Local and organic pyrogies are now available at our stores. Plant-based (vegan) varieties coming soon.
Local and organic pyrogies are now available at our stores. Plant-based (vegan) varieties coming soon.
October is Non-GMO Month. A month about raising awareness of the GMO/biotech industry and what is being done to our food.
What is the importance of choosing organic? Check out this video and decide which potato you would like to eat or serve to your family.
As many people are aware – fruits and vegetables that you buy from grocery stores (like Earth’s General Store) have little plastic stickers on them. These stickers carry information on them – mostly to help store staff identify and correctly price these items.
The numbering system is controlled by the International Federation of Produce Standards. This is the organisation that create and control the 4 digit base code for produce. This four digit code is called a Price Lookup Code or PLU for short. This four digit code can provide information to the retailer to let them know the difference between a field and a hot house tomato. The little sticker can also have added information on it like which country it comes from. And there is more…
A woman was in the store last week who had just come over here from Planet Organic, where she had asked this same question of two of their staff. ‘Do your products contain GMOs?’ One person told her that if it contained corn from the USA it had GMO even if it was labelled organic. The other person said that if it were labelled organic or NON-GMO Project Verified it does not have GMO ingredients. She was confused with their answer and came over to ask me. I think she was pleased with the thoroughness of my answer.
People often ask me whether certified organic food has GMOs and I say – “no”. This is a qualified “no” insofar that the grower starts with land that has not had any synthetic fertilizer or pesticides on them for a minimum of three years, the soil has been enriched with organic matter (compost), had the soil tested and their records reviewed by a certification board, and the seeds they placed into the soil were seeds that were not genetically modified/genetically engineered. BUT, that does not mean that after going through this whole process that the crop is then not contaminated by seeds dispersed into their fields by birds/animals or the pollen blown into their fields. The grower did not start off with the intention of having GMOs in their product. I don’t think they should be tarred with the same brush of a crop that is grown on land that has used synthetic herbicides/pesticides and planted with GMO seeds.
Many years ago tobacco companies denied that their product was a cause of many illnesses and were not addictive. This denial tactic was used as a delaying tactic so that they continue racking in the huge profits that their industry provided them and their shareholders. Besides denying the connection between tobacco and illnesses these corporations also brought expert witnesses to the debate confused the issue for the average citizen. These tobacco companies were smart and diversified their holding with the huge profits they made from the tobacco portion of their corporation. Kind of like a mob boss buying a legitimate business to launder their other ill gotten gains and look somewhat respectable.