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Edited by Mrph1 on Nov 30th 2023 at 11:03:59 AM

speedyboris Since: Feb, 2010
#98851: Aug 18th 2015 at 11:04:01 AM

I was reading an article a while back about grocery stores in the Twin Cities. One of the points made was that the two types of stores that are doing really well right now are the upper-end organic stores (Whole Foods, Lund's/Byerly's, etc.) and lower-priced, budget stores (Aldi, Wal-Mart). It's the stores in the middle that aren't doing as well. Kinda scary how that reflects the erosion of the middle class...

edited 18th Aug '15 11:04:38 AM by speedyboris

Fighteer Lost in Space from The Time Vortex (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: TV Tropes ruined my love life
Lost in Space
#98852: Aug 18th 2015 at 11:04:28 AM

There are no documented health benefits to eating organic or non-GMO. Doing so is therefore a socio-political statement.

The anti-GMO, anti-vaccination crowd tends to be liberal and affluent, but is otherwise indistinguishable from the know-nothings on the poor conservative side of the spectrum.

edited 18th Aug '15 11:04:53 AM by Fighteer

"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"
Aprilla Since: Aug, 2010
#98853: Aug 18th 2015 at 11:11:49 AM

Yeah, I'd need to see a scholarly source on the size issue. So far, I've seen no scientific data to support that claim. Basically what Fighteer said.

With that in mind, I do believe we need to further scrutinize the business practices of agro-business. The science behind GMO tech is sound, but like any product, that technology can be manipulated for illicit financial gains. Giant watermelons shouldn't be scary, but we should stay alert with regard to what extent and if farmers and other laborers are getting their fair share of the profits.

edited 18th Aug '15 11:14:01 AM by Aprilla

AngelusNox Warder of the damned from The guard of the gates of oblivion Since: Dec, 2014 Relationship Status: Married to the job
Warder of the damned
#98854: Aug 18th 2015 at 11:15:02 AM

I've spent 3 months in the US eating nothing but US Junk food, cookies, a lot of milk with cereals, lots of hamburger and pizza.

I lost weight, like a lot of weight, 10 something pounds during the time, but then I never ate more than my fill and worked in two jobs 8-24/7.

I did groceries and I've found for what I was making buying bananas and oranges wasn't as expensive as I thought it would be, but that was 3 years ago.

Homemade foods and properly prepared foods were cheaper than drive through and fast food stuff but you'd need time to prepare them and buy in bulk. Which I grant it is pretty hard if you're poor and overworked.

[up]I've read and wrote a good share about GM Os.

The main issue isn't the tech itself, it is how is being used.

The Terminator seeds and special fertilizers used by Mossanto crops were originally intended to prevent cross pollination and contamination of the natural flora, but coincidentally it is being used by Mossanto to force farmers to purchase seeds from them instead of letting them grow their own seed stocks.

Also there are issues with the producer's end with Round-Up pesticide, which thanks to reckless overuse by the farmers is creating a new batch of pesticide resistant bugs and weeds.

edited 18th Aug '15 11:18:53 AM by AngelusNox

Inter arma enim silent leges
LeGarcon Blowout soon fellow Stalker from Skadovsk Since: Aug, 2013 Relationship Status: Gay for Big Boss
Blowout soon fellow Stalker
#98855: Aug 18th 2015 at 11:17:13 AM

Were did you go shopping? Everything is ridiculously expensive here.

Oh really when?
Aszur A nice butterfly from Pagliacci's Since: Apr, 2014 Relationship Status: Don't hug me; I'm scared
A nice butterfly
#98856: Aug 18th 2015 at 11:22:13 AM

Aw, I missed all the fun race bits and now we're just talking about carrots

I felt the exact same way, buddy. OUR SUFFERING IS THE SAME.

Regarding food, I have nothing new to add, it is really just the time it takes to actually make the homemade food which makes it hard for people to use it. Here in my country there is an influx of cheap manual labor (Nicaraguan immigrants) and most of it is in housekeeping including cooking, so many people don't cook themselves but still have homemade food.

