Simple way to discover if your produce is GMO.

I live in a rural village where there are fields (terraces) of veggies/rice all around me.

Here are my tests when buying produce to make sure it is chemical / GMO free:

1. Look for produce with insect bites. If the bugs eat it, it should be safe enough for people.

2. Look for signs of rot with the other produce around it. Typically naturally grown produce has a longer shelf life than its naturally grown counterparts.

3. Look for "ugly" produce. In the USA, the produce I saw sold looks like the textbook picture in a children's book. Look for produce that is smaller and not "perfect" looking. Nature/life is about diversity.

So yeah, those are my tests when shopping. Fortunately around here, most farmers don't use chemicals because they hate the taste, though Monsatan is sending sales reps here to try and get people to grow their corn... sigh

Originally posted by InfamousRebel
Why do people focus on organic food if they are truly health conscious? They still use pesticides to grow them, pesticides that seep into the fruit through the skin. Either way you are eating poison.

So, even if they do use pesticides, do you want GMO or not? I think most people want the best quality they can get. If that means they have to settle for non GMO with pesticides then so be it. Of course the best is to grow your own but many aren't able to do that. Your comment is like a smoker who works in a nuclear facility and says, "what the hell, I smoke, I'm going to die anyway, who cares about caution in the work place?"

There are many ways to make your foods safer to eat. You can dip, spray or wash many pesticides off your foods:

suite101.com...

Make Your Own Fruit and Vegetable Super-cleaner
You can opt for a simple detergent- or vinegar-based wash (see above), or make a super-wash, using either of the following mixes:

•1 tablespoon of lemon juice, 2 tablespoons of baking soda, 1 cup (250ml) of water. Put the mixture in a spray-topped bottle. Spray the fruit or vegetables, leave to sit for 5--10 minutes, then rinse well.
•1 tablespoon lemon juice, 2 tablespoons white vinegar (distilled works best), 1 cup (250ml) water in a spray-topped bottle. Spray the fruit or vegetables, wipe and eat.
For particularly waxy fruit or vegetables, try this mixture:

•1 cup (250ml) water, half a cup (115ml) vinegar, 1 tablespoon baking soda and dash of grapefruit seed extract. Spray this onto the produce and leave for an hour before rinsing and eating.

Of course, you can always peel if so desired.

GMOs are easy to pick out when you grow organics.
GMOs have less sharp/briliant coloring and much less taste.
It a fruit/vege looks too perfect without the blemishes, uniform in color, it's most likely GMO and Not good for you.
Eating right off the tree/vine is very powerful for the immune system as the enzymes (active energy) has a natural healing affect. Natural springwater right from the mountain has a certain electromagnetic charge that heals your very cells and helps repair dna with no additives/chemicals to be concerned with. Most likely water from the mountain has vital minerals and electrolights not found in 'processed' water. Since the body is mostly water, one is more what they 'drink' that what they eat.

Good info but here's a dirty trick I learned yesterday (I work at a major grocery store chain): We were pretty much out of peaches but LOADED on organic ones. We decided to take the organic ones, pull the stickers off, and sell them as non organic. Customers would have no idea unless they found it suspicious that the peaches contained no stickers

Just food for the mind.

Well, not so much of a dirty trick actually now I think about it.

Edit//

Also, not too sure if it's only with peaches, nectarines and plums but if they're organic, their PLU begin with a 9. Just SYK.

Originally posted by InfamousRebel
Why do people focus on organic food if they are truly health conscious? They still use pesticides to grow them, pesticides that seep into the fruit through the skin. Either way you are eating poison.

Also,.... A Bill, signed by either Bush or Obama, now allows China to label some of their food imports "Organic". That's a complete joke! Probably grown with ground up computer processors.

www.huffingtonpost.com...

Don't waste your money on Organic Food. It's probably worse than regularly grown US food.

In all the years I have been shopping, and I am an avid reader of labels, I have yet to see any fresh produce with a number that begins with an "8". I believe this type of labeling is pretty much optional at this point.

The GMO Beefsteak tomatoes moo when you squeeze them, the organic ones just squish.

Another way to help ensure that you are getting good quality organic food is to look for products that are certified organic by organizations other than the USDA. There are many non-governmental groups with standards for organic that are much more thorough and strict than Uncle Sam.

Originally posted by wrkn4livn

Originally posted by InfamousRebel
Why do people focus on organic food if they are truly health conscious? They still use pesticides to grow them, pesticides that seep into the fruit through the skin. Either way you are eating poison.

Also,.... A Bill, signed by either Bush or Obama, now allows China to label some of their food imports "Organic". That's a complete joke! Probably grown with ground up computer processors.

www.huffingtonpost.com...

Don't waste your money on Organic Food. It's probably worse than regularly grown US food.

I think you mean.. "Don't waste your money on Organic Food from China or any other source you're not certain where it came from. It could be worse than "regularly" grown US food.

Fixed =)

great post you been listening to da13thsun my friend?? he just did a vid about this..

