The Anti GMO movement, is it the new Kony 2012?

[Azure]

Originally Posted by redforever

There absolutely is a huge difference between home grown taste and store bought taste.....simply no comparison. That, as well as the fact that my garden is indeed organic as well, are the reasons I still maintain a large vegetable garden.

Yep. Absolutely a huge difference. Of course people that have no idea what home grown vegetables taste like will tend to think there is no difference.

Biggest one for me is store bought carrots versus just pulled from the garden and washed carrots. The difference in taste is huge.

[GGG]

Originally Posted by Azure

Pretty sad if you don't think people can tell the difference between home grown vegetables and store bought, mass produced, chemically enhanced and more or less disgusting pieces of plastic they call vegetables these days.

You are mixing a lot of different options together.

Home grown vs factory farmed
GMO vs Non GMO
Organic vs Non Organic

The only one of these that makes a difference is the home grown. And it is not because it was small farmed it because it is fresh and ripend on the plant. The fruit bought at the fruit stand in BC is the same fruit you buy in a grocery store just picked when it was ripe and sold when it was still fresh. Thats why it tastes better.

[Daradon]

This may be the first and only time I have supported FOL but ON AVERAGE, organic food does seem to have more flavor than non-organic or GMO. I don't say this because I'm against genetically modified foods, I think they are important to feed the world, but because I have had gardens on and off for a lot of my life (as well as people in my family) and the fruits and veggies are often miles better than what you can find in the stores. And yeah, I could easily tell that in a blind taste test.

I found this with apples mostly years and years ago. They used to be so juicy and flavorful. Now a lot of them just taste like a potato as far as flavor and texture go. Oranges seem to have gone the same way too.

I wonder if part of that is that they now grow fruit and veggies year round now. I'm old enough to remember when you could only get certain/most things when they were in season. Now you can get them all year round.

As far as organic stores and products go, I almost never shop for those things, I don't have enough money. But when I have gone with friends I have often noticed a difference.

I want to say often because sometimes there is no difference. Also there have been enough cases of things being advertised as organic, when they really are not.

As far as Monsanto goes, I think companies like that are needed with the world as overpopulated as it is. That said, it is always risky when a company gets to big or has too much influence over our lives. I do not think it's bad at all that the lens is pointed at them right now.

[Thor]

My sister has a garden, she's not very good at it or its just not as easy in Iceland without greenhouses to grow tasty veggies. I remember farmers market in Mckenzie town had some tasty stuff, way better than store bought.

When I was in Vancouver for a month in 2009 summer, we went to a bunch of farms to buy strawberries, those were amazing, I'll never forget how damn good those were.

The thing is we're comparing apples to oranges here (HAHAHA I FUNNY)... Store stuff has to be picked at a certain time, kept in dark and often cool and travels great distances.

Home grown or farm fresh is just picked when its ready, won't last as long as store stuff but sure as hell tastes awesome..

Now if we're talking in a grocery store comparing the more expensive "organic" stuff compared to the normal veggies, they taste the same.

[Flame Of Liberty]

Originally Posted by GGG

Go back and read my post. You said you buy organic food for flavour. If you buy organic food from a grocery store you cant tell the difference between it and the non organic stuff it sits beside.

I do agree that home grown food tastes better but as I said it is a matter of freshness not organicness or where it is grown.

Because if you choose right, it does taste better than the "regular" thing.

I didn't mean to imply that a "organic" sticker automatically makes food amazing.

BTW I don't use the term "organic" religiously, use pesticides if you must, simply letting veggies fully ripen on the field is a massive step up.

[Azure]

Organic largely depends on the requirements to be organic in the first place. Not all countries regulate it the same.

[GGG]

Originally Posted by Flame Of Liberty

Because if you choose right, it does taste better than the "regular" thing.

I didn't mean to imply that a "organic" sticker automatically makes food amazing.

BTW I don't use the term "organic" religiously, use pesticides if you must, simply letting veggies fully ripen on the field is a massive step up.

