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Where Do I Go For No GMO?
updated: Oct 07, 2012, 10:14 AM

By Edhat Subscriber

Now that there is scientific proof of the health dangers of GMO food, and we have GMO labeling on the ballot (prop 37), do we have any completely GMO free restaurants in Santa Barbara?

Comments in order of when they were received | (reverse order)

COMMENT 328818	2012-10-07 10:18 AM
wow, that sounds like important scientific proof. care to share it? my guess would be no, and if they tell you yes they are probably lying or misinformed... but what do I know, I probably have a GMO addled brain
COMMENT 328820P	2012-10-07 10:38 AM
What does "GMO" mean??
COMMENT 328822P	2012-10-07 10:42 AM
According to Forbe's magazine that "scientific" study is flawed. But, even so, everyone should have the right to eat or not eat GMO foods. No, I don't think there is any such restaurant. Prop 37 is flawed, but better than nothing. It needs to pass and then keep fixing it. Whether or not someone chooses to eat GMO foods should be just that, a choice.
COMMENT 328823P	2012-10-07 10:43 AM
GMO - Genetically Modified Organism.
COMMENT 328831	2012-10-07 11:00 AM
It's pretty simple: if it's organic, it's GMO free. If it's not organic and contains any corn or soy product, it probably contains GMOs. That said, that study you're talking about was very flawed and the way they directed reporting was an example of very poor scientific ethics.They refused to allow any other scientists to comment on the study before initial news reports were released. Once anyone who knew anything read the study, it was clear that the results were essentially meaningless.
COMMENT 328832P	2012-10-07 11:01 AM
Sojourner sources ingredients very carefully and uses mostly organic. Ask at Adama and Alchemy Arts, as well. Doubt that it's easy to run a commercial kitchen and avoid GMO altogether - alas. Monsanto and their ilk have let too many genies out of bottles - or petri dishes. Look at the piece in the LATimes about ocean acidification and shellfish, as well.
COMMENT 328833P	2012-10-07 11:02 AM
Call me cynical, but I perceive an attempt to start a pro-Prop.37 thread here.
COMMENT 328841	2012-10-07 11:15 AM
831... "organic" has nothing to do with whether a food is GMO or not. Genetically modified means that the plant's DNA has been altered to promote some trait (color, disease resistance, etc.) A GMO seed stock can be grown organically or not. (though if some kind of resistance to pests is "bred" into the plant then one might consider that a GMO plant might be more likely to be organic since fewer pesticides might be needed) :)
COMMENT 328844	2012-10-07 11:19 AM
Scientific studies or not, to me, its a question of ethics. In this day and age it is just about impossible to escape the seeds, which is why the push for GMO/non GMO sectors in agriculture doesn't really have a "live and let live" aspect. Those that have crops with modified genetics are inadvertently affecting all other surrounding crops, which is wrong.
COMMENT 328846	2012-10-07 11:22 AM
Organic foods cannot by GMO by definition.
COMMENT 328852	2012-10-07 11:28 AM
OP here; not trying to start 37 thread, just wondering if there is ONE restaurant that is GMO free! I have been avoiding GMO for years. It is hard, expensive and prevents eating out at all. We would like to go out and feel like we are being fed healthy food like our great grandparents ate, not Monsatan Frankenfood. Organic items cannot contain GMO by the way, but not all GMO free food is organic. The choice to eat pesticide and GMO is still (at this time) an individual choice and it may be a mechanism of Natural Selection.
COMMENT 328858	2012-10-07 11:35 AM
A study questioning corporate malfeasance discredited by Forbes a business centric mag? Call me cynical but that's like asking the good folks at Fox to rate liberal reports against the conservative candidate. Flawed or not I don't trust the article in Forbes to be even handed about Monsanto.
COMMENT 328868	2012-10-07 12:04 PM
841 here. Thank you for the correction. I thought Certified Organic was entirely about fertilizer/pesticide use. I learned something. Thanks.
