General Mills to label products containing GMOs in US.

[grassfarmer]

Be ready to make major changes in your diet if you don't want any gm ingredients.

Yes, in terms of how many food products contain gmo ingredients today.
No, in terms of every crop that is GM can also be produced non-gm so not really a need to change your diet.

When you think about it it's really all in the manufactured stuff that we should eat less of anyway - the cookies, candy, refined carbohydrate, corn syrup in everything.

A diet heavy in fruit, vegetables, red meat, fish, bread, rice can quite easily be gmo free.

[wmoebis]

Yep all cooked in Canola oil.

[oneoff]

I'd call bull shit on just about anything repeated by anyone who says GMO is devoid of practically any nutrient factors at all... or those who say animals won't eat seeds or forage derived from from GMO's

Who believes such out and out misleading crap.

Oh sure all the ones who don't know any better and that could include the biggest chunk of the masses.

Those purveyors of misinformation will one day answer for their outright stupidity.

Might as well be candid about the facts before it surely become the "law".

[freewheat]

Yep all cooked in Canola oil.

Canola oil which has no protein. Which means the oil is gmo free. The irony is that non gm canola is the same as gm canola oil. The label is only about feeding consumer ignorance.

Which is fine, I may grow some non gm canola this year.

But I do not like the labeling issue. A label makes out like gm is bad somehow. It gives consumers a perception that is unfounded in science.

So far as genes being transferable to humans like biglentil said? Just weird is all that theory is. We should be pork or chickens or beef by now.

[biglentil]

freewheat we share 97% of the same dna as a chimp, 90% of the dna with a housecat, 60% the same dna as a fricken banana plant. Where the frick do you think the building blocks come from? Its hillarious that monsanto's own scientist demanded organic non gmo in their cafeterias but you guys are frickin experts on the safety of gmo's.

[oneoff]

The comment about eating beef or plants of any kind and somehow not becoming part of those species is very apropo.
There's that little thing about "birds and bees" and not crossing species boundaries.

And blood streams and plant cell boundaries don't just suck in seed coats and blobs of what is ingested. They better get broken down by enzymes and bacteria and all ways involves in biochemicals pathways that are well beyond the apparent ability of propagandists who never will enlighten themselves about what they claim as self proclaimed experts.

Lots to learn and it can't even begin to happen with those who "only consider that which confirms what they already know"

[oneoff]

Everybody has/will have health problems.

And its just too convenient to pick a few
causes on which to attribute a lifetime of exposure to everything that one comes across outside a completely sterile existence.
Not to mention your genetic predispositions over which one has very little control; or your accidental or deliberate; occasional or chronic harm that surely has happened through your own mistakes (or accidentally or otherwise) one is bound to be run across.
You can try to be too careful; such as don't eat or drink anything. There are indeed such people.

[oneoff]

What is end result when toddlers ingest "a teaspoon of dirt". Even with a trace of hundreds of man made compounds.

Oh I forgot that never has happened and never will.

Is a single exposure always a death sentence.

[chuckChuck]

There are scientists who are concerned about the impact glyphosate has on non target plants or round up ready crops. The concern is about the reduced mineral and nutrient uptake among other things. Roundup esentailly kills the plant by blocking nutrient uptake. Some science shows that GM crops have less nutrients.

[chuckChuck]

Glyphosate: mechanism of action

Glyphosate is a herbicide used in agriculture and non-crop situations for the control of a wide range of weeds.
Chemically, the active ingredient glyphosate (N-phosphonomethyl-glycine) is a derivative of glycine, the smallest amino acid found in proteins. In the glyphosate molecule, one of the amino hydrogen atoms of glycine is replaced with a phosphonomethyl group.

[Compared to other active ingredients in herbicides, glyphosate is a small molecule with a molecular weight of 169 g. Glyphosate is a derivative of the amino acid glycine, where one of the amino hydrogen atoms has been replaced with a phosphonomethyl group. (Phosphorus atoms in orange, hydrogen atoms in white, oxygen atoms in red, nitrogen atom in blue)<br> (© Monsanto).] Compared to other active ingredients in herbicides, glyphosate is a small molecule with a molecular weight of 169 g. Glyphosate is a derivative of the amino acid glycine, where one of the amino hydrogen atoms has been replaced with a phosphonomethyl group. (Phosphorus atoms in orange, hydrogen atoms in white, oxygen atoms in red, nitrogen atom in blue)
(© Monsanto).

Once absorbed by the plant, glyphosate binds to and blocks the activity of the enzyme enolpyruvylshikimate-3-phosphate synthase (EPSPS). The EPSPS enzyme comes at the start of the shikimic acid pathway that converts simple carbohydrate precursors derived from glycolysis and the pentose phosphate pathway to aromatic amino acids and many other important plant metabolites. The enzyme is normally located within the chloroplasts where it catalyses the reaction of shikimate-3-phosphate (S3P) and phosphoenol pyruvate to form 5-enolpyruvyl-shikimate-3-phosphate (ESP). ESP is a precursor for aromatic amino acids and, ultimately, hormones, vitamins and other essential plant metabolites. Structural similarities to phosphoenol pyruvate enable glyphosate to bind to the substrate binding site of the EPSPS, inhibiting its activity and blocking its import into the chloroplast.

Since the active site of the EPSPS enzyme is highly consistent in higher plants, glyphosate affects a broad spectrum of weeds indiscriminately. Inhibiting the function of the shikimic acid pathway causes a deficiency in aromatic amino acids, eventually leading to the plant’s death by starvation.

[(© Pioneer)] (© Pioneer)

Despite the fact that glyphosate is a small and simple molecule, its water solubility is too low for it to be easily sprayed in the field. The most common glyphosate formulations for commercial purposes therefore mix it with other substances to improve its efficiency. In many plant protection products glyphosate acid is formulated as a salt to enhance its water solubility.

A wide range of different glyphosate herbicide formulations have been registered in Europe. These include granular (SG) and liquid formulations (SL), various salts of glyphosate including isopropylamine (IPA), potassium (K), ammonium (NH4) and dimethyl ammonium (DMA).

Fast uptake of glyphosate is also crucial to prevent the herbicide being washed off by rain after spraying. Many glyphosate plant protection products also contain surfactants of various types and concentrations that improve leaf absorption, retention and coverage.

Last update: 19 June 2013