSoObvious]

We pay that for a half gallon.

 

Our solution? We drink less milk. Once you start making the switch and eating healthier foods all around, you can start to get more nutrients from non-animal sources, or from less expensive items like yogurt, cheese, and real butter. Get your calcium from green veggies. Eat more legumes. Cook from scratch. Bake. Eat real food.

 

Also, we don't buy snacks or drinks. That saves a ton of money. My kids eat fruits or veggies, with nuts or peanut butter for a snack.

 

Once you get used to shopping that way, you'll look at other carts filled with carp and wonder how THEY can afford all that!

 

Look for a local co-op, too.

[NotSoObvious]

Oh, and same goes for meat. We eat a LOT less meat and it's all local and grass fed.

 

Now, if we could just be better when we eat out....

[ECreasman]

Go to the website of the brands you like and collect coupons. You can also email the manufacturer and ask for coupons. CSA's are helpful. I found when I quit buying pre-packaged food, I had a lot more money for produce.

[hsingscrapper]

Go to the website of the brands you like and collect coupons. You can also email the manufacturer and ask for coupons. CSA's are helpful. I found when I quit buying pre-packaged food, I had a lot more money for produce.

 

I'm still learning which brands are non-gmo and which are frankenfood city.

[fraidycat]

I've been trying to make this switch off and on for a few years by trying to do too much at once. It was too overwhelming and I fell off the wagon several time. So right now, we are eating only fruit, veggies, and meat, eggs, nuts - basically just to do a gentle detox from carbs and sugars (except what is found naturally in our fruit & veggies, and I still allow condiments). All organic IF available, but I don't stress too much about that, right now. In general I have always purchased organic if and when it's been available anyway. Later on, I will be sourcing organic to replace whatever we have as we run out, if I can.

 

Today, I just ordered some organic sprouted wheat berries so I can make homemade, from scratch bread, starting with grinding the wheat into flour with my own mill. I've had the mill for over a year, and have only used it once, to make colloidal oatmeal for bathing. LOL

 

In the end, I'm trying to cook from scratch, but instead of doing it all at once, I'm greatly simplifying our diet (meat and veggies is about as easy as it gets, especially if we just eat the veggies raw :D), and will slowly add things back in, then try to recreate homemade any "box junk" that we really miss (which will probably be less than we expect). In a few weeks, we'll have fresh, homemade bread to go with our meals.

[momto2Cs]

It does all seem to come down to shopping carefully, and a lot of making-from scratch.

 

I tend to buy a lot of bulk foods from a small, local chain. they are almost all organic bulk foods, and the ones that aren't organic are from non-GMO sources. I also shop at Trader Joe's-- that's the only place I will buy crackers for example, because I know they are careful about GMO's.

 

We eat good meat, but not a lot of it. I have the kids drinking more water these days, and less milk, juice, etc. I buy organic as much as I can. We raise our our chickens for eggs.

 

Basically, the easiest way I have found to avoid GMO foods is to avoid processed, packaged goods.

[justLisa]

I do what I can and what I find most important. I do not buy all organic. I buy some local stuff in season but that is not feasible for everything.

 

Costco has started carrying a lot more organic for a good price. My stance is that we eat first. Meaning if it ever came down between being utterly stressed about being able to afford ENOUGH food, then I am shopping differently.

 

We are very lucky that this is not an issue for us, and I ache for people with not enough food. Plus I cook for other people so there is that issue as well. Like when the older lady next door broke her leg, I couldn't afford to cook her some organic feasts. I made her some meals and bought her some food for her small dog.

 

And also I eat a lot of cheap food. I am very happy with lots of lentil dishes, the rest of them not at all. So often I serve more expensive meat and I take the veg route. I am not at all ashamed about that nor do I feel like it is not fair. I feel like as a household, we take a smaller footprint that way. I am not against eating animal products, I would just like as a family to consume less than if the 4 of use were scarfing it down all the time.

 

ETA: I have tried to source grassfed meat. The first was HORRIBLE. It is hard to find someplace you can buy a side AND sample before hand. We would like to look for property in a few years and I would like to raise meat birds and possibly have a cow

[OrganicAnn]

The last issue of Organic Gardening magazine had an article about what foods are more/less likely to be GMO and how to avoid them. To generalize it was mainly buy organic.