COMMENT 328882	2012-10-07 12:37 PM
There are only a few GMO crops grown on a commercial basis in the US: corn, soy, canola, sugar beets, papaya, and zucchini (plus alfalfa and cotton, but you don't eat those). More than 80% of those first five are genetically modified, but if you avoid those foods, you should be fine.
EMUWREN1	2012-10-07 12:38 PM
There's a great, easily understood and disturbing video on YouTube: "Genetic Roulette." It is over an hour long, but I recommend it to anyone who wants to learn more about GMO and rGBH (recombinant Bovine Growth Hormone). If you value your health and that of your loved ones ---- Please watch the video. Go Organic! Stop feeding your kids non-organic foods. Vote "yes" on 37 on Oct 2 (or earlier by mail). Top 10 GMO foods are: soy/soybeans, corn, sugar from sugar beets, cottonseed oil, Aspartame, papayas, canola oil, dairy products, zucchini and yellow squash.
JUKINJAY	2012-10-07 12:45 PM
I'm pretty sure that Mary's Secret Garden in Ventura is 100% GMO-free. Delicious food, a bit pricey.
COMMENT 328888	2012-10-07 12:54 PM
This is a good question and suggests that organic restaurants may want to create a GMO-free logo to prominently display and advertise so that customers know where to take their dollars. If you want to avoid GMO crops/foods stay away from: corn, soy (85-90% of US soy is GMO), potato, tomato, salmon (google it), canola oil, rapeseed oil, and others that you can find online, as the list is always changing and expanding.
COMMENT 328896P	2012-10-07 01:05 PM
@882 You forgot that cottonseed oil is used in many food products now. You also forgot about dairy and Aspartame. Plus, writing, ". . .if you avoid those foods, you should be fine." isn't the best advice. Avoid those foods IF they're not labeled organic and/or Non-GMO. It's pretty difficult to "avoid" a lot of GMO foods. I returned my newly purchased 2-litre bottle of Wesson Oil, after I got it home and realized it was pure soybean oil. The powdered sugar I bought at the market (couldn't find the C & H Pure Cane) turned out to be made from sugar beets. I called one well-known maker of ricotta cheese. I was told the company purchases its milk "from a co-op," and if there's no label on the container reading "Non- GMO," well . . . then . . . yeah, there's rGBH in the ricotta. Corn chips, all dairy products, even many of the "veggie" meats (soy) are all tainted with GMO. Papayas, for crying out loud. Zucchini? No wonder we are all having health problems.
COMMENT 328918	2012-10-07 01:47 PM
833, I would use paranoid as well as cynical to describe you since you asked. Where's your answer to the question posted? You and your ilk is why I won't donate a dime to this site, although I had wanted to. In this thread there are only a few real answers and mostly snarky bunk and passive-aggressive nonsense. Reading this comment, is it working for ya? Go watch the news on Fox. The site should be renamed Rants and Raves w/o cuss words. Oh is this all off topic and snarky? Just tryin' to get with the program here. Predict site demise in less than one year.
COMMENT 328927P	2012-10-07 02:22 PM
@918: My answer is this: a lot of Southern Californians, and Santa Barbarans in particular, think that by avoiding eating anything that's remotely bad for them or controversial they will live forever. (a) That's never gonna happen. (b) Most of the stuff that the Chicken Littles of the world worry about will later be scientifically proven to be safe. When I die it's going to be with a forkful of tritip in one hand and a salt shaker in the other. I think that Prop.37 is a terrible idea.
COMMENT 328929P	2012-10-07 02:40 PM
Oh for gods sake just go out and eat. You are not going to die, destroy the planet or cause global warming. Choose a reputable restaurant that serves high quality food and you will be fine. Downeys and Louie's are two of the best. If you are truly concerned then grow your own food....
