What's in your Cheerios?

[Wayne M.]

I don't know why I looked, but I saw it. The bold fine print at the bottom of the nutrition panel. It says "Partially produced with genetic engineering"
How long has this been going on? I'm not inclined to eat them anymore!

 

[jhenderson]

Yup may not like it but GMO feeds the world. No GMO and you can add 50% to l the acreage needed for a given harvest. Add pesticides to that area as well. It's not the same as injecting your beef and pork with hormones and antibiotics. YAs far as I'm concerned it's merely a more advanced form of hybridization. Try growing heirloom varieties in your garden and you'll quickly understand GMO. My neighbor is deathly afraid of GMO. He also won't asphalt his driveway because he's sure the oil in the pavement will pollute his 400ft deep well.

 

[jgillott]

I didn't pay much attention to GMO's until my oldest daughter developed life threatening food allergies 9-10 years ago. I asked one of her allergists why we never heard anything about food allergies when we were kids and now all of a sudden it seems to be very common. His opinion was that changes in the foods we eat over the years have changed how our body reacts to them. Foods, such as peanuts, tree nuts, and certain grains, are now causing allergic reactions in certain people instead of being naturally digested.

I don't necessarily have an opinion on the validity of his theory, but it has made me think a little more about what I am eating at times.

 

[Deleted member 995608]

GMO is pretty much everywhere in most commercially grown crops. Alfalfa, soy, canola, vegetables, et cetera.....

 

[BarryG]

Wayne brings up a good point. Few people actually know what they are eating or at least what is in what they are eating.

Jhenderson also brings up a good point that without the bad words ie gmo's, pesticides and herbicides we (as in the world) will have a very tough time feeding the planet.

Jgillott also sparks a thought about why, due to the bad words above who knows at least not me but I agree with him that when I was younger you never or at least very rarely heard about the food allergy stuff it seems to have grown exponentially over the years. Heck nowadays in our stores we have been sued (well tried) because some child ate a sample that has nuts in it. kid knows he has an allergy to them they are freaking nut brownies and even posted as such with allergen warning mom tries to sue us because we let him eat them. No we put them out for samples, labeled as to what they are and he ate them. And we aren't talking about a 4 year old he was 14 and just wanted to try them (he ended up being fine by the way).

http://naturalsociety.com/top-10-worst-gmo-foods-list/ so far wheat is not on the list. There was an "accidental" issue with wheat in Oregon a while back due to Monsanto but so far there is no commercially sold wheat in the market with gmo's in it

http://www.shiftfrequency.com/gmo-products-comprehensive-list/

some interesting info on feeding the planet

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2015/07/150701-hunger-food-agriculture-population-ngbooktalk/

http://www.nationalgeographic.com/foodfeatures/feeding-9-billion/

I am a definite meat eater love the stuff eat the heck out of it but it sure would be nice if we could figure out a way to feed those cows, pigs, chickens etc without them eating way more food than they produce as food. Not to mention ethanol production eating up arable land for fuel. I certainly don't have any of the answers but know it is very complex issue both economically and politically. Depending on who you are and what you do it means different things. For me I eat what I like and pretty much hope for the best. If I still had young children I may very well think differently about it. I know our daughter does with her three children. She try's to be careful about what they eat even to the point of certain dye colors. She is not fanatical about it but does try to be careful.

 

[Regcabguy]

Not an issue for me. We've been eating genetically modified food for a long time.
I've got bigger fish to fry.
Pardon me while I go fix a bowl of Cheerios.

BREAKING NEWS!.
My box of Cheerios is devoid of GMO's according to the label.
Sourced from Costco. Maybe it's a California thing.

 

[Tractorat]

If someone is interested in eating "healthy" foods, I'm not sure why they would be eating cheerios or any thing like that in the first place.

 

[Deleted member 995608]

We cook 99% of our meals here, and try not to use too many ingredients that come from a box or can if we can help it. I think that people who often eat at restaurants or fast food joints have more to worry about

 

[jhenderson]

It is a very interesting point about children and food allergies. My question is if it's GMO related why aren't adults developing the same problem ? I recently watch a report on network news about children with nut allergies. The experiment revolved around giving young children small portions of nuts to raise their immunity. It was still being studied but looked promising. I'm certainly no scientist but my observation has always led me to the conclusion that a sterile environment isn't helpful to youngsters. Why do farm kids always seem to be healthy? Their around animals, manure, rusty metal,and all manner of debris. It seems that every family I know with children in a sterile home have constant trouble with infections of the eye, ear, throat, allergies, letc. I'm not against a clean house but foregoing owning a dog or cat because they shed may do more harm than good. My wife has a friend who won't let her kids play outside this time of year because of pollen. It doesn't affect the children any more or less than anyone else but she's afraid it might.