 

I would also say if possible, grow your own. Also support local farmers by buying heirloom fruits and vegetables at farmers markets. Having garderers and small farmers raise heirloom plants helps keep those seed circulating and available.

Edited November 8, 2012 by OrganicAnn

[PrincessMommy]

okay, I'm confused. I thought GMO was Genetically Modified Foods? If so, why are we including wheat? All wheat was modified in the 70's. I think the guy that did it got a Nobel Prize for it too. Perhaps it wasn't technically "modified" but it was "hybridized" and "manipulated" on a genetic level. I don't think its possible to buy any wheat that isn't this way.

 

I'm also a bit confused about meat being a GMO. I understand that non-organic meat is filled with other not-pleasant things. I buy my meat from a friend who has a small farm and raises her own humanely. but, have non-Organic cows been genetically modified too?

 

Perhaps I'm completely confused about what GMO is or isn't.

[acurtis75]

The 100 Days of Real Food blog has some tips for shopping on a budget and a lot of good recipes to try out that aren't overly complicated. There are also some mini-challenges to do to work your way in to eating less processed foods in general.

[caroljenn]

I've been buying exclusively non-GMO and organic foods for about 7 months. I haven't noticed a big change in my grocery bills, but I was never one to go for the cheapest product on the aisle, just the ones we liked. We have a Sprouts market by us, and they have great sales. If I see a product I like. I usually get a few while they're on sale. Organic produce vs conventionally grown produce is not a huge difference either, just make sure you don't get too much so it doesn't go to waste. I have that problem sometimes- I get all excited about some great fruits or veggies and buy a bunch then don't eat them even though I had good intentions when I bought them!

 

California just had a proposition on the ballot to label GMOs. It failed - boo! 90% of the food on grocery store shelves have some type of GMO in them. The biggest offenders are Kellogg's (includes Kashi), Kraft, Campbell's, General Mills, Hormel, Mc Cormick, Nestlé, Pepsico, Coca Cola, Carnation, Smithfield, Sara Lee, Smuckers, Con-Agra, Unilever and of course all of the little companies that these guys own. So pretty much everyone! You can Google "No on Prop 37" and then see the donors who put money in to make sure they didn't have to label the GMOs.

 

You can only trust an actual USDA Organic symbol, or something on the bag that says "No GMOs" or "Not made with genetically modified ingredients." Otherwise, thee is a very very good chance they have GMOs in them.

 

I actually called Kashi and asked them if they use GMOs and she said "yes". They use GMO sugar beets to get the sugar. Pretty bad for a brand who promotes itself as being "healthy"!!!

[Alte Veste Academy]

okay, I'm confused. I thought GMO was Genetically Modified Foods? If so, why are we including wheat? All wheat was modified in the 70's. I think the guy that did it got a Nobel Prize for it too. Perhaps it wasn't technically "modified" but it was "hybridized" and "manipulated" on a genetic level. I don't think its possible to buy any wheat that isn't this way.

 

I'm also a bit confused about meat being a GMO. I understand that non-organic meat is filled with other not-pleasant things. I buy my meat from a friend who has a small farm and raises her own humanely. but, have non-Organic cows been genetically modified too?

 

Perhaps I'm completely confused about what GMO is or isn't.

 

I can't answer about the wheat, but the issue with cows (or other meat animals) being GMO isn't that the animals have been genetically modified. The issue is that they can be fed GMO grain. When you buy organic meat, you are buying meat that has been raised on an organic, and therefore GMO-free, diet. Grass-fed is a separate issue, as grass is the natural diet of cows and produces healthy animals and healthful meat. You can buy organic beef that is corn-fed...organic corn only, of course. Yes, you will avoid GMO's but the fats still won't be heart healthy, as they are with grass-fed meat.

Edited November 8, 2012 by Alte Veste Academy

[caroljenn]

I forgot two things:

 

1. Trader Joes may say they source from non-GMO vendors, but you need thread the bag to be sure. It has to say No GMO or it has it.

 

2. About organic foods: I saw a statistic the other day that said that if a person ate only organic foods, after two weeks, that person would have 50% of the pesticide levels in their blood than when they started. Wow- pesticide levels in your blood???? How healthy is that? How much money is it worth to make sure your kids don't have pesticides roaming around their blood streams? Yuck!

