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Got organic milk? Maybe not for long.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has announced its approval of "unrestricted planting" of genetically modified alfalfa sold by Monsanto, according to The Atlantic. So what does that have to do with organic milk?
Cows eat more alfalfa hay than anything else, and as a crop, alfalfa is what The Atlantic calls "notoriously promiscuous." Bees and other insects can spread alfalfa pollen for up to five miles, meaning it's only a matter of time before the unrestricted GMO alfalfa cross-pollinates with non-GMO varieties.
It makes for a strange conundrum: The USDA's own regulations prohibit the use of genetically modified organisms in certified-organic products, yet by allowing such a fast-and-loose crop to be planted anywhere, the department is virtually guaranteeing that cows used to make organic dairy products will end up eating some mutant strain of GMO alfalfa.
"This creates a perplexing situation when the market calls for a supply of crops free of genetic engineering," Christine Bushway, executive director and CEO of the Organic Trade Association, said in a press release. "[C]onsumers will not tolerate the accidental presence of genetic engineered materials in organic products, yet [genetically engineered] crops continue to proliferate unchecked."
What choice those irate consumers have, however, remains something of a mystery. Almost 250,000 of them submitted comments to the USDA asking the agency to prohibit the use of GMO alfalfa, which the department appears essentially to have ignored.
Organic revolution, anyone?
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2-01-2011 @6:48AM Db said... Why are the antiseptic people so convinced that they must have only sanitized food from unnatural sources ? I just do not drink milk, & I only eat fresh fruits & veggies, oatmeal, homemade soup, , etc., like Jack Lalanne ate all those years ago before the food industry started cashing in on people's phobias.
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2-01-2011 @7:24AM kim said... What Db? We are not talking about "sanitized" food. We are talking about natural food with NO pesticides or garbage. Food the way it should be! The problem is that we waste SO much. We consume SO much so we have to produce MORE. Growing organic doesn't compare to growing with chemicals as far as production and size of food. This country is a mess in every way conceivable.
2-01-2011 @7:43AM jmoveh said... not subsidies. All I hear from ag around here is excuses- it's always someone else's fault. Tell me this, smart boy, how come New Zealand and Australia were able to end their farm welfare programs, but not us? Guess America is just weak. I am an Air Force and seek ing someone .I need a woman who can love me back ...I also uploaded my hot photos on kissmilitary.com nder the name of jay55..It's the largest and best club for seek ing Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, Police Force, and the admirers of those who wear the uniform.I just hope you don't mind me being a soldier ...Please Check it out!I'm serious
2-01-2011 @8:22AM k said... Food the way it should be? Just where do you look up what food "should be"? Was that an additional commandment Moses dropped? Or it is simply some dillusion fostered by con artists to strip you of your money? You're a fool and quite ignorant to boot, if you think that evolutionary genetic mutations are any different than man-made mutations. Atoms and electron bonds don't know from natural or unnatural. All you're doing is throwing away money and wasting resources while lining the pockets of con men world wide. No wonder this world is going to hell in a hand basket.
2-01-2011 @8:44AM L said... You must work for the Government or Monsanto...
2-01-2011 @8:53AM Allnatural said... What you all need to do is go onto utube or Hulu and watch the documentary called the "Corporation". Then you will get a much clearer picture of what Monsanto and some other mega Corp's are up to. You will then see why this is a very important step for them.
2-01-2011 @10:42AM exoticdoc2 said... Db. Agreed. We need to get over our genetic engineering phobia. There are a wide range of applications of varying degrees for genetic engineering. The lowest form of "engineering" has been going on for a long time in the selection and crossing of certain strains of plants and animals. The over-the-top naturophiles want us all eating bacteria-laden food and drink, back to the good old days of cholera and typhoid running rampant. Likewise avoid any improvements that would help feed the ever-growing population. Test carefully, yes, but to simply slam an entire area of science like this as a whole is simply foolish.
2-01-2011 @11:05AM kaden said... I MUST EAT ONLY ORGANIC FOOD, ALL OTHER FOODS MAKE ME VERY ILL, i HAVE MIX JOINT TISSUE DISEASE AN AUTO IMUNE DISEASE, THAT CAN HAVE SO MANY SIDE EFFECTS, I HAVE BLINDNESS IN ONE EYE, BREATHING PROBLEMS FROM LUNGS BEING EFFECTED, SO PLEASE DO NOT MAKE FUN OF PEOPLE LIKE ME WHO MUST HAVE ORGANIC FOODS
2-01-2011 @11:43AM petri said... talked w/ a cargill rep bout gmo and he said its gotten bad press...when i pointed out that he's from a country (holland) that doesnt even sell gmo- he said -'well the u.s. is a guinea pig for the world'..........
2-01-2011 @11:57AM mom said... The previous post has the wrong impression, It's not that we want our food "sanitized", it's that we want our food natural... not modified by a human.
