Good info to know bout some of the 'organic' companies that paid big bucks to block GMO labeling

[www.cornucopia.org]

here is another link of products that actually contain GOMs, many of them I would stay far from anyway, but there are a few on there to take note of. [shiftfrequency.com]

Thanx!

_________________
We cannot seek achievement for ourselves and forget about progress and prosperity for our community. Our ambitions must be broad enough to include the aspirations and needs of others, for their sakes and for our own.
Cesar Chavez

its very simple: DONT SHOP AT ANY WHOLE FOODS MARKET!
THEY CARRY MORE MONSANTO PRODUCTS THAT ANY OTHER "HEALTH FOOD" STORE

Respect Same Way

Quote
tahoearmada
its very simple: DONT SHOP AT ANY WHOLE FOODS MARKET!
THEY CARRY MORE MONSANTO PRODUCTS THAT ANY OTHER "HEALTH FOOD" STORE

Please cite your proof for this statement.

And why just singling out one retailer and one manufacturer? Is no other store selling products with GMOs? Is Monsanto the only company that is selling products with GMOs? Are all Monsanto products made with GMOs?

Quote
Walter

Quote
tahoearmada
its very simple: DONT SHOP AT ANY WHOLE FOODS MARKET!
THEY CARRY MORE MONSANTO PRODUCTS THAT ANY OTHER "HEALTH FOOD" STORE

Please cite your proof for this statement.

And why just singling out one retailer and one manufacturer? Is no other store selling products with GMOs? Is Monsanto the only company that is selling products with GMOs? Are all Monsanto products made with GMOs?

Uh ya. WFM is not your community coop but they are far from the "problem". For one the are a major contributor to the Non-GMO project. By organic foods, or from sources you trust. I have alot of conflict with their politics but ultimately they offer customers choice for natural and gourmet foods. They are not trying to be a "health food" store.

Ive spent half my life working in the food industry went to my first consortium in the early 2000's on GMO at the University of Michigan. The issue is far more complicated than most make it out to be.

Papa J:

Aren't "organic" foods and "non-GMO" foods two totally different things? ie. can something that contains GMOs be labeled "organic"?

yeah... sorry for yelling

I feel they are currently the biggest issue because they are the biggest retailer that most people think is ok... Check out the list of monsanto owned brands and take that list to a whole foods, theyre all over that place

Really I think the only way to avoid these companies is to get stuff from personal gardens, friends gardens, and farmers markets
With packaged and especially frozen foods its almost impossible to avoid them

Respect Same Way

Quote
Daniel
Papa J:

Aren't "organic" foods and "non-GMO" foods two totally different things? ie. can something that contains GMOs be labeled "organic"?

NO. USDA Organic certification requires that NO gmo products or seed are used in certified organic foods. Is there a possibility of drift, yes absolutely especially in the case of corn.

Form the USDA website.


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. Before a product can be labeled "organic," a Government-approved certifier inspects the farm where the food is grown to make sure the farmer is following all the rules necessary to meet USDA organic standards. Companies that handle or process organic food before it gets to your local supermarket or restaurant must be certified, too.

@ Daniel:

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Monsanto
Individuals who make a personal decision not to consume food containing GM ingredients can easily avoid such products. In the U.S., they can purchase products that are certified as organic under the National Organic Program.

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tahoearmada
yeah... sorry for yelling

I feel they are currently the biggest issue because they are the biggest retailer that most people think is ok... Check out the list of monsanto owned brands and take that list to a whole foods, theyre all over that place

Really I think the only way to avoid these companies is to get stuff from personal gardens, friends gardens, and farmers markets
With packaged and especially frozen foods its almost impossible to avoid them

Buying from small producers is so incredibly important. However it is very cost prohibitive for poor people. It is possible for the industrial food complex to work to IMPROVE the quality of food for the world. We vote with our dollars. If you buy Santa Cruz Organic juices you are showing their parent company (Smuckers) that organics are important. Is there possibility for them to cheat sure. But i'll tell you there are possibilities for small producers to cheat too.

In regards to small producers. Has your local coop or Safeway helped small producers make it in the "big bad" world of retail food? Well WFM has contributed 10 million in loans to small producers. I actually know a few. Solving our issues with access to safe food are more complicated than just demonizing the biggest kid on the block. A diverse patchwork of options is needed.