 

[mwilson]

We have an expression up here when someone is in a bad mood...

"Who peed in his Cheerios this morning??"

Totally unrelated to GMO's.......... but relevant to Cheerios......

 

[mwilson]

It is a very interesting point about children and food allergies. My question is if it's GMO related why aren't adults developing the same problem ? I recently watch a report on network news about children with nut allergies. The experiment revolved around giving young children small portions of nuts to raise their immunity. It was still being studied but looked promising. I'm certainly no scientist but my observation has always led me to the conclusion that a sterile environment isn't helpful to youngsters. Why do farm kids always seem to be healthy? Their around animals, manure, rusty metal,and all manner of debris. It seems that every family I know with children in a sterile home have constant trouble with infections of the eye, ear, throat, allergies, letc. I'm not against a clean house but foregoing owning a dog or cat because they shed may do more harm than good. My wife has a friend who won't let her kids play outside this time of year because of pollen. It doesn't affect the children any more or less than anyone else but she's afraid it might.

X2 on the farm kids!! You are totally correct......!!!

 

[Deleted member 995608]

Outdoor kids are far healthier, no doubt.

 

[BIGNASTY]

It is a very interesting point about children and food allergies. My question is if it's GMO related why aren't adults developing the same problem ? I recently watch a report on network news about children with nut allergies. The experiment revolved around giving young children small portions of nuts to raise their immunity. It was still being studied but looked promising. I'm certainly no scientist but my observation has always led me to the conclusion that a sterile environment isn't helpful to youngsters. Why do farm kids always seem to be healthy? Their around animals, manure, rusty metal,and all manner of debris. It seems that every family I know with children in a sterile home have constant trouble with infections of the eye, ear, throat, allergies, letc. I'm not against a clean house but foregoing owning a dog or cat because they shed may do more harm than good. My wife has a friend who won't let her kids play outside this time of year because of pollen. It doesn't affect the children any more or less than anyone else but she's afraid it might.

Farm kids as you refer to them don't sit in front of a TV set for multiple hours a day eating processed foods and drinking SODAS. When I worked in the local school district in nutritional services we had children so obese that they had health problems of people three times their age. Our Children aren't allergic to anything that we know of & we feel that its because we never kept them indoors to stay away from Pollen (sorry but that's weird IMO) we let Nature run its course like it has done for far longer than we've been around to make such a choice. They weren't intentionally exposed to things like some parents did when we were growing up. It seems to us its a stupid practice to take a healthy child over to another house to expose them to the Mumps or Measles, look now with I think its Chick pox can cause Shingles? who would have known? BIG's said that Mother Nature knows more than we do so let Nature take its course.

Gail is a big (no pun intended) proponent AGAINST GMO's in our food chain. He does a TREMENDOUS!!!! (& I mean A LOT!!! ) of reading on both the pro's & con's of things in our food production system, GMO's are one of the things that he thinks that should be STOPPED.

GMO's are a way of helping Industrial Farming produce more food. Someone above said try growing Heirloom vegetables in your garden, I do and have Great Success. The difference being that GMO seeds seem to be geared towards Industrial Farming, in that the crop is ready to be harvested all at one time. This is great if your trying to feed the world but in a home garden the difference is remarkable. How many times have you heard that the tomato's don't taste like they did when mom & dad grew them in their garden? Its true!! the GMO's may have made the plants more disease, bug resistant but at what cost? My guess and first hand knowledge is TASTE!! Its my opinion (& that's all from a Crazy lady) that GMO's aren't as bad as some would lead you to believe. But as for us our table veggies are grown in the Earth the old fashion way with the Manure & farming practices of years ago, its more work that's a given, but the taste and quality is FAR SUPERIOR to anything that you can find in a market.

You don't even want to sit down with BIG and a six pack and talk about Animal farming!!! I just finished a message to a Online friend in Montgomery AL. BIG went to the Local University ag department with a neighbor of hers that works there in the Scientific Research Center. His visit to the Swine center still has students asking questions of Cargill, Monsanto, Purina & several other large animal feed produces, that they don't really want to go into. One has to ask WHY?? BIG went to the Chicken House he couldn't stay long the day he went was cleaning day of the chicken paddock, the ammonia was so bad that he had a headache for a week after his visit. He said that it was sad the way the chickens were being handled. Hundreds of Thousands of chickens so packed into a 300 yard coop fat from the feed given to them and water laced with Growth hormones & antibiotics that kept the sick birds alive just long enough to be processed it made him sick to see a bird produced in almost half the time that it takes us to produce a Meat Chicken.

