Dextrose Corn Sugar - GMO

I've been doing some reading about (genetically modified organism) gmo products and I'm worried about the steady influx of these products into the food supply without being labelled as gmo. I understand that corn is mostly gmo and since dextrose corn sugar is used for brewing, I'm wondering if there are some other alternatives. By the way, I'm also reading that gmo beet sugar will be coming out shortly.

As far as I'm concerned, anything to do with gmo is to be avoided.

Any help would be appreciated.

Organic Corn Sugar

If you're into organic brewing this place has most everything you'll need.

dkcan said:

As far as I'm concerned, anything to do with gmo is to be avoided.

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well, you can make the arguement that all the agriculture we have today is the result of gmo. That's how we got corn in the first place a long, long time ago. Granted it was the result of cross polination and not extracting DNA, but IMO the same thing. I'm more worried about mis-labeled "organic" products than gmo crops. I mean, seriously, can you have "organic" produce that's from farms near places like Mexico City, LA, etc?

AZ_IPA said:

well, you can make the arguement that all the agriculture we have today is the result of gmo. That's how we got corn in the first place a long, long time ago. Granted it was the result of cross polination and not extracting DNA, but IMO the same thing.

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Beat me to it. Anti-GMO is sort of like religion...there's absolutely no evidence that modern GMO products have any adverse effects on us, but people still act like it's 'I Am Legend'.

I don't mind GMO foods... as long as they've been irradiated.

AZ_IPA said:

well, you can make the arguement that all the agriculture we have today is the result of gmo. That's how we got corn in the first place a long, long time ago. Granted it was the result of cross polination and not extracting DNA, but IMO the same thing.

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Thanks for saving me the time of typing that...As a molecular biologist, people's ignorance on this topic really frightens me sometimes, almost like letting politicians make decisions on science policy

What exactly will irradiating your GMO foods do for you

As an aside, I've also heard people say they won't eat anything with DNA in it...good luck, and actually spoke with a neurosurgeon (old school to be fair) who thought lettuce didn't have DNA...

cellardoor said:

Organic Corn Sugar

If you're into organic brewing this place has most everything you'll need.

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FYI, organic does not mean GMO-free, in this case, yes, but not for all products. The 'organic' designation just means that no synthetic chemicals were used in farming.

I believe you can also get dextrose from other sources, not just corn. Northern Brewer list Organic Priming Sugar in 5 oz bags. They list it in the catalog as #40098, "Pure dextrose from organic Tapioca", but it's nowhere on the website at the moment. It's on page 12 of the latest beer catalog from NB.

ColoradoXJ13 said:

What exactly will irradiating your GMO foods do for you

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Nothing (hence the )... I was just making the point that they're both controversial for some reason and I don't fear either (under standard conditions). The world is having enough trouble feeding it's 7 billion mouths, it's methods like these that can help without being harmful.

Not to the original poster, but Anti-GMO types have no idea that 90% of all produce these days has been modified genetically. The dutch pioneered the process over a hundred years ago, it is just that these days it is much more "sciency" sounding that cross pollination or selective breeding.

For example broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, kale, kohlrabi, and brussels sprouts are all the same species and look like the do because of selective breeding.

Penn & Teller had a good episode of Bullsh*t about the subject.

Personally I find the fear of GMO way over blown.
I do buy alot of organic foods, because I'd like to see agriculture use less chemicals and be more concerned with soil fertility and other sustainable concerns. However I think that GMO is a mechanism that will allow for more sustainable crops while still continuing to feed the world. Most GMO products allow farmers to use fewer chemical herbicides or to use more effective herbicides with less environmental impact.

Bt corn is resistant to corn borer. This allows the farmer that plants Bt corn to avoid spraying with pesticide to control the corn borer. RoundUp is an effective herbicide that kills green plants that come in contact with it. However it is non toxic to all animals and degrades rapidly after application so it does not get into water systems. RoundUp Ready crops allow the farmer to no-til plant (without plowing) then spray the new seedlings after they sprout. This gives the crop a much bigger head start on weeds in the field and the farmer does not need to use selective herbicides which are more toxic and longer lasting.

Obviously we need to consider the consequences of our choices in GMO but to not use these tools is throwing away tools that can make huge impacts on our ability to produce food for a growing world population.

Craig

use all gmo ingredients, call it "Mutant Brew".

i'm more concerned with the pestilence wiping out genetically modified crops than i am what it might do to my beer.

Well, breeding is a bit different from "Genetically" Modifying an Organism where one can insert a completely foreign gene not present in that species previously. Breeding simply selects for traits already there - GMO's on the other hand can incorporate genes from animals, bacteria, fungi - you name it. Personally, I dont mind eating GMOs they are fine that way - but I dont like supporting the potential backlash of weird genes spreading through our food (these genes dont always stay where they are supposed to) and the fact that farmers end up paying through the nose for GMO corn seeds even if the seed sneak in from a near by field !