Quote
tahoearmada
yeah... sorry for yelling
Really I think the only way to avoid these companies is to get stuff from personal gardens, friends gardens, and farmers markets
With packaged and especially frozen foods its almost impossible to avoid them

In alot of the country there are NO farmers markets or personal gardens from Nov-May. And again I respectively disagree with the package food statement. There plenty of Non-Gmo certified packaged foods.

"The Organic Foods Production Act (OFPA), enacted under Title 21 of the 1990 Farm Bill, served to establish uniform national standards for the production and handling of foods labeled as “organic.” The Act authorized a new USDA National Organic Program (NOP) to set national standards for the production, handling, and processing of organically grown agricultural products. In addition, the Program oversees mandatory certification of organic production. The Act also established the National Organic Standards Board (NOS which advises the Secretary of Agriculture in setting the standards upon which the NOP is based. Producers who meet standards set by the NOP may label their products as “USDA Certified Organic.”"

GMO's are not mentioned in the list of Synthetic Substances Allowed

Daniel, I would also say no, not legally anyway.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/08/2012 12:10PM by nahikuroots.

Please sign this one and make your voice heard in whatever ways you can, looks like this one is on us people!
[signon.org]

Quote
nahikuroots

GMO's are not mentioned in the list of Synthetic Substances Allowed

That list is a list of mainly "tools" for production that may inadvertently enter the food stream but not intended to. Some exceptions would be like hydrogen peroxide. Food grade h2o2 is used for cleaning leafy greens for instance. But the use of "sticky traps" is a tool not an input. GMO's are a INPUT issue that originated on the seed level when it comes to organic foods.

Refer to this document for more on issues pertaining to inputs. They are also talking about the issues of "drift". Basically if your GMO corn contaminates my non gmo then I can still sell it as Organic.

DEPT of AG Memo

"The Organic Food Production Act (OFPA) of 1990 does not mention biotechnology, genetic engineering or genetically modified organisms. OFPA prohibits synthetics unless they are allowed, allows natural substances unless they are prohibited.
The first National Organic Program proposed rule (1997) did not prohibit GE substances or GMOs. There was a huge public outcry against GMOs being considered in organic production and handling. Proposed rule withdrawn.
The second National Organic Program proposed rule (2000) excluded the use of GMOs in organic production and handling."

Quote
papajoshua

Buying from small producers is so incredibly important. However it is very cost prohibitive for poor people. It is possible for the industrial food complex to work to IMPROVE the quality of food for the world. We vote with our dollars. If you buy Santa Cruz Organic juices you are showing their parent company (Smuckers) that organics are important. Is there possibility for them to cheat sure. But i'll tell you there are possibilities for small producers to cheat too.

In regards to small producers. Has your local coop or Safeway helped small producers make it in the "big bad" world of retail food? Well WFM has contributed 10 million in loans to small producers. I actually know a few. Solving our issues with access to safe food are more complicated than just demonizing the biggest kid on the block. A diverse patchwork of options is needed.

I second this sentiment. Wifey and I patronize our local CO-OP because the food is just better -- locally grown, organic food period. But it is expensive, very expensive -- we can easily spend $150-$200 bux a week and we are light meat eaters. But I don't mind the cost becuase the quality is there and I know that all the money I spend there goes into our local economy. Plus I can afford it, so its a part of my personal effort to redistribute wealth to people who deserve it.

Quote
papajoshua
The issue is far more complicated than most make it out to be.

While I do agree, I think it is becoming more and more complicated the more ppl accept gmos as part of modern American culture. Gmos have very much become a part of the American social fabric. A fitting Metaphor, seeing as most non-organic cotton is bt cotton. Yes, this extends beyond food. Corn in particular is used for EVERYTHING. A biotech substitute for hemp if you will....
What I find very disconcerting, to say the least, is the use of gmos as a growth stimulant, which makes it exceedingly difficult to determine just what IS in our food...
Citric acid may not alarm ppl when it is listed as an ingredient, but chances are if it isn't labelled as "gmo free" gmos were used to promote higher yields.
This is just one example that I know of, I am sure there are more, and PJ or anyone with more info, I strongly encourage you to share this info with us as much, and as frequently, as possible
Sometimes I feel as if one needs to consult BOTH an attorney and a chemist , in order to decipher food labels....