That however, for some reaosn, is not very popular in the U.S

It has always been the prerogative of children and half-wits to point out that the emperor has no clothes
Ogodei Fuck you, Fascist sympathizers from The front lines Since: Jan, 2011
Fuck you, Fascist sympathizers
#98857: Aug 18th 2015 at 11:22:22 AM

Healthy food isn't necessarily expensive, it just may take a bit more prep-time. Like, dried beans are ridiculously cheap and also good for you, but you have to take the time to boil them back to an edible state.

AngelusNox Warder of the damned from The guard of the gates of oblivion Since: Dec, 2014 Relationship Status: Married to the job
Warder of the damned
#98858: Aug 18th 2015 at 11:22:51 AM

[up][up][up]Those quick marts during the week for minor stuff like milk and bread and a bigger one every two weeks for bulk stuff.

That was in Baltimore though. I recall the bananas were something like 2 something dollars and the oranges were 3 something dollars a pound. I can't remember how much minced meat was but I found to have a reasonable price.

Finding rice on the other hand was harder enough for me to give up.

Milk in the US is way more cheaper by the liter than it is in Brazil.

[up]I usually cooked my meals overnight after I returned from work, usually in two or three days worth of cooked grains, mostly beans and meat I did on the night to eat the next day.

edited 18th Aug '15 11:25:27 AM by AngelusNox

Inter arma enim silent leges
probablyinsane Since: Oct, 2011 Relationship Status: I LOVE THIS DOCTOR!
#98859: Aug 18th 2015 at 11:26:07 AM

Just google purple carrots, vegetables have become less nutritious.

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/soil-depletion-and-nutrition-loss

Plants are aliens, and fungi are nanomachines.
Aprilla Since: Aug, 2010
#98860: Aug 18th 2015 at 11:38:15 AM

Scholarly peer-reviewed sources, please. That article has a lot of problems with the way it's presenting (or not presenting) the information it claims to be covering. It's not giving the full story on how soil depletion works, and it's playing around with the wording to make it seem like the intergenerational cross-breeding is responsible for the decline in nutritional value. This is half-true, but you'll notice that it's not mentioning anything clear about modern genetic engineering's direct contribution that depletion. Contrary studies have shown the degradation in quality of soil and subsequently the food supplies does not correlate with how that food was bred.

I'm also very leery about what sample size and array they were using to gather this data. It's not so much a problem with the basic information presented in the article, but the conclusions being drawn from it.

edited 18th Aug '15 11:42:03 AM by Aprilla

LeGarcon Blowout soon fellow Stalker from Skadovsk Since: Aug, 2013 Relationship Status: Gay for Big Boss
Blowout soon fellow Stalker
#98861: Aug 18th 2015 at 11:40:25 AM

I thought soil degradation was more about how shit was farmed, not what kinda funky whatever you were growing.

Oh really when?
Aprilla Since: Aug, 2010
#98862: Aug 18th 2015 at 11:44:41 AM

It is, but a lot of generally available publications tend to oversimplify how modern crop rotation contributes to nutritional value.

Sounds like I'm cherrypicking, but I'm honestly not. Not trying to be rude about it.

EDIT: We're getting off-topic again, but note that you have to be careful not to just pick the first result that comes up in your Google search. That article was the first to come up, which isn't necessarily bad, but you should always make sure you're getting a rich collection of scientifically credible information. Google Scholar is...so-so. Take it with a grain of salt.

edited 18th Aug '15 11:49:25 AM by Aprilla

probablyinsane Since: Oct, 2011 Relationship Status: I LOVE THIS DOCTOR!
#98863: Aug 18th 2015 at 11:47:29 AM

[up][up][up] uh, that veggies and fruits before were more nutritious in the past is pretty much common knowledge in the health food "fandom". Doesn't have to be gmo, the damage is done with even just cross-breeding.

If you don't want to believe it, that's fine with me. I did state that it's not the technique which concerns me in particular but for what purpose.

If they breed veggies for quantity over quality, I'd say uh uh. If for quality, then yes.

edited 18th Aug '15 11:48:05 AM by probablyinsane

Plants are aliens, and fungi are nanomachines.
Fighteer Lost in Space from The Time Vortex (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: TV Tropes ruined my love life
Lost in Space
#98864: Aug 18th 2015 at 11:50:13 AM

The "health food fandom" is notoriously fad-driven and impervious to real science.

