GMO Foods in Jamaica

[captaind & Linston]

Everything on this breakfast came from the yard except the bread.(From Hammond's)

This is how we roll in the hills

Cap

[TAH]

I would just encourage people to do their due diligence. Do a little search on Monsanto and the DOA, the Terminator Gene, and just what the big agri-corps are really doing to agriculture on this planet. There are so many issues to discuss, I couldn't possibly bring them all up. Intensive monoculture is bad, increasing reliance on insecticides are bad, and I believe GMO's in general are not a great thing.

What happened to the banana that was grown up until the 1950's? Wiped out globally by a fungus, because of our poor farming practices. Didn't matter to the companies that caused the problem, they'd just keep packing up shop and moving around the world to new uninfected places until those farms got wiped out too. Then they switched to a new banana, which is again about to be wiped out in the very near future.

Dolla dolla bill yo.

[541lion]

It really sucks when u can't just eat healthy anymore because your vegetables might not be real

[TAH]

They're real, and have real nutrition. The thing is we don't know long term effects. A lot of these new "super" varieties have genes spliced into their dna from other non plant organisms. Not to mention the general loss of flavor in favor of ease of shipping and shelf life. Like I said, lots of issues here to discuss.

[farmer]

Maybe this is a good time to jump in on the discussion.
On our farm we grow over 100 different crops on 140 acres ,selling at 12 farmers markets and over 50 farm to table restaurants .We sign documents
stating we don't grow GMO crops.
Organic regulations state that you cannot use GMO seeds or feed animals that are fed GMO grown crops.
95% of GMO's are used in processed foods soy, corn ,wheat ,canned and frozen vegatables ,animal feeds ( cow,hog, dog , cat ,chicken ) I think you get the picture.
Most of the feed coming to Jamaica for animals is GMO so it would be hard for growers to do without it .
I have been to the farmers market in Negril many times. My guess is 90 % of those crops are local but Chinese garlic was everywhere , Canadian carrots were there too.
As were some of the potatoes . Not to say there weren't local carrots or potatoes . look for smaller crooked carrots ( native ) or more irregular shaped potatoes.
I feel better eating in Jah as there is much less processed food in our diet ,almost no beef , and more fish and chicken( We winter here in Negril)
There is so much info and discussion in society that is not true I find having these talks more often. It would be nice if we weren't fed so much bull on both sides so laypeople can eat without fear anymore. Even though I don't or need to use GMO's I believe they have there place.
There is a corn used in Africa that is drought resistant. Bill Gates group approves of this in their funding for stopping hunger
OK I will save the rest for Negril over a rum and pineapple! Can't wait !
Farmer

[TAH]

I do believe that there are benefits to GMO crops for certain applications. As you said, it isn't all bad, but there are a whole lot of layers to this onion that are tough to really dig into on a travel message board.

[acdc2712]

Wow! I wasn't really expecting this much of a discussion. I most definitely appreciate everyone's input.
We currently live in Charleston, SC and have many local organic farms and most of our locally owned restaurants purchase their produce as well as meat, fish, shrimp from.
When we travel back to Texas I always feel like crap, bloated and it usually takes me about 2 weeks to feel normal again.
It's so unfortunate how tainted our food is and the effect it has on our bodies.

I'm definitely going to enjoy some pineapple and rum! We arrive tomorrow!

[CosmicMoose]

We arrive tomorrow!

If you like seafood, or even if not, I highly recommend going to visit Quality @ his Sea Breeze restaurant, just a stone's throw from Canoe, towards the cliffs and on the other side of the road. Really nice guy, and a terrific cook. I had mahi mahi in a garlic sauce, grilled lobster in garlic butter, and he even slipped me a taste of his jerk chicken. All top notch!

~Moose