[Alte Veste Academy]

California just had a proposition on the ballot to label GMOs. It failed - boo! 90% of the food on grocery store shelves have some type of GMO in them.

 

I am so incredibly disappointed about this. :glare: I feel like I will soon have no choice but to add Farm and Garden 101 to our homeschool class roster.

[walkermamaof4]

We began in May to cut out GMO's. For us the simplest solution was to eat just veggies, fruits, and meats mostly and to eliminate all legumes, grains, and dairy and processed foods as well as corn and wheat for sure. We are trying hard. So thankful our BJ's has tons of organic now and we have a TJ's too. My favorite new find is goodguide.com. They list/rate all products by contents (not foods, mostly cleaners). So I've been switching to safer cleaners and shampoos and such. It has sure been an eye-opening six months! The best part is the weight we've lost and the drop in dh's blood pressure (not from gmo's though but from diet change overall.) I'm loving this website http://www.nourishingmeals.com and just got their cookbook. We may do the elimination diet. We even started throwing kale/chard/spinach in our smoothies!!! And we began trying new veggies. I've liked every one we've tried so far! This week's was spaghetti squash with carmelized onions and bacon. Yum! I used TJ's nitrate free bacon and it was great.

[SevenDaisies]

okay, I'm confused. I thought GMO was Genetically Modified Foods? If so, why are we including wheat? All wheat was modified in the 70's. I think the guy that did it got a Nobel Prize for it too. Perhaps it wasn't technically "modified" but it was "hybridized" and "manipulated" on a genetic level. I don't think its possible to buy any wheat that isn't this way.

 

I'm also a bit confused about meat being a GMO. I understand that non-organic meat is filled with other not-pleasant things. I buy my meat from a friend who has a small farm and raises her own humanely. but, have non-Organic cows been genetically modified too?

 

Perhaps I'm completely confused about what GMO is or isn't.

 

Certain varieties of wheat are GMO, but not all. Genetically modified is very different from hybridized. Two varieties or species can hybridize in nature via cross pollination. To be genetically modified, DNA must be altered in a way that does not happen in nature.

[Parrothead]

I recently found this shoppers guide if anyone is interested.

[PiCO]

There is no need to be gluten free unless you have celiac disease or are glulten sensitive. Gluten is the part of the bread that makes it hold together. It is not unhealthy unless you have one of the conditions I mentioned.

 

I have a different opinion. Not necessarily about gluten, but wheat in general. I think a lot of people would be better off avoiding what is called wheat nowadays, even if they are not gluten sensitive.

 

I have a strong reaction to the gliadin protein in wheat. It makes me crave more and more food. I can tell when I eat foods that have wheat hidden in them, because I have unbelievably strong cravings for MORE! MORE! MORE! when I am full. I avoid all grains, but I still get this reaction when I eat out sometimes. I ask if the item was gluten free, the wait staff asks the cook, and it always has some wheat in it... usually from the spices they used on the food.

 

I don't worry about avoiding things in advance, because I do not eat out much and when I do eat out, I want to enjoy myself. The feeling passes in about 4 hours, so I just keep myself busy to distract from the crazy cravings.

[PiCO]

Here's a youtube video that explains it.

 

This documentary moves slowly, but does a good job of explaining why GMO foods are bad, and why the government is sticking its head in the sand.

 

There's a list of I think 7 foods that are the most genetically modified.

[walkermamaof4]

This is so helpful. We are gluten free mostly too. I have a son who is always hungry! I wonder if this is why. He is eating some grains because he has so many other intolerances that he has too limited of a diet. I need to watch for all gluten. Can you tell me the hidden sources?

[walkermamaof4]

Parrothead - have you tried to find the app for that? I can't find it for iphone. I was excited that they have one. But alas, I can't seem to locate it.

[BlsdMama]

Is there anyone else here trying to change your family to a non-gmo lifestyle or have you always lived that way?

 

We are trying to eliminate frankenfoods from our diet. Not throwing anything out but won't repurchase that brand when it's gone. I have experienced sticker shock on milk at $4.29 a gallon.

 

Any ideas on how to reduce the cost without reducing quality? It's a little late to start a garden and raising our own critters isn't happening in the city.

 

 

Good luck.