I still disagree, the fact that something is organic or non organic has absolutely zero to do with flavour provided you hold all of the other variables equal.

My non organic garden is just as good as anyones organic one and both are far better than the grocery store.

[Azure]

As for Monsanto, I find it a bit strange that people are giving them a free pass.

The amazing Roundup Ready is causing the same problem that the blanket use of antibiotics in the livestock industry is causing. Resistant forms of weeds, or as farmers will call them, superweeds. This is a major problem, especially with GMO crops like Canola, where as soon as they finish off one bug with the new and improved pesticide, a new superbug comes along, which costs the farmer even more to spray. Of course, Monsanto doesn't care. 11 billion reasons not to care.

Where will it end? Who the heck knows. But it isn't sustainable at all.

[Minnie]

Originally Posted by Thor

I want a Banana modified to taste of melon and strawberries.. Make it happen science!

Have a Grapple!

Originally Posted by Azure

Organic largely depends on the requirements to be organic in the first place. Not all countries regulate it the same.

Does Canada regulate organic food? I was given to understand they don't.

[redforever]

Originally Posted by GGG

Go back and read my post. You said you buy organic food for flavour. If you buy organic food from a grocery store you cant tell the difference between it and the non organic stuff it sits beside.

I do agree that home grown food tastes better but as I said it is a matter of freshness not organicness or where it is grown.

It depends on the food product we are talking about. I can tell you that there is a huge difference in flavor between green beans from Planet Organic and just about any other grocery store in town.

I certainly don't exclusively buy organic, maybe 20% at the most. But some items I try to, like carrots as someone else mentioned, green beans, and usually the Earthbound lettuce and spinach. If I can buy non-organic fresh carrots in a small bunch, with the leaves and stems still attached, I will as those are usually tasty enough. But most bagged carrots tend to be dry, woody, and tasteless. However, I have my own carrots from my garden for about 8 months of the year (second fridge), so I don't have to buy too many carrots. I also keep my own potatoes in my cold storage, pretty well year around. About the only potatoes I buy are the baby potatoes. Hint when buying potatoes of any kind. Buy those towards the bottom of the pile. Potatoes react with light so those on the top will never be as tasty or as good a quality. In fact, if potatoes are left in the light for too long, they will turn green.

I will agree with someone else...no difference between GMO and non GMO.

[valo403]

Can people please understand that organic does not equal fresh. Fresh produce Yates better than produce that has ripened in transport, this is not a shocking revelation. That's the element that makes for better flavor, not whether its GMO or not.

[flamefan74]

Originally Posted by Azure

As for Monsanto, I find it a bit strange that people are giving them a free pass.

The amazing Roundup Ready is causing the same problem that the blanket use of antibiotics in the livestock industry is causing. Resistant forms of weeds, or as farmers will call them, superweeds. This is a major problem, especially with GMO crops like Canola, where as soon as they finish off one bug with the new and improved pesticide, a new superbug comes along, which costs the farmer even more to spray. Of course, Monsanto doesn't care. 11 billion reasons not to care.

Where will it end? Who the heck knows. But it isn't sustainable at all.

This is partly true. There are some weeds that have become resistant to glyphosate. However, there are about a dozen different manufacturers in the world of which Monsanto is one. Hard to blame just them. GM crops are a part of the problem, the weed resistance is more from the overuse of glyphosate. Farmers will spray their land up to 3 times a year with glyphosate. In crop use for weed control is once. The fact that glyphosate has been so cheap over the past few years has sped up this problem. As glyphosate prices increase, you will start to see farmers change up the chemical they use which in turn will slow the resistance of glyphosate.

[TorqueDog]

Originally Posted by Azure

Pretty sad if you don't think people can tell the difference between home grown vegetables and store bought, mass produced, chemically enhanced and more or less disgusting pieces of plastic they call vegetables these days.

Re-read what I said. Organic versus non-organic as far as taste.

The other part was in response to more arm-flailing nonsense that store-bought non-organic is somehow "inedible" and is any worse than store-bought organic produce. Difference between store-bought and home-grown? Absolutely. But organic or non-organic doesn't factor into that difference.