COMMENT 328932	2012-10-07 02:51 PM
@927 no, it's vastly more complex than that. The existence of chemicals, GMO foods, and environmental toxins have greatly compromised my health and that of my young child. I would love to have taken scores of trips abroad for all of the dollars I've spent on alternative healthcare, organic food, supplements, and therapies, many of which have helped to mitigate symptoms triggered by environmental exposures. No, it's not in "my head". I have a much fuller life than most (board affiliations, volunteer work, etc) even having health limitations that were imposed by the bad choices of the generations before mine which have left countless environmental health horrors behind. If you're old and healthy it's probably because you were a fetus before the existence of GMOs, BPA, DDT, PCBs, flame retardants, etc.
EMUWREN1	2012-10-07 02:55 PM
OOPS. Gigantic OOPS. Actually, I put "Vote Oct 2" in there on purpose----to see if anyone was reading my comment. NOVEMBER 6 is when we vote. So, PLEASE vote "Yes" on 37 on NOVEMBER 6, or earlier, if you're voting mail-in. Thank you. And to 927, 929: Eating Non-GMO has a lot to do with one's quality of life. If you watch "Genetic Roulette" on YouTube, you will see how our bodies are not programmed to deal with these GM organisms. Also, a large part of good health is having a positive outlook and good attitude. It doesn't hurt anyone to be better informed about the "fuel" that one is putting into one's body.
COMMENT 328936	2012-10-07 03:00 PM
@932 appears to have caught the vapors. The GMO scare is just another in the long line of hysterias to sweep our first world country. I'm sure last year you were all palpitating over the gluten crisis.
REXOFSB	2012-10-07 03:14 PM
Every time a rat dies in a laboratory we lose something else good to eat.
COMMENT 328963	2012-10-07 03:57 PM
936: It is still a matter of choice. GMO crops copyrighted by companies like Monsanto are technically "property" of that company. Meaning that if you get a cross of GMO and non GMO cotton and you are an organic cotton farmer, Monsanto can sue you for capitalizing on their product. Things like this are not meant to be meddled with, and are certainly not meant to me monopolized. It's simply an area that you can't control, let alone say you own. Most turn away because it doesn't affect them, but for the farmers that attempt to do it the natural, old fashioned way, its detrimental to their business.
COMMENT 328966	2012-10-07 04:18 PM
936 No, no, and no. If I eat food with any form of US-grown corn in it, I get horrible crippling intestinal pain (and other intestinal symptoms I won't go into). I haven't had this my whole life; it started around the mid '90s. When I went to Europe in the late '90s I found I had no trouble at all eating corn products there and that's how I figured out the source of the pain. Does corn intolerance have anything to do with celiac disease? No. Was I concerned at any time that I had celiac disease? No (and apparently you can't read minds or parse facts or escape stolid willful ignorance). Does not eating US-grown GMO corn solve the crippling intestinal pain problem? Yes.
COMMENT 328972	2012-10-07 04:44 PM
OP Here- There are some very interesting responses, and I do think some local restaurants will go this route though it must cost more. We love our Tri tip and salt as long as it's grass fed and the salt is not evaporated from polluted bay water. That is real food (unless you have a salt problem). The term buyer beware has never been more appropriate. It appears that more than 20% of Whole Foods products contain GMO's. It must be labelled GMO free or be organic.
COMMENT 328976	2012-10-07 04:52 PM
Selling synthetic 'frankenfood' to unsuspecting consumers is the hallmark of large entrenched American business interests. Labeling will allow consumers, many that have health issues with synthetic food substitutes, to identify and avoid foods they have problems with. Information is power, and in this case, the power to stop consuming food that our bodies haven't adapted to. Those that don't care about what they consume, shouldn't care there's a GMO label either.
COMMENT 328977P	2012-10-07 04:52 PM
936, on Friday the US Supreme Court agreed to review a case of a farmer who planted both GMO and non-GMO seeds. Just like 936 said. You might want to read up on this issue.
AUNTIE S.	2012-10-07 05:16 PM
Completely agree with 927and 929 (and probably others). Relax, everybody. It ain't gonna kill you.