The thread below addresses our question back on page 2 I think it was about conventional growing methods verses organic. Conventional in this video representation means it has been grown in non organic mediums, seeds and insect control. Even though the difference is subtle, it would be even more amazing to see an experiment between GMO and organic.

www.abovetopsecret.com...

reply to post by SeventhSeal


We got some peaches a couple weeks ago that were the best we have ever had, I bought bowls of them and we just ate all we wanted, it was wonderful. Got some the other day that were not fit to eat.

reply to post by Gridrebel


To be honest, we wash all of our produce "like dish"... I use dishsoap and a cap of bleach...

Edit to say that this thread is about eating the best we can afford, but avoiding GMOs. So your post kind of brings it back to the core of the topic.

I wish so badly we could afford to eat all vegan, all natural and pure, but on my $ it is just avoiding GMO.

My uncle had about 10 acres of potatoes that he didn't sell in time on the U pick farm last year. So rather than letting them go to waist; he wanted to give them to the food bank. The food bank gives food to people who need food for free. He wanted to give it to them for free and this would have helped the poor and the food bank since it needed food BIG TIME!

reply to post by theclutch


I take it that after they didn't sell on the u pick farm that he offered them for free?
I agree that things are messed up but why not just offer them to the community to pick for free?

The True Food Shoppers’ Guide to Avoiding GMOs

Download our NEW True Food Shopper’s Guide to avoiding GE foods, updated for 2011, or get our True Food Shoppers Guide mobile application for iPhone and Android! The mobile app was created to help you find and avoid GE ingredients wherever you shop. Our guide gives you valuable information on common GE ingredients, brands to look for, and look out for, and common sense tips to keep you in the know. Stop shopping in the dark and download your new pocket shoppers’ guide today! Check out this video review of the app on livingmaxwell.com.

Get it for free on iTunes (for iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad) or Android Market by searching for “True Food.”

Don’t have a compatible mobile phone? Download our NEW printable True Food Shoppers Guide, updated for 2011 instead! Go behind the label and get the facts on genetically engineered foods. Today, thousands of products on supermarket shelves are made with ingredients from genetically modified (also known as genetically engineered [GE]) crops. But GM foods are not labeled in the U.S., despite warnings from doctors and scientists that these foods may not be safe in the diet or the environment. This lack of mandatory labeling can make it difficult to determine which products are made with GM ingredients and which are not. The True Food Shoppers Guide is designed to give you the tools you need to make informed purchasing decisions. The True Food Shoppers Guide also arms you with valuable information regarding common GM ingredients, as well as brands to look for, and to look out for. The application includes a “Four Simple Tips” section, which offers easy ways to avoid GM ingredients, a “Supermarkets and GMOs” section to help consumers identify GM and non-GMO private-label store brands, and a rbGH and rbGH-free dairy guide.

Was not so sure about T@Cs on this article however since it is free and helps people understand the food they buy in the grocery store, it may be ok.

One health issue that has not been discussed yet is how the cattle industry are being forced to use the GMOs and so it does affect everything from baby formulas, milk, yogurt, cheese, to meat and other products that can even become misleading because 'they' do not use GMOs but are still contaminated.

Just a bit more to consider. Would it be possible to fight this by not buying the products and commodities that are connected to these DNA changing contaminants?

truefoodnow.org...

reply to post by deadeyedick


I would have loved to dehydrate a truckload... Great Christmas/Winter gifts, they look so pretty in jars decorated or baggies.

Originally posted by InfamousRebel
Why do people focus on organic food if they are truly health conscious? They still use pesticides to grow them, pesticides that seep into the fruit through the skin. Either way you are eating poison.

We have a little garden and never apply any pesticides on them.

The only thing that ever seems to get bugs is the squash. Sparying them with a teaspoon of Ivory dish liquid in a quart of water and no more bugs!

Also, I'm sure it's been mentioned here but worth posting again.

This is just a rumor. It's not true. The PLU code will not inform you if the product is GMO or not.

Source

Good thread with some good references.
Part of the disagreements here has to do with terminologies. “Pesticides” can be organic. I grow a summer garden on my deck because I have no yard. One year I was having a problem with slugs and squirrels (the squirrels were burying peanuts my neighbor kept feeding them which was playing havoc on my seedlings). My sister suggested using cayenne pepper to discourage the squirrels. It did keep the squirrels from my garden along with the slugs. My grandmother told me about using a few drops of dish-soap in a gallon of water to mist plants affected by aphids. The one I chose breaks down, after a few hours, to totally harmless components; no aphids and no residue left on plants.
For weeding, there’s a moon sign book put out each year with an astrological gardening section noting when the best times to water, weed, graft, plant seeds, plant bulbs, etc. When I showed it to my grandmother (an Iowa farmer all her life), she said it was the same thing they used to get on the calendar each year from the local feed and grain store, so it’s not new or new age.
I like the idea of boycotting any GMOed food or food produce. Anything packaged with corn, corn products (corn oil, corn syrup), soy, and canola would go onto the boycott list. There are lists of what to avoid…


www.nongmoshoppingguide.com...
truefoodnow.org...
www.naturalnews.com...

Originally posted by InfamousRebel
Why do people focus on organic food if they are truly health conscious? They still use pesticides to grow them, pesticides that seep into the fruit through the skin. Either way you are eating poison.

What the hel* are you talking about? Wow, and you are on ATS? You have a lot to learn, and more than ATS can teach you.

Organic means no pesticides or chemicals