 

You know this will take out about everything with flour, corn, and soy in it, i.e., grains.

 

I hope you can do it. We are set up, as a society, to fail being healthy. And I admit, I'm really angry about it.

[Parrothead]

Parrothead - have you tried to find the app for that? I can't find it for iphone. I was excited that they have one. But alas, I can't seem to locate it.

No, I haven't. I need a bigger SD card so I only have a few necessary apps.

[BlsdMama]

I can't answer about the wheat,

 

 

I can. Pretty much every form of wheat grown within the US (and much of it outside) is either GMO by planting or GMO by cross contamination.

[thescrappyhomeschooler]

I've been trying to do this for several years. I buy most everything organic and local when I can. Any meats are pasture raised, 100% grass fed or free range, etc. In the summer I get a CSA share from a co-op of 10 local organic farms. I get eggs and beef from the CSA in the summer, too. I like that we can actually go visit the farms that are growing our food.

[Word Nerd]

No, because there is little scientific evidence that it is harmful. There is, however, a lot of junk science. Let the GMO-free tomato throwing begin. :tongue_smilie:

[Mom in High Heels]

I have experienced sticker shock on milk at $4.29 a gallon.

 

We pay that for a half gallon.

 

 

Us too. We have to use lactose free milk and it is $4.19 for half a gallon. We don't use much milk though thankfully. None of us are big milk people. We use it in cereal and that's about it. Lactose free milk lasts a really long time, which I found surprising. Is it the lactose in milk that makes it go sour so quickly?

I buy the bulk of our food at the German stores where it is GMO free. I don't know what I'll do when we move back to the States. The area we *might* be moving to has a Trader Joe's though, so that's good.

[walkermamaof4]

evidence is all over the place now. search mercola ge or gmo

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2012/11/03/david-versus-monsanto.aspx?e_cid=20121111_SNL_MS_1

[Parrothead]

I don't think it is set up so we fail at being healthy. I think as a society we demand more for less and that impacts our food choices. We are the only 1st world country with food prices so cheap. People complain about paying a premium to get organic milk. They want their box of mac and cheese to cost no more than a quarter. Most people don't think about nutrition. They think about how far they can stretch their food dollar.

 

So those who produce the food must find ways of doing this so it is cost efficient. They produce soy beans that they don't have to baby. They demand that corn be subsidized and they use every single part of it.

 

If our parents had been taught about nutrition instead of how to feed a family on a dollar a day we wouldn't be in this boat. Frankenfoods/processed foods need to go the way of cigarettes.

 

Yeah, it will hurt for a little while in the checkbook area, but really either pay the grocer now for real food or pay the doctor later.

[Mom in High Heels]

I don't think it is set up so we fail at being healthy. I think as a society we demand more for less and that impacts our food choices. We are the only 1st world country with food prices so cheap. People complain about paying a premium to get organic milk. They want their box of mac and cheese to cost no more than a quarter. Most people don't think about nutrition. They think about how far they can stretch their food dollar.

 

So those who produce the food must find ways of doing this so it is cost efficient. They produce soy beans that they don't have to baby. They demand that corn be subsidized and they use every single part of it.

If our parents had been taught about nutrition instead of how to feed a family on a dollar a day we wouldn't be in this boat. Frankenfoods/processed foods need to go the way of cigarettes.

 

Yeah, it will hurt for a little while in the checkbook area, but really either pay the grocer now for real food or pay the doctor later.

 

All very well said, but the bolded really stands out to me. I read a report somewhere (I'm too lazy to look it up), that stated in the early 1900's up to the 1950's (excluding the Depression, IIRC), American households spend approximately 25% of their income on groceries, but by 2006 (IIRC), that had gone down to approximately 9%. I don't know if this study was strictly on groceries or if it included eating out. There was some sort of shift in the later half of the 1900's from quality to quantity and our bodies are paying for it in the long run. My family does NOT eat perfectly, and I don't bake breads from scratch, but we do eat far better than a lot of people we know. We have junk food, but not to the extend of many and I buy as much as I can that has no GMO, HFCS or other carp in it, but it's not always easy and it can be expensive.