COMMENT 328994	2012-10-07 05:40 PM
Auntie, I'll be 53 next month and until this year I would agree with you. But I've looked into it and I know it's not going to affect me, but it will my niece, nephew and my friends with kids. And I am relaxed, I've been smoking weed for 30 years.
SHOREBIRD	2012-10-07 05:45 PM
GMO food is the food of the future. It's tasty and generally has a longer shelf life.
COMMENT 329006	2012-10-07 06:22 PM
@976 - thank you! It comes down to virtually one company: Monsanto. Monsanto controls the market for GMO crop seeds that resist its other product Roundup. Monsanto also produces rGBH and rBST (bovine growth hormones). Monsanto also produced DDT, PCBs, and Agent Orange. This information is easily confirmed.
COMMENT 329008P	2012-10-07 06:33 PM
On May 19th, the American Academy of Environmental Medicine (AAEM) called on "Physicians to educate their patients, the medical community, and the public to avoid GM (genetically modified) foods when possible and provide educational materials concerning GM foods and health risks."[1] They called for a moratorium on GM foods, long-term independent studies, and labeling. AAEM's position paper stated, "Several animal studies indicate serious health risks associated with GM food," including infertility, immune problems, accelerated aging, insulin regulation, and changes in major organs and the gastrointestinal system. They conclude, "There is more than a casual association between GM foods and adverse health effects. There is causation," as defined by recognized scientific criteria. "The strength of association and consistency between GM foods and disease is confirmed in several animal studies." http://www.responsibletechnology.org/gmo-dangers/health-risks/articles-about-risks-by-jeffrey-smith/Doctors-Warn-Avoid-Genetically-Modified-Food-May-2009
COMMENT 329026	2012-10-07 07:28 PM
Shorebird, you must be thinking of the classic movie, "Soylent Green." (wink)
COMMENT 329033	2012-10-07 07:50 PM
And "natural" hormones women are so willing to ingest or smear on their bodies also come from soy. And do you really know if your pot is organic?
NATURE BOY	2012-10-07 08:23 PM
A point of view worth listening to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tIvNopv9Pa8
NATURE BOY	2012-10-07 08:35 PM
Unless you and your family are starving, you need to SHUT the hell UP. Please view this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tIvNopv9Pa8
MESAJIM	2012-10-07 11:25 PM
Dear OP: "Frankenfood" just made me spit coffee all over my laptop! I LOVE it! Can't believe I've never heard that term before. Thanks for the laugh. Now I'm off to find a towel...
SHOREBIRD	2012-10-07 11:39 PM
Dan, hey somebody's got to eat it. I don't have any problems eating GMO. I like the idea of irradiated food too. It kills the bugs then fades away. (My tin foil hat is at the cleaners)
COMMENT 329099	2012-10-08 07:03 AM
I find this helpful when picking out fruit. The numbers on the little sticker on each fruit bears important information: 5 digits starting with 9-XXXX = Organic; 5 digits starting with 8-XXXX = GMO GE; 4 digits XXXX = Conventionally grown contains Pesticides
COMMENT 329107	2012-10-08 07:22 AM
OP here- It IS an individual choice, as evidenced by the Monsanto employee cafeteria policy. GMO-free meals at Monsanto Remember the notice at a Monsanto staff canteen stating the decision "to remove, as far as practicable, GM soya and maize from all food products served in our restaurant. We have taken the above steps to ensure that you, the customer, can feel confident in the food we serve." According to Tony Coombes, the company's spokesperson, "Yes, this is the case, and it is because we believe in choice." They bow to the concerns of their employees (who might know a thing or two about the crops), but they fight labeling and the right to be informed consumers.
COMMENT 329147	2012-10-08 08:55 AM
Oh come on and smarten up! We have been eating modified food strains for generations. How do you think yields of crops have kept pace with populations?
COMMENT 329178	2012-10-08 09:33 AM
dan39 i love that you worked a soylent green comment into this conversation! one of my all time fave movies (: "soylent green is people!"