2-01-2011 @12:42PM Reb1 said... I'm a retired food manufacturing QA manager, and here's the real deal. Consumers have choices. The trade-off with pesticide crops vs. organic crops is this: You can expect more 'natural defects' in organic products than from crops, where pesticides are used, while you will consume 'some' pesticide residue with non-organic products. FDA 'natural defects' include insect fragments, feathers, rodent hairs, excrement, etc., and the FDA allows a certain level of natural defects in foods. Food manufacturers must test incoming raw materials for natural defects, and the law allows use of materials with insect fragments less than a specified max. This is rarely a problem for pesticide treated crops. It's my opinion that neither the pesticide levels in non-organic foods nor the insect frags in organic food would be harmful to consumers. If you want to pay extra for 'organic' , go for it.
Additionally, there is no such thing in the US as non-genetically modified corn, potatoes, cotton (oil used for frying), and many other crops. Insects that pollinate plants don't pay attention to fence lines, and modified genes are analytically detectable in all lots of these crops.
2-01-2011 @7:03AM Works for a living, not a farmer said... Well, the big lazy farm community gets it's way again- whatever gives the farmer the most money for the least work is all that matters in this country. Organic is better all the way around, but it might mean they have to burn off some of those grossly obese bellies and do some real work, not just a couple weeks twice a year. USDA and farm welfare/subsidies- the real terrorists in our country. Stop farmer welfare. End farm subsidies. Make them learn to work like real businessmen.
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2-01-2011 @7:15AM Diane said... Its not the lazy farm community - it's Monsanto who is ramming their GMO crops down their throats. Why do you think the Haitians burned the seeds that Monsanto sent as 'relief aide???' Get informed.
2-01-2011 @7:17AM lisa said... I agree that organic is better but -Farmers....Lazy???? You obviously have never worked a farm.
2-01-2011 @7:25AM Mikey said... Hi there works for a living, just who exactly do you think is getting rich off of farm subsidies? Not the farmer, but the consumer. If we had a truly supply and demand oriented food supply, then we would see wild swings in food prices and this would all be to the detriment of the consumer. The whole farm subsidy system is in place to help keep food prices cheap and as a result, you only have to give about 10% of your income for food. In LaLa Land, oh excuse me, Europe, it is about 39%. In today's modern world, a farmer has to farm a huge volume to survive as a farmer. Most of the 1.8 million individuals that left feeding the US and the world have jobs off of the farm because they cannot make a living on farming alone. Much of this problem is attributed to the lack of knowledge you so sarcastically demonstrated in your post. I could go on, but it is 8 degrees outside and the wind is blowing 40MPH. I have a bunch of cattle out there that need hay and water to drink. Guess I better go feed them so that I can help feed you! Lazy?....boy you probably have a great 8 to 5 job and don't have to worry about anything but getting to your nice warm office!
2-01-2011 @8:16AM Phil said... You tell 'em, Mikey!
And the fat cats on wall street who are making all of the profit from the agricultural industry are NOT lazy? WOW! What a world we live in where those who live OFF of the labor of others are called hard working, and those who actually do the work are called lazy! Amazing.
Sorry, farmers of America (and the rest of the world). Some of us appreciate you VERY much. (Sorry about the cold. We heard from the "climate" people that it was supposed to get warmer soon.)
2-01-2011 @8:28AM Joyce said... Real farmers are definately not lazy. Part of the problem, along with Monsanto shoving GMOs down our throats and buying up and destroying heirloom seeds, is big agri-business. Many small farmers have had to stop farming because they can't compete. Agribusiness is doing the same to small farmers that Walmart has succeeded in doing to small business. Politicians didn't do anything to stop that and they aren't going to stop Monsanto and other big agribusiness. The lobbyists put too much in the politicians' pockets.
2-01-2011 @9:51AM Goodole Boy said... The big lazy FARMER you are the biggest idiot walking the world, farmers are the hardest working people I have ever met, I bet you could not do 5 days on a farm,,, and they work a full 7 day weeks. You must be from the City, you would not know business if it bit you on your A**
2-01-2011 @10:18AM in1nuthouse said... Your are an ignorant dumba$$. The farmers DONT want this. WHY because then THEY DON'T OWN THERE CROPS ANYMORE!!!! The seed company does. Stupid. This is what we get when we allowed the new food bill to be passed and signed into law this year. GOOD BY ORGANIC and natural foods. Now everything WILL BE geneticly altered since YOU CAN NOT "OWN" A NATURAL PRODUCT so since it is MODIFIED then they can patent it and sell it and NOT let anyone else get it unless they pay THEM for it!!!! Modify a crop that will cross pollinate and you can STEAL the farmer's crops and seeds that they clean themselves and they HAVE to pay you for them.
2-01-2011 @11:07AM eatsforaliving said... Can't resist commenting on Tara's observation on our longevity problems: All these examples you made, from the weaker bones to the cancer (and even obesity, to some degree) are because we have genetically modified our children since the days of the caveman!
All these comments on GMO meaning no pesticides are stupid. You're talking about "Certified Organic" foods and arguing oranges in an article about apples. Now if the article were about all pesticides being approved for our crops, I'd be right with you...
GMO is GENETICALLY MODIFIED ORGANISM. Every time you plant two kinds of peppers in your garden you are likely genetically modifying your peppers. Every time two people have a baby, that baby is genetically modified from either of its parents. And, the closer the genetic make up of the two parent contributors, the weaker and sicker the child. We've practiced selective breeding for millennia... really don't understand why it is so detrimental to our food to selectively breed desireable characteristics into our consumables.