[Flame Of Liberty]

Originally Posted by TorqueDog

Re-read what I said. Organic versus non-organic as far as taste.

The other part was in response to more arm-flailing nonsense that store-bought non-organic is somehow "inedible" and is any worse than store-bought organic produce. Difference between store-bought and home-grown? Absolutely. But organic or non-organic doesn't factor into that difference.

lol i like absolute terms that you use with such authority. just because your taste buds are destroyed by poutine and kraft dinner doesn't mean everyone is such a food ignoramus.

[redforever]

Originally Posted by valo403

Can people please understand that organic does not equal fresh. Fresh produce Yates better than produce that has ripened in transport, this is not a shocking revelation. That's the element that makes for better flavor, not whether its GMO or not.

Yes, we get it. However, organic can taste better and fresher because it is quite often grown in different soil conditions as well.

Many mass carrots are grown in quite sandy soils because they will grow longer under those conditions...hence more product...yielding more money.

However, carrots grown in sand have a completely different taste than carrots grown in soil that is high in compost etc.

Taste is not wholly dependent on whether the product is fresh or not. A lot of super market tomatoes have no taste, not because they are not fresh, but because of how they have been cross bred. Basically, they bred them to yield a product that produces more, and ripens quicker, but sadly has little taste left. They also pick them when they are not fully ripe because produce like tomatoes is easier to transport in that state. If they left the tomatoes on the vine until fully ripe, they would taste better but would not transport as well.

[TorqueDog]

Originally Posted by Flame Of Liberty

lol i like absolute terms that you use with such authority. just because your taste buds are destroyed by poutine and kraft dinner doesn't mean everyone is such a food ignoramus.

There's no evidence to support that organic fruit and veg taste better versus non-organic. I'm calling you out on your nonsense.

Hah, yes, food ignoramus, because by contrast, picking tomatoes based off an 'organic' sticker makes you a connoisseur, does it? Have you even set foot in a Michelin starred restaurant before?

[Flame Of Liberty]

Originally Posted by TorqueDog

There's no evidence to support that organic fruit and veg taste better versus non-organic. I'm calling you out on your nonsense.

Hah, yes, food ignoramus, because by contrast, picking tomatoes based off an 'organic' sticker makes you a connoisseur, does it? Have you even set foot in a Michelin starred restaurant before?

word of advice, don't bother to eat in such a restaurant, it would be a crime to waste such food on you.

[TorqueDog]

Originally Posted by Flame Of Liberty

word of advice, don't bother to eat in such a restaurant, it would be a crime to waste such food on you.

I'm still waiting for anything of substance demonstrating that you're not just throwing around conjecture regarding your claim that organic is somehow better than non-organic. Interestingly, this seems to be your M.O. whenever you've got no ground to stand on in political threads or otherwise; resort to ad hominem attacks. It's quite entertaining.

[Flame Of Liberty]

Originally Posted by TorqueDog

I'm still waiting for anything of substance demonstrating that you're not just throwing around conjecture regarding your claim that organic is somehow better than non-organic. Interestingly, this seems to be your M.O. whenever you've got no ground to stand on in political threads or otherwise; resort to ad hominem attacks. It's quite entertaining.

If you cannot taste difference between produce grown on field under the sun (hint - it doesn't need "organic" or "natural" or "home grown" or any other sticker) and the plastic garbage they sell in supermarkets then I am afraid I can't help you. I wish I could, but alas.

[TorqueDog]

... blatant misrepresentation of your opponent's position; check. Wow, you're predictable.

I've already said there's a difference when you talk about home-grown produce. But strictly on the subject of organic versus non-organic methods, you have all your work still ahead of you. And if you feel like changing your definition of 'organic' (FoL said: "BTW I don't use the term "organic" religiously, use pesticides if you must, simply letting veggies fully ripen on the field is a massive step up."), then we have nothing to talk about because you're not using the word correctly to begin with.