I thought the red in foods, such as berries, meant they contained higher levers of antioxidants. Blueberries being high on the list because they're so dark red they appear blue.
What's the opinion on genetically engineered foods? Wouldn't they absorb more pesticides and be more harmful even though they appear more healthy and robust for the general buying public? Cheaper better yield and longer lasting, yet end up compounding health problems in the years to come.
What about commercial enterprise copyrighting seed variations, and monopolising crops, by making the seeds from the seedlings you purchase, to grow your own veggies, sterile?
The slopes are getting slipperier.
Well, the red pigments in foods do indeed have antioxidant properties. The natural red pigment in red grapes, called resveratrol, I believe, protects the heart. THAT is the substance in wine, ONLY red wine, that makes it protective for the heart. Those heart studies with wine were done with low alcohol content (about 2.5% to 4% I think) RED wine, and the protective effects of the wine has EVERYTHING to do with the red pigment, and nothing to do with the alcohol. In fact, you will get a lot more protective effects from drinking an equal amount of red grape juice than you will from the wine.
I am totally against genetically engineered foods. That is an important reason to but organic. Organic food certification prohibits all genetically engineered ingredients. At least 40% of all soy grown in the US is genetically engineered (which of course is commercially grown) AND THEY DON'T HAVE TO LABEL IT. If you eat any non organically produced soy product, it's probably genetically engineered.
Genetically engineered Stay Fresh tomatoes are engineered with flounder genes, to keep them fresher. That's right, some tomatoes contain fish genetics.
Genetically engineered crops like corn are indeed engineered to withstand more pesticides than non genetically engineered foods, so in that regard, they definitely contain more pesticides.
On the seeds, you are referring to terminator seeds, as opposed to heirloom seeds. Terminator seeds are designed to work for one season, and any seeds produced by that crop are sterile. This is a new invention by drug companies like Monsanto, designed to make them richer. That way, people must buy new seeds every season. Also, should there actually BE any fertile seeds produced by these seeds, it is illegal for the farmers to plant them. Compare that to the fact that farmers have been using heirloom seeds which produce fertile seeds, which are collected from every harvest, to grow the next harvest forever, which has been done for the entire history of the world up until a few decades ago, and you see how ridiculous and corrupt these evil people are that make them. Poor farmers can't always afford to buy seeds, especially in poorer countries.
Also, SHOULD any genetically engineered seeds be blown onto an organic farmers field, they will take root and grow, and then Monsanto can sue them for using their seeds without their authorization! There organic farmers don't want those genetically engineered seeds in the first place, yet farmers are being sued because of this. It's just plain wrong.
Some crops are engineered to be more nutritious, like a rice which is made to have more vitamin A. It does have more vitamin A and is somewhat orange-ish, but someone would have to eat something like 10 bowls of it a day to get their daily requirement. Absurd.
Also, there was a very very dangerous genetically engineered agricultural product which was developed, that seemed harmless, but then it naturally cross bred with something else out in the real world (outside the lab where they couldn't control all the things that happened to it) and when it did, it was so dangerous that if it had continued to spread, it would have completely wiped out the food supply of planet earth. Basically, every animal on Earth would have died. So they burned the fields as completely as possible, burning extra wide, to be certain that none of these mutant seeds escaped. Whew!
If I had never read John Robbin's book, The Food Revolution, I would never have known about it.
