Eww!

[vespasia]

Urm going to HAVE to raise this one.
Check where the soya beans used in the soya milk subsititue is sourced.

They have taken to grubbing up vast amounts of rain forest to grow soya beans because the west is willing to PAY for it and like many other commodities produced in third world/second world areas workers are not top of the 'care about' list.

The Uk stuff is clearly marked GM free and if you insist on full ethical soil association quarentees no virgin rainforest has been destroyed.

*feed ethical vegans and the occasional fruitarian!*

 

[Jehane]

And if you want to be really icky I banned my boys fishing & crabbing excursions for seveal weeks after a couple of local fishermen got lost at sea. I just couldn't handle knowing what the crabs & fish had probably been feeding on even though I don't eat seafood myself.

 

[ZiSunka]

Urm going to HAVE to raise this one.
Check where the soya beans used in the soya milk subsititue is sourced.

They have taken to grubbing up vast amounts of rain forest to grow soya beans because the west is willing to PAY for it and like many other commodities produced in third world/second world areas workers are not top of the 'care about' list.

The Uk stuff is clearly marked GM free and if you insist on full ethical soil association quarentees no virgin rainforest has been destroyed.

*feed ethical vegans and the occasional fruitarian!*

In the US, most of the soy beans are grown here. The soy beans in Brazil are mostly exported out to Europe, Australia and Asia. US beans are sent there, too of course, but there are enough bean growers and enough demand for US grown beans that most of the bean products here are home-grown (according to the dearly beloved Joe, who is a bean farmer!).

 

[MrJim]

In the US, most of the soy beans are grown here. The soy beans in Brazil are mostly exported out to Europe, Australia and Asia. US beans are sent there, too of course, but there are enough bean growers and enough demand for US grown beans that most of the bean products here are home-grown (according to the dearly beloved Joe, who is a bean farmer!).

whew, thought I was in trouble there...

 

[ZiSunka]

But most of the beans grown in the US are GMOs.

 

[MadFingerPainter]

But most of the beans grown in the US are GMOs.

um...what's a gmo? ~blinks again~

 

[vespasia]

Genetically Modified Organism.

Man playing at God by taking genes from one species and splicing it into another.

 

[MadFingerPainter]

how are beans genetically modified?

 

[MrJim]

how are beans genetically modified?

Guess they "fix" the plants to grow better and be more disease resistant.

Problem is ya really don't know what else gets changed. Fool around with the dna of something-then maybe it ain't what it started out to be--maybe it's not really good food anymore?

 

[vespasia]

They take sections of one species DNA and remove a section of anotrher then 'splice' the new bit in.

This is NOT the selective breeding as Jacob did with Sheep.

Basic overview here
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/special_report/1999/02/99/food_under_the_microscope/280868.stm

 

[ZiSunka]

how are beans genetically modified?

They add genes that will allow them to resist diseases and pests so less pesticide needs to be used. Also, with the beans, they have a gene that helps them resist the effects of Round-up, a herbicide with very low toxicity to humans and animals. (A cup of coffee is more toxic than a cup of Round-up's active ingredient diluted to the same strength.) That helps farmers produce food that has fewer contaminents.