_________________
We cannot seek achievement for ourselves and forget about progress and prosperity for our community. Our ambitions must be broad enough to include the aspirations and needs of others, for their sakes and for our own.
Cesar Chavez



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 11/08/2012 01:30PM by Original RuffNeck Sol Jah.

Quote

Citric acid

E 330 | Antioxidant



Possible application of gene technology

Labelling



Producible with the help of GM microorganisms

no



Growth medium: primary products GM maize

no




Description

Citric acid is widespread in nature. It is found in many fruits, especially in lemons, but also in cow milk. It forms water-soluble crystals.
•Various sodium, potassium and calcium salts of citric acid are approved as additives (E 331, E 332, E 333).

Application

Citric acid is widely used as an antioxidant- and as an acidifier in:
• food and drinks: especially in lemonade, but also in for example confectionery, desserts, meat products and baby food.
• baking powder as an acid component.

Gene technology

Citric acid was the first additive that was produced on a large scale biotechnically. The classic method used the metabolic power of certain fungi (Aspergillus niger).
• Research has been undertaken with genetically modified Aspergillus niger to obtain higher yields. It is possible that these methods are already used commercially.
• Irrespective of possible gene modifications, citric acid-producing microorganisms grow on culture media that usually contain molasses (sugar beet)) and/or glucose. Glucose can be produced form maize starch. This can be derived from GM maize.

Labelling: Additives that are produced in a closed system with the help of genetically modified microorganisms do not have to be declared, providing that the specific additive has been purified and contains no microorganisms.

Even if the microorganisms used contain substrates derived from genetically modified plants, it is not necessary for this to be declared.

[www.gmo-compass.org]

_________________
We cannot seek achievement for ourselves and forget about progress and prosperity for our community. Our ambitions must be broad enough to include the aspirations and needs of others, for their sakes and for our own.
Cesar Chavez



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/08/2012 01:33PM by Original RuffNeck Sol Jah.

Quote
Original RuffNeck Sol Jah

Quote
papajoshua
The issue is far more complicated than most make it out to be.

Citric acid may not alarm ppl when it is listed as an ingredient, but chances are if it isn't labelled as "gmo free" gmos were used to promote higher yields.
This is just one example that I know of, I am sure there are more, and PJ or anyone with more info, I strongly encourage you to share this info with us as much, and as frequently, as possible
Sometimes I feel as if one needs to consult BOTH an attorney and a chemist , in order to decipher food labels....

Absolutely agree. A similar controversy associated with carrageenan. That is why labeling and regulation is a necessary governmental evil.

Thanks everyone for the important information in this thread!

I have been watching what I eat to make sure I am not putting foods that contain gmo's in my body, but just had a thought. (too early for that though) I like my americano's in the morning two shots of espresso and a little bit of hot water. Does espresso beans contain GMO's?? It is a possibility i would imagine.

Whole Foods is horrible. in Austin, a local lawyer put together a plan to take the food the original whole foods store was throwing away at the end of each day and trucking it to homeless shelters at his own cost. Whole Foods refused to help the community that gave it its start to being so huge. They are the main culprit of what I like to call the bastardization of organic. using the organic shield to hide their evil corporate blood sucking operating procedures.

Quote
Ineffable
in Austin, a local lawyer put together a plan to take the food the original whole foods store was throwing away at the end of each day and trucking it to homeless shelters at his own cost. Whole Foods refused to help the community that gave it its start to being so huge.

Isn't there something missing in between these sentences? Like what happened?

Quote
Walter

Quote
Ineffable
in Austin, a local lawyer put together a plan to take the food the original whole foods store was throwing away at the end of each day and trucking it to homeless shelters at his own cost. Whole Foods refused to help the community that gave it its start to being so huge.

Isn't there something missing in between these sentences? Like what happened?

I can respect people who are truly anti-corprate but that is a very militant road. Corporations are multi headed beasts with alot of different interests and people to answer too. So you can be anti corporate but be militant about it because I will guarantee you that most large business or corporations do something that you disagree with. They do however have the ability to do alot of good. Like anything else in this world we can work together with whomever with work together or we can splinter into smaller and smaller idealistic ineffective groups.

