Paleo Diet and Paleolithic Diet Questions & Answers

Question

0

A friend of mine posted this to her facebook a bit ago http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/13/business/growers-fret-over-a-new-apple-that-wont-turn-brown.html and quite frankly, it's got me worried. You can check which food is organic by making sure the label starts with 9, but there's no requirements about labeling genetically modified food. I can't always afford to shop at Whole Foods or similar stores, but now I'm worried that the generic bag of green apples I pick up for my kids to eat might be genetically modified.

Is there anything I can do to make sure my family and I are eating real -natural- food and not something that's been tampered with in a lab, outside of buying organic or growing my own?

Is there something we as a community can to do stop this kind of tampering?

flag	asked Jul 16 at 13:59 Miriam 1,559●2●10

wickedween · Accepted Answer · 2012-07-16 14:51:10Z UTC

1

Is it possible for you to get organic apples? They are part of the dirty dozen list. Otherwise, I believe GMO fruits and/or veggies will have a number that begins with 8 instead of 4 for regularly produced and 9 for organics.

answered Jul 16 at 14:51

wickedween
595●3●8

CD · Answer 2 · 2012-07-16 14:03:16Z UTC

2

Famers markets, and CSA are good. Prices, especially for produce in season are typically less than the general grocery stores. And you can usually take a day trip out to the farm to ensure your food is growing naturally.

Or you can go pick your own -- http://www.pickyourown.org/

Great weekend day trip for the kids, and they get to see where real food comes from.

answered Jul 16 at 14:03

CD
22k●1●3●39

2

And much of what is at farmers markets are GMO also, just depends on when the modification occurred. Every crop we eat has been genetically altered by selective breeding over the years. – RaiseFitness Jul 16 at 14:17

1

True, that's one of my problems with the argument, "Well if our ancestors ate it, it should be good for us to eat it." -- The truth is, nothing that was eaten in paleo times exists today in the same form (learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/variation/corn). – CD Jul 16 at 14:36

1

That's why you may want to consider the distinction between natural breeding vs. what is only possible with genetic engineering. – Sound Jul 16 at 15:20

There is a large difference between "genetically modified" through transgenic alterations (i.e. genes from other species), and selective breeding for specific traits. – AmandaLP Jul 16 at 17:48

Yes, I'm not talking about careful selective breeding, I'm talking about stuff done in a lab. – Miriam Jul 17 at 1:57

show 1 more comment

sniderman · Answer 3 · 2012-07-16 14:47:21Z UTC

2

The only real solution I see is government-mandated labeling of ALL GMO foods and food ingredients.

I'm not a fan of gov't mandates, but in this case, it seems entirely appropriate.

answered Jul 16 at 14:47

sniderman
266●2●5

Is there anything that can be done about frankenfoods? (link included)

3 Answers