TBF 050 :: GMO vs. Non-GMO Feed, a Brief Farm Update, and a Hard Lesson Learned

Don't forget about the upcoming Practical Farmers of Iowa Farminar featuring "The Beginning Farmer," Ethan Book.

Tuesday, February 18th 7:00 - 8:30 PM CST "Making Niche Pork Work for You at Any Scale"

  If you are interested in farming or the world of food in general you have probably heard something about Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs). It is a topic of debate for many in the food and farming industries, and it is even something that crosses my mind from time to time. In fact, it is a topic that I have been thinking a lot about lately. To be completely honest I have actually been thinking about whether or not it would be a good thing for our farm to make the transition to Non-GMO feeds for our farm. I can't explain exactly why this is a direction that I began thinking about, because honestly I haven't paid much attention to the debate. Maybe it is just my contrarian attitude or maybe it is because my "gut" is just telling me to think about it. Either way I wanted to take some time on today's show to talk a little bit about my thoughts on the possible move from GMO hog/chicken feed to a ration using Non-GMO grains. In fact I didn't just want to stumble my way through 20 minutes of talking about something I knew very little about so I decided to do some research. The fruits of my reading research are in the links below, but to be completely honest I don't know if any one article convinced me completely of anything ... except for maybe one ...

Ethan's Amazing Research on the Topic of GMO vs. Non-GMO Feed From the First Three Pages of the Google Search Results

• "A long-term toxicology study on pigs fed a combined genetically modified (GM) soy and GM maize diet" :: This is the study that many of the articles linked below reference.
• "Look who's squealing now: GMO lovers freak over new study of sick pigs" :: This one is from Grist.org and if you really want to see what the debate is about (or at least some of it) check out the comments below the article.
• "GMO pigs study -- more junk science" :: An article by Mark Lynas on his own website ... you might find the title of the article gives away the content.
• "Evidence of GMO harm in pig study" :: In this article your will find the pictures of the pigs stomachs from the original study linked above.
• "GMO Feed Left Pigs With Higher Stomach Inflammation, Study Reports" :: From the Huffington Post and another article with a long comment string at the bottom of the page
• "Farmer says pigs' health improved after switch from GMO to non-GMO feed" :: Finally an article that isn't about the recent study. This one gives a brief summary of one Danish farmer's experience with transition to non-GMO soybean meal.
• "Lack of care when choosing grains invalidates pig feeding study" :: Back to a discussion of the "study" ... and back to the title giving away the complete thesis of the article, but I still read it and you might find it helpful (or not ... no promises).
• "Proof That GMOs Really Are Unhealthy" :: This short article comes from Rodale News and is another look at the results form the Danish farmer mentioned above.
• "Bad science about GMOs: It reminds me of the anti vaccine movement (revisited)" :: And ... we're back to the study and the fact that in this bloggers opinion it is "bad science".

Here is the article that made the most sense to me ... at least when it came to my unscientific mind.

• "The Post-GMO Economy" :: From "Modern Farmer" this article talks about a farmer in my general neck of the woods who has made the switch from GMO crops to Non-GMO crops ... mostly from a financial point of view.

As you can tell from reading the articles you can find all sorts of evidence to prove either side of the argument, which is why I've come to the conclusion that sometimes you just need to go with your gut and the experience of those that you trust ... or at least that is what I lean on sometimes. Finally, here is the link to the blog post from farmer/listener Chris who took the time to e-mail me this week.

• "Differences, Samerences and Changerences for the Future ... erences" from Chism Heritage Farm

As always, I want to thank you so much for listening and supporting the show with your encouragement and reviews on iTunes! I am continually working to produce a better show, and I'm thankful for all of the listeners sticking with me as I learn. If you do enjoy the show, don't forget that you can subscribe on iTunes and leave a five star rating and review (by clicking the link). If you are an Android phone user you can also subscribe on the free Stitcher App. It is so very encouraging to know that people are listening and enjoying the show!

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