"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"
Aprilla Since: Aug, 2010
#98865: Aug 18th 2015 at 11:50:23 AM

[up][up]Yes, but the discussion was originally in the context of GMO food production, and I've seen that piece linked before in anti-GMO debates. Again, it's people taking scientifically significant (but not necessarily conclusive) data and running to wild conclusions with it. You may not be saying that, but a large voting demographic says otherwise.

edited 18th Aug '15 11:53:30 AM by Aprilla

Greenmantle V from Greater Wessex, Britannia Since: Feb, 2010 Relationship Status: Hiding
V
#98866: Aug 18th 2015 at 11:51:11 AM

[up][up] Especially when it's backed by the Medical Lobby and Government, such as the various 5 a Day campaigns?

edited 18th Aug '15 11:52:08 AM by Greenmantle

Keep Rolling On
probablyinsane Since: Oct, 2011 Relationship Status: I LOVE THIS DOCTOR!
#98867: Aug 18th 2015 at 11:53:03 AM

I will make it more clear. I am not anti gmo.

My approval or disapproval is on case by case. And yes, I'm aware that some health food fans can be too much.

I'm more of a minimalist health food fan.

Plants are aliens, and fungi are nanomachines.
Aszur A nice butterfly from Pagliacci's Since: Apr, 2014 Relationship Status: Don't hug me; I'm scared
A nice butterfly
#98868: Aug 18th 2015 at 11:53:11 AM

Everyone but my group is evil and trying to feed us pregnant baby jew fetuses.

WAKE UP SHEEPLE.

edited 18th Aug '15 11:54:04 AM by Aszur

It has always been the prerogative of children and half-wits to point out that the emperor has no clothes
Ogodei Fuck you, Fascist sympathizers from The front lines Since: Jan, 2011
Fuck you, Fascist sympathizers
#98869: Aug 18th 2015 at 12:12:02 PM

The way i think about it, GM Os are just the next step in a process we've been doing for centuries. Google what a wild banana looks like, nothing like the stuff you buy at a store, but the planters who have been cultivating this stuff for centuries didn't have gene-splicing technology.

Aprilla Since: Aug, 2010
#98870: Aug 18th 2015 at 12:16:42 PM

That's essentially what it is, really. Fitness, nutrition and agriculture are hot button issues for me because I work out a lot.

One huge political issue that probably doesn't quite get enough attention is the influence of the corn industry. It's actually pretty immense.

Skycobra51 A suitable case for treatment from The US of A Since: Nov, 2013 Relationship Status: Only knew I loved her when I let her go
A suitable case for treatment
#98871: Aug 18th 2015 at 12:24:44 PM

[up] Its because Corn is nicetongue

Look upon my privilege ye mighty and despair.
LeGarcon Blowout soon fellow Stalker from Skadovsk Since: Aug, 2013 Relationship Status: Gay for Big Boss
Blowout soon fellow Stalker
#98872: Aug 18th 2015 at 12:26:46 PM

If memory serves it's not just yummy corn on the cob but also most sweeteners and plastics that are affected by the corn industry. Which is pretty heavily subsidized.

Oh really when?
Fighteer Lost in Space from The Time Vortex (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: TV Tropes ruined my love life
Deadbeatloser22 from Disappeared by Space Magic (Great Old One) Relationship Status: Tsundere'ing
#98874: Aug 18th 2015 at 12:47:50 PM

Isn't HFCS even worse for people than most of the synthetic sweeteners everyone panics about?

edited 18th Aug '15 12:48:03 PM by Deadbeatloser22

"Yup. That tasted purple."
LeGarcon Blowout soon fellow Stalker from Skadovsk Since: Aug, 2013 Relationship Status: Gay for Big Boss
Blowout soon fellow Stalker
#98875: Aug 18th 2015 at 12:49:08 PM

I don't think so actually. I'm pretty sure it's no better or worse.

It's just the industry behind it that's bad.

Oh really when?

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