GMO's are nothing like high breads, as stated earlier they can have DNA inserted from any source. The testing is shoddy and incestuous at best and not even done at worst. There are some success stories out there (maybe) but for the most part GMO's make lots of money for agro businesses and hurt small farms, variety, and the environment via high hybridization with local plants. There is lots of evidence to make you at least weary of the negative health effects of these largely untested plants (the FDA treats them as high breads and so requires little/ no testing). The media stopped reporting the news years ago. We need less people not frankenfood. Yeah I'm a biologist too.

end rant.

Beware. Thar be necroposters here.

Yargh.

the necroposters must be noobs eating too much "high breads"

Sab said:

the necroposters must be noobs eating too much "high breads"

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says Sab on his 4th post...

Yup, I AM the necroposter noobs eating too much "high breads"

but seriously - do you think any negative health effects (not too sure what they are - any examples?) of GMOs (not hybrids) are greater than simply consuming a carcinogen, namely ethanol i.e. beer?

Honestly thats a great question that I can't answer because there are few reliable studies that have been done to my knowledge. From what I have seen there has been a rise in allergic responses (like Celiac disease) and lots and lots of anecdotal horrible effects. So who knows? At least I know whats in my beer (I think)! I do understand alcohol is carcinogenic, (so are fried potatoes...) it is what it is, people have been drinking for a long time and I feel like odds are on my side so long as I drink with moderation. I just don't like multi-billion dollar business mucking around with my food supply because I know profits will always come before my health.

The root of the anti-GM corn movement is concern about Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis) resistance. Since Bt is considered a "natural" pesticide, "organic" farmers are allowed to use it. It's the only alternative to allowing Nature to have Her way with their crops, which would cut their profits. The concerns are legitimate, but this has mutated into a steaming pile of ignorance.

AZ_IPA said:

well, you can make the arguement that all the agriculture we have today is the result of gmo. That's how we got corn in the first place a long, long time ago. Granted it was the result of cross polination and not extracting DNA, but IMO the same thing. I'm more worried about mis-labeled "organic" products than gmo crops. I mean, seriously, can you have "organic" produce that's from farms near places like Mexico City, LA, etc?

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I think the pro-GMO crowd would be taken more seriously if they would stop with this nonsense argument. You can breed corn to corn for millenia (and people have), and never get caterpillar DNA in there.

Selective breeding and seed saving (which we have done for millennia) is NOT the same as inserting a foreign bacteria/virus into the DNA of a food source, and then make sure it's a "terminator" (read: sterile) so it cannot be saved.

I'm surprised that all of you "intellectuals" seriously eat these "feeding the 7 billion people" and "we've been doing this forever" arguments up.

It's interesting that you've been conditioned to enact mob-mentality when a person is looking out for their health, and truly the health and diversity of the planet.

Psst - this thread is more than three years old ...

Hmm I wonder how the people who started this thread feel about GMOs now? Did their opinions change? Have they been eating GMOs and are they growing any weird butterfly wings on their back?

JonM said:

Psst - this thread is more than three years old ...

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It's approaching 5 years old......

firerat said:

It's approaching 5 years old......

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And the OP's first and only post.

I still feel the same way except there is now more evidence than ever that GMO's are not good for us, farmers, or the planet. Don't get me wrong, the idea is super neat-o but the reality is super horrible. I love digging up old posts!

MadFermenter said:

Selective breeding and seed saving (which we have done for millennia) is NOT the same as inserting a foreign bacteria/virus into the DNA of a food source, and then make sure it's a "terminator" (read: sterile) so it cannot be saved.

I'm surprised that all of you "intellectuals" seriously eat these "feeding the 7 billion people" and "we've been doing this forever" arguments up.

It's interesting that you've been conditioned to enact mob-mentality when a person is looking out for their health, and truly the health and diversity of the planet.

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You do know that pretty much all produce that you eat contains MANY bacteria and viruses,right?

jglazer said:

Hmm I wonder how the people who started this thread feel about GMOs now? Did their opinions change? Have they been eating GMOs and are they growing any weird butterfly wings on their back?

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I certainly do feel smarter for eating them!

HangLoose said:

I still feel the same way except there is now more evidence than ever that GMO's are not good for us, farmers, or the planet. Don't get me wrong, the idea is super neat-o but the reality is super horrible. I love digging up old posts!

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There is no more evidence now than there ever was. The evidence now is the same kind I can use to associate organic produce sales with autism. Correlatve.