We try like one of you above to eat as Healthy as we can, it costs a little more but we feel its money well spent. BIG's feed store gives folks a chance to buy what they want, more and more are opting for the less processed & moving towards a more natural approach to what goes into their livestock which is what you feed yourselves.

I questioned him when I first read this, he said that he's made a couple of statements on the subject and was dismissed as being a fool so why bother. I hope that his attitude will change this trip has done a remarkable job of that, his People skills still need work but he's not been arrested and for the most part has enjoyed talking to folks from different parts of the country. Of course there was a man in Florida that let his dog out every morning so that it could run over to BIG's Motorhome wheel and Pee on it. Gail was Extremely happy when the dog was ATE buy a Gator, I told him that he really shouldn't have gone out applauding the Gator that had a dog leash hanging from its mouth. BUT THATS THE BIG I LOVE!!!

I've noticed that the website has changed its look? along with that I believe the way the notification that someone has made a post on a subject that we posted on has changed. BIG has left the Email to me, I see one and answer it, lately some of you have asked where we're at? on a regular Email. I go to the TDR website and find that they have posted something that we normally would have received. Instead Nothing!!! then I find where a statement was made that we are in the same RV park as one of the TDR members. I don't know for sure but could it be the way it was posted? either then advanced or quick reply? I don't know & sorry if we missed anyone.

Jamestown & Williamsburg are excellent places, BIG & Zachary (our Grandson) have really enjoyed a look at Yesteryear. While BIG, Zac & I were looking at something at the Blacksmith shop, my Mother and a Friend came back from the stables. I asked if they had seen anything interesting? Mother summed it up very well " Nothing that Gail Doesn't have in his barn"


Take Care & God Bless

Penny

 

[Wayne M.]

WOW! Glad I was able to spark a discussion!
I always thought Cheerios and similar grain type foods were relatively safe due to their simplicity- just need to trust the source IMHO. They've always been good right out of the box as a small snack, etc. Shortly after, I looked at another kids cereal we also happen to have from Kellogs, and it has no such proclamation at all anywhere on the box. I dunno, I'll have to "digest" this thread tomorrow over a bowl if cookie crisp. Lol.
Recently, I got in on a group deal to buy beef from a local rancher in Central NY- processing included. So we each got a nice portion each of steaks, brisket, and ground beef among other cuts. I have to say that the most profound difference from supermarket retail and this was the burgers the grass fed ground made. Pretty spectacular!

 

[jhenderson]

I don't think anyone's a fool for trying to eat healthy food. We keep a small garden and we buy our meat from local producers by halfs and quarters. Penny picked up exactly on my point. GMO feeds the world and if you are buying your food you're going to eat some. I think most of us are in more danger from distracted drivers than GMO food.There's no doubt older, non engineered vegetables taste better, and my in fact be better for you, but that route is land and labor intensive. Most of us work away from home and don't have the time to grow enough or hand prepare all that we consume. I'm sure Gail would admit when he drove for a living he couldn't have been as dedicated to his diet and where it came from as he is now. The way you folks eat dovetails with you new life in the mountains.

 

[BIGNASTY]

I don't think anyone's a fool for trying to eat healthy food. We keep a small garden and we buy our meat from local producers by halfs and quarters. Penny picked up exactly on my point. GMO feeds the world and if you are buying your food you're going to eat some. I think most of us are in more danger from distracted drivers than GMO food.There's no doubt older, non engineered vegetables taste better, and my in fact be better for you, but that route is land and labor intensive. Most of us work away from home and don't have the time to grow enough or hand prepare all that we consume. I'm sure Gail would admit when he drove for a living he couldn't have been as dedicated to his diet and where it came from as he is now. The way you folks eat dovetails with you new life in the mountains.