Han Solo is underweight for his age, despite eating just about everything I put in front of him (Indy was exactly the same). The ped asked what a typical day of food was like and when I finished he commented that was probably one of the healthiest diets he'd ever heard for a toddler. I thought that was kind of sad. I'm not feeding the kid mung beans and spelt all the time, just foods we eat.

There are days when I wish I could go totally "granola" but it's not feasible for me and I get that it's probably not for most of America, or the rest of the world for that matter, but having foods that are GMO free would go along way towards better health.

[PrincessMommy]

I can't answer about the wheat, but the issue with cows (or other meat animals) being GMO isn't that the animals have been genetically modified. The issue is that they can be fed GMO grain. When you buy organic meat, you are buying meat that has been raised on an organic, and therefore GMO-free, diet. Grass-fed is a separate issue, as grass is the natural diet of cows and produces healthy animals and healthful meat. You can buy organic beef that is corn-fed...organic corn only, of course. Yes, you will avoid GMO's but the fats still won't be heart healthy, as they are with grass-fed meat.

 

Thanks, now I understand. My friend's cows are grass or hay fed. she also spoils them with lots of apples from her apple trees. :D

 

 

Certain varieties of wheat are GMO, but not all. Genetically modified is very different from hybridized. Two varieties or species can hybridize in nature via cross pollination. To be genetically modified, DNA must be altered in a way that does not happen in nature.

 

I can. Pretty much every form of wheat grown within the US (and much of it outside) is either GMO by planting or GMO by cross contamination.

 

Okay, thanks.

[PiCO]

No, because there is little scientific evidence that it is harmful. There is, however, a lot of junk science. Let the GMO-free tomato throwing begin. :tongue_smilie:

 

If there's no evidence, why are GMOs not legal in Europe? Why did Mansato et al throw so much money to reject the ballot initiative in California? Why is so much of the university-level "research" funded by companies that produce GMOs?

 

I'm not a conspiracy-theory kind of gal, but I do think research in this country is strongly influenced by drug companies and big ag business. If a university study finds results that are not in the best interest of the funding corporation, the funding for the university dries up. Profs lose jobs. Same way the cigarette companies covered up all the studies back in the 1950's.

 

I don't bother throwing tomatoes, because I know the truth will come out in the end, just like with cigarettes. If I'm wrong, my children will be better off eating whole foods for now anyway.

[Parrothead]

All very well said, but the bolded really stands out to me. I read a report somewhere (I'm too lazy to look it up), that stated in the early 1900's up to the 1950's (excluding the Depression, IIRC), American households spend approximately 25% of their income on groceries, but by 2006 (IIRC), that had gone down to approximately 9%. I don't know if this study was strictly on groceries or if it included eating out. There was some sort of shift in the later half of the 1900's from quality to quantity and our bodies are paying for it in the long run. My family does NOT eat perfectly, and I don't bake breads from scratch, but we do eat far better than a lot of people we know. We have junk food, but not to the extend of many and I buy as much as I can that has no GMO, HFCS or other carp in it, but it's not always easy and it can be expensive.

Han Solo is underweight for his age, despite eating just about everything I put in front of him (Indy was exactly the same). The ped asked what a typical day of food was like and when I finished he commented that was probably one of the healthiest diets he'd ever heard for a toddler. I thought that was kind of sad. I'm not feeding the kid mung beans and spelt all the time, just foods we eat.

There are days when I wish I could go totally "granola" but it's not feasible for me and I get that it's probably not for most of America, or the rest of the world for that matter, but having foods that are GMO free would go along way towards better health.

I think that shift would have been just after WWII. It became a status symbol to be able to buy food at the market instead of growing it oneself.

[ChocolateReignRemix]

If there's no evidence, why are GMOs not legal in Europe?

 

They aren't? Are you sure about that?

http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/future_tense/2012/06/frankenfood_debate_over_gmos_in_europe_and_the_united_states_.html

[Parrothead]

If there's no evidence, why are GMOs not legal in Europe? Why did Mansato et al throw so much money to reject the ballot initiative in California? Why is so much of the university-level "research" funded by companies that produce GMOs?

 

I'm not a conspiracy-theory kind of gal, but I do think research in this country is strongly influenced by drug companies and big ag business. If a university study finds results that are not in the best interest of the funding corporation, the funding for the university dries up. Profs lose jobs. Same way the cigarette companies covered up all the studies back in the 1950's.

