Another Reason to Grow Your Own

[hoodat]

Considering the knowledge level of your average dietician....

"Don't eat saturated fat even though we evolved over millions of years to thrive on it. Don't eat meat even though, without meat, we wouldn't have developed our big human brains. But be sure to eat lots and lots of newly developed grains that are basically just sugar. That will make you healthy!"

And always remember. GMO is good for you. When we get done GMOing all the plants, you're next.

 

[ducks4you]

hoodat, I THINK "stress" might not describe the appropriate treatment of plants, to which we, as backyard gardeners, expose them. I believe that, like my GM often said, "everybody gets to eat a peck of dirt in their life." When animals and plants are exposed to the elements, both of them develop their own resistances, or they die and cannot pass on weak genes. Those that survive are stronger and live to breed stronger of the same.
My biggest beef with Genetically created plants are the ability to crossbreed, but the inability to create seeds for following generations to use. My goodness, I had a little tomato patch going for several years by my garage because I had laid down a couple of harvested tomatoes there, and forgot them. It really took some effort to get them to stop growing there.
As MUCH as a disagree with throwing unorthodox genes into animals and plants (like "Spider Goats"
http://www.i-sis.org.uk/spidergoat.php )
what could be MUCH worse is to find that seeds refuse to grow because of that modification. I guess we'll be eating algae, if that happens!!
DD reminded me of a comedy skit where the "President" gave the 10 top scientists in the world cancer, and asked them to find a cure, and they found 10 cures in less than 3 months!!

 

[boggybranch]

"Don't eat meat"............oh yea, I see that happenin' for me........NOT.

 

[wifezilla]

They would have to pry the steak from my cold dead hands

 

[hoodat]

Meat is a way of converting the inedible to the edible. You can't eat the grass on a dry prarie that can't be farmed but a cow can and you can eat the cow.

 

[elf]

I take exception to the statement that organic gardeners and farmers stress their plants. I have some tomatos over 6 feet high and still growing with no sign of disease and loaded with maters. That doesn't sound like a stressed plant to me.

I thought that was an odd statement too.

"By avoiding synthetic fertilizers, organic farmers put more stress on plants, and when plants experience stress, they protect themselves by producing phytochemicals," explains Alyson Mitchell, PhD, a professor of nutrition science at the University of California, Davis.

Just because you don't use pelleted chemical fertilizers, doesn't mean your plants aren't getting what they need. And just because you do use them doesn't mean they are getting everything they need either. It's not like they supply tilth to the soil or trace minerals. What on earth do they think plants were grown on before you could buy fertilizer in a bag? If you want to "stress" them, just stop watering them for a bit! Really, that made no sense at all. I don't find that to be a reasonable explanation for it. However, the comment is coming from a dietitian, not a botanist.

Well, at any rate, they say the "stress" or whatever organic gardening does for the plants is a GOOD thing, supplying phytochemicals which are good for the plants and for us. I'm not sure how they think the plants are stressed into producing them, but I guess it could be because the plants may have to work a little more intaking nutrients from some slow to break down organic foods. Kinda like for humans, the difference between white and whole wheat flour, or Instant Breakfast and a high fiber unprocessed breakfast. A certain amount of stress is supposed to be good for us (exercise is stress), so I guess plants need it, too; cold hardening seedlings as an example.

My guess as to why the commercially grown foods show less nutrients would be the long term use of fertilizers only supplying the three main nutrients, while our soil has become too depleted over time to supply the micronutrients that organic fertilizers may help replenish. I have heard it said that people should take supplements derived from the ocean, because there are certain micronutrients there that no longer exist on land. They supposedly all washed away. So ocean vegetables are good for us because of that. Too bad I don't like them.

Another factor could be commercial selection of varieties based largely on shipping qualities, shelf life, uniformity, size, bug resistance, and visual appeal. One of the tomato varieties popular for shipping is called "Red Rock", I've heard. I wonder how nutritious it is. It doesn't sound too tasty.

A lot of the produce I've bought at groceries lately has been picked too early, going straight from green to rotten. So, it never got time to develop all of it's potential. According to a recent thread, posters say that heirloom tomatoes take longer to produce full-swing and have fewer tomatoes than the Big and Better Boys and Girls, although the consensus was that the heirlooms tasted better. So, guess what's sold in the groc.? It would be interesting to see a nutritional comparison.