This convo is about what we can do to overstand what GMO's, were are they in our food and what can we do to change the status quo.

Did Prop 37 really lose or was it vote fraud?

Jon Rappoport
Prisonplanet.com
Nov 9, 2012
Hold your horses.
On election night, not long after the polls closed in California, the announcement came out: Prop 37 was losing. A little while later, it was all over. 37 had gone down to defeat.
But is that the whole story? No.
As of 2:30PM today, Thursday, November 8th, two days after the election, many votes in California remain uncounted.
I tried to find out how many.
It turns out that the Secretary of State of CA, responsible for elections in the state, doesn’t know.
I was told all counties in California have been asked, not ordered, to report in with those figures. It’s voluntary.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T

So I picked out a few of the biggest counties and called their voter registrar offices. Here are the boggling results:
Santa Clara County: 180,000 votes remain uncounted.
Orange County: 241,336 votes remain uncounted.
San Diego County: 475,000 votes remain uncounted.
LA County: 782,658 votes remain uncounted.
In just those four counties, 1.6 million votes remain uncounted.
The California Secretary of State’s website indicates that Prop 37 is behind by 559,776 votes.
So in the four counties I looked into, there are roughly three times as many uncounted votes as the margin of Prop 37′s defeat.
And as I say, I checked the numbers in only four counties. There are 54 other counties in the state. Who knows how many votes they still need to process?
So why is anyone saying Prop 37 lost?
People will say, “Well, it’s all about projections. There are experts. They know what they’re doing. They made a prediction…”
Really? Who are those experts? I have yet to find them.
For big elections, the television networks rely on a private consortium called the National Election Pool (NEP). NEP does projections and predictions. Did NEP make the premature call on Prop 37? So far I see no evidence one way or the other.
NEP makes some calls for the television networks, but NEP is composed of CBS, CNN, FOX, NBC, ABC, and AP. It could hardly be called an independent source of information for those networks.
NEP has AP (Associated Press) do the actual vote tabulating, and NEP also contracts work out to Edison Media Research and Mitofsky International to do exit polls and projections based on those polls.
Edison Media Research did the exit polls in the state of Washington for this election. How? They surveyed 1493 people by phone. Based on that, I assume they made all the projections for elections in that state, even though there is no in-person voting in Washington, and voters can submit their ballots by mail, postmarked no later than election Tuesday. So how could Edison know anything worth knowing or projecting on election night?
Both Edison Research and Mitofsky were involved in the 2004 election scandal (Kerry-Bush), in which their exit polls confounded network news anchors, because the poll results were so far off from the incoming vote-counts.
Edison and Mitofsky issued a later report explaining how the disparity could have occurred; they tried to validate their own exit-poll data and the vote-count, which was like explaining a sudden shift in ocean tides by saying clouds covered the moon. It made no sense.
So if NEP did the premature Prop 37 projections that handed 37 a resounding loss, there is little reason to accept their word.
We’re faced with a scandal here. An early unwarranted projection against Prop 37 was made, when so many votes were still uncounted.
Those votes are still uncounted.
Why should we believe anything that comes next?
Jon Rappoport
The author of an explosive collection, THE MATRIX REVEALED, Jon was a candidate for a US Congressional seat in the 29th District of California. Nominated for a Pulitzer Prize, he has worked as an investigative reporter for 30 years, writing articles on politics, medicine, and health for CBS Healthwatch, LA Weekly, Spin Magazine, Stern, and other newspapers and magazines in the US and Europe. Jon has delivered lectures and seminars on global politics, health, logic, and creative power to audiences around the world. You can sign up for his free emails at www.nomorefakenews.com

CALL NOW
the sec. of state office :Main Number: (916) 657-2166
demand they count all the votes PROP 37 may have passed, and with the 1.8 million uncounted votes still remaining in so cal, could swing it in the worlds favor!!!!!

MAKE THEM COUNT THE VOTES FOR REAL, BEFORE THEY TELL US IT DIDNT PASS [signon.org]
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE, TAKE A MINUTE TO SIGN THIS AT THE VERY LEAST, SHARING IT TO WOULD BE GOOD!

I signed the petition, and have since recieved an e-mail saying the Sec. of State has ordered for all votes to be counted by Dec. 7, with a final tally being completed by Dec.14th. I'm crossing my fingers...