 

I don't bother throwing tomatoes, because I know the truth will come out in the end, just like with cigarettes. If I'm wrong, my children will be better off eating whole foods for now anyway.

:iagree:It is appalling how our grandmothers and mothers were marketed to believe canned goods and processed foods were just as healthy as scratch cooking. In the same manner old ads for cigarettes were pushing health benefits of the cursed things.

[Parrothead]

They aren't? Are you sure about that?

http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/future_tense/2012/06/frankenfood_debate_over_gmos_in_europe_and_the_united_states_.html

From your article:

European policymakers have responded to their constituents rather than their scientists, and only two GM crops have been approved for farming in EU states, while 90 have been permitted by the FDA for use in the United States.

 

So yeah, the vast majority of them have been banned in the EU.

[Parrothead]

More from the above linked article:

Again, though, Europe’s scientists have started to take a more vocal role in the public arena. In December of last year, the European Commission named Scottish microbiologist Anne Glover as the first-ever European chief scientific adviser reporting directly to the EU president. Glover, who has worked with GM technology for most of her career, has indicated in multiple interviews that she would try to push Europe toward a more science-based approach on GMOs. In a February interview with PublicServiceEurope.com, she said that North America has been conducting “an experiment on our behalf for the last 15 years by growing and eating GM crops—and I don't see over that period of time what negative impact it has had.†Glover went on to say that European politicians had sought to represent the anti-GMO views of an electorate that wasn’t expressing informed opinions. “If you ask people on the street, they would be against GM. But if you ask them what the risks are, there is this awful silence."

 

I find it hard to believe how blind this Glover woman is. Has there ever been a study on GMOs and the rapid rise of Autism? Or the plague of Auto-Immune diseases that are currently ravaging our population? How about the seemingly epidemic of Celiac disease? Maybe it is a coincidence that in the last 15 years that we've allowed big ag to play with our food and the rise of such awful diseases. I don't believe in coincidences though.

[kewb]

To answer the OP. I started changing our eating habits when I was pregnant with my oldest (14 years ago). I started by not replacing things when we finished them up. Now I prepare most of our meals from scratch, grind my own flour, make my own vanilla extract, and am part of a food co-op (since I can't grow anything to save my life).

 

I changed one thing at a time. Some changes were more successful then other (brown rice comes to mind. I finally threw in the towel on that one and now we eat white rice). My dh is a meat eater. He was not a fan of meatless meals unless it involved a meaty vegetable, such as eggplant. He is still not a fan but will tolerate it. If something is successful I start sourcing where I can buy it in bulk.

 

As for the gmo issue-I have always tried to avoid them whenever possible.

[hsingscrapper]

My mom loaded the walmart card and I went on Saturday to get diapers. I had to kill a bit of time for the next bus and so started to read labels. I wanted to cry at how pervasive soy is in foods that wouldn't have it if we made it from scratch. This particular location didn't have much in the way of organic anything.

 

I don't know why I wanted to cry. Maybe because I had been feeding this to my guys and thought it was okay? I paid for the diapers and took the bus to Meijer and my food stamp dollars along with it. I felt better once I got there and away from the frankenfoods.

[WishboneDawn]

:iagree:It is appalling how our grandmothers and mothers were marketed to believe canned goods and processed foods were just as healthy as scratch cooking. In the same manner old ads for cigarettes were pushing health benefits of the cursed things.

 

Our grandmaothers and mothers were avid users of canned goods well before marketing was involved, they simply used to produce it themselves. Buying things pre-canned would have represented a huge time saving for many.

[WishboneDawn]

More from the above linked article:

 

 

I find it hard to believe how blind this Glover woman is. Has there ever been a study on GMOs and the rapid rise of Autism? Or the plague of Auto-Immune diseases that are currently ravaging our population? How about the seemingly epidemic of Celiac disease? Maybe it is a coincidence that in the last 15 years that we've allowed big ag to play with our food and the rise of such awful diseases. I don't believe in coincidences though.

 

What about the rapid rise of cell phones use though? Maybe GMO's are somehow linked to that? Or the epidemic of reality TV shows?

 

Coincidence is a commonplace occurance. Correlations can be found any day, anywhere. It doesn't take blindness to refuse to draw any meaningful conclusions from them, just a need for something more compelling.