Hey Pard's

When I drove and wasn't married I ate one time a day usually Breakfast. If you stay away from Grease Pits like Denny's its pretty tough to screw up a breakfast. Even before I was married I raised Hogs and Chickens (for eggs) I had a couple that were illegals living in a 1 room house that took care of my Dog if he didn't ride with me, Picked up the mail, and Mowed the yard & fed the Chickens & Hogs, in turn for free rent & not calling the INS

Once I found Penny & she felt sorry enough for me to say Yes!! we always had a garden added to the mix she dearly loves to garden. Normally working around town I took a lunch that Penny packed each day & at 1:30 am walked me out to my car to go off to work with cooler and thermos of coffee. I got lucky with her she's an Old Fashion Type that actually did that because she thought it was the right thing to do.

When out of town on Disaster work I would usually eat 2 breakfasts for the same reason as above one IF I SLEPT and one sometime when we had a chance.

To this day we rarely go to a Chain Fast Food ANYTHING!!

On this trip we've been lucky to find one of my Diners, Drive in's & Dives or Man vs Food or Andrew Zimmer food stops, although some may call these fast food? they are of higher quality than most Chain Fast Food Pits. Or Penny makes lunch for us in the Motor home we find a shade tree run the slide out and take a break while we eat.

Dinners are 50/50 Penny's on vacation also so time away from fixing full on dinners is a break for her. We do use the Weber. But we took this trip to not only see parts of the Country but Taste Parts of the Country. We Both really enjoy different styles of cooking, it doesn't have to be the Ritz just good cooking!!

BIG

 

[jgillott]

It is a very interesting point about children and food allergies. My question is if it's GMO related why aren't adults developing the same problem ? I recently watch a report on network news about children with nut allergies. The experiment revolved around giving young children small portions of nuts to raise their immunity. It was still being studied but looked promising.

I have no concrete evidence, only again repeating what my daughter's allergist said on the subject. He stated that he believes that each generation will be effected more profoundly. They way he explained it to me was this. Back when my parents were born in the 30's and 40's, their parents ate relatively fresh/natural food that was either grown on the family farm or purchased in stores that were supplied by local farms. When my generation was born in the 60's and 70's, our parents were eating some farm/natural foods, but also had many processed, preserved, and prepackaged foods in their diet. Though I was lucky enough to grow up on a farm, we still ate our fair share of frozen TV dinners and processed foods. Anyone from my generation also clearly remembers how meals changed when our families got our 1st microwave. Fast forward now to our kids that were born from the 90's on. They now have had several generations of time for GMO's, pesticides, hormones, antibiotics, etc. that are now so common in our food supplies, to have their effects on how their bodies work.

Do I think that he has all the answers, no. But has he sparked at least some interest in my mind that this may have some merit, certainly. My daughter is sort of fortunate. She was so young when she developed her allergies, she actually doesn't remember not having to live with them. So, it is just a fact of her life that she is very well adjusted to. The ones that I feel really bad for are those who have been eating foods all their life and then suddenly can't. I think that would be a much more difficult adjustment.

 

[Deleted member 995608]

Something I've noticed over the last ten years or so are the health issues that kids and some adults are having. Some of it I blame on living in too sterile of an environment,..... weather tight homes, dual pane windows, rarely playing or spending time outside, taking antibiotics for viral infections, et cetera, et cetera. The other portion I think is too blame is fast food, wether it be from canned and boxed goods, or eating foods from restaurants on a regular basis.

 

[jgillott]

Something I've noticed over the last ten years or so are the health issues that kids and some adults are having. Some of it I blame on living in too sterile of an environment,..... weather tight homes, dual pane windows, rarely playing or spending time outside, taking antibiotics for viral infections, et cetera, et cetera. The other portion I think is too blame is fast food, wether it be from canned and boxed goods, or eating foods from restaurants on a regular basis.

I currently serve as President and CVO of the Regional Family YMCA of Laurel Highlands here in western PA. At a meeting a couple of weeks ago, our Diabetes Prevention Program Coordinator briefed us with the latest statistics from the national Y. This is copied directly from the YUSA site. Some of these I find just staggering.

Diabetes Facts

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) research shows that:

• 29 million Americans have been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes
• 86 million Americans have prediabetes—but 9 out of 10 people do not know they have it.
• Diabetes is the seventh leading cause of death in the United States
• Diabetes disproportionately affects black and Latino populations (they are nearly 2 times more likely to be diagnosed with diabetes)
• People with diabetes are about 50% more likely to die than people of the same age without diabetes
• Medical expenses for people with diabetes are 2.3 times greater than those without
• People with diabetes are at greater risk for stroke, nerve damage, blindness, dental disease, lower limb amputation, depression, and complications during pregnancy

 

[jhenderson]

Do you equate that with GMO foods or a high caloric intake without the requisite exercise?