GRANNYFRANNY	2012-10-08 09:33 AM
When I hear the anti-Prop 37 ads boldly announcing "Paid for by Monsanto (etc.)" that's enough for me, folks.
SEEDLADY	2012-10-08 09:57 AM
How about the Goodland cafe-kitchen In Goleta on Magnolia? They teach Fairview Garden's cooking classes there. Good chow. 147-- GMO's are not the simple hybrids which both Nature and Man have been producing over the centuries. GMO's introduce foreign DNA from one unrelated organism to another. This can produce unwanted and unanticipated side effects. (pollen from chemically treated plants accidentally killing pollinators) . The big concern with GMO foodstuffs is that most of the commodity crops (raised in millions of acres, like corn, soy, wheat, sugar beets, etc) are gentically modified to withstand heavy use of potent weed killers. This allows crops to survive when the field is sprayed, yet weed crops are killed. Saves farmers $$ from having to mechanically remove weeds. Monsanto modifies the seed it sells, then sells the chemical used on the seeds' crops. The weed killer is bio-accumuling from soil, air and water contamination, leading to high concentrations within the plant tissue. The weed killer is RoundUp, Monsanto's "miracle" herbicide, and it has been found to be causing worldwide fertility decreases, and increases in aborted fetuses, both human and domestic food animal. This began to be noted first by large animal vets in the late 90's after GMO crops got into the feedlot food streams. Fetal mortality now runs from 40% to 70% in dairy herds. General animal infertility (faliure to produce a fetus) attributed by GMO feed crops is already 15%. For a good understanding of problems with GMO RoundUp Ready crops, watch this youtube as Dr. Don Huber, ( 35 yr professor at Purdue University specializing in microbial toxicity and host/parasite relationships) explains the scientific ramifications of GMO-asociated RoundUp ("glyphosate"). Listen to the introduction, then listen to the last 10 minutes. I think it may open eyes to the extent of the danger with GMO's. http://www.youtube.com/watch? v=X4swW9OFmf8
COMMENT 329204	2012-10-08 10:06 AM
Sorry to chime in about P37. Please read the California Voter Guide, specifically page 112, Sec. 4, Enforcement. Be sure you read the very last sentence on page 112. You'll understand who really is behind this proposition. Call it a wolf in sheeps clothing, like most propositions. This bill is about giving a bad industry a new venue for making a lot of money. If this bill was written properly, it would define "non-GMO", like how "Organic" is defined. Those who sell food which meet the non-GMO guidelines can label their products as such. This is a major advertising boon to those companies. As it stands now, many will opt to use a label saying their food may contain GMO products which dilutes the GMO part of this proposition to prevent them from being sued for no reason.
COMMENT 329211	2012-10-08 10:17 AM
Dan's been smoking weed for over 30 years. Something to be truly proud of Dan. Thank you for sharing.
COMMENT 329215	2012-10-08 10:20 AM
328966 - You pain is all in your head. Where do you think Europe gets most of their corn? Go see a shrink.
COMMENT 329225	2012-10-08 10:37 AM
@882- cottonseed oil is one of the commonly used hydrogenated oils in the 'mixed vegetable oils' in processed foods, and alfalfa is used as an ingredient in many livestock feed mixes, which then makes the animal eating it contain some of the GMO residue (Bt toxins for instance) so the alfalfa and cotton GMO crops do actually affect human food. Just FYI. ;)
COMMENT 329288	2012-10-08 12:25 PM
Remember the Chiffon Margarine commercial where they said "it's not nice to fool mother nature..?" well, that was prophetic. So to all of you who encourage us to eat GMO, I say keep eating your GMO if you like. But the rest of us want prop 37.
COMMENT 329385	2012-10-08 03:37 PM
I've found this entire thread entertaining to read up on. It seems abound with "should and should not" - and very little in response to the OP's question To the OP: Given that GMO labeling is not required, it is unlikely that you will find any restaurant that is truly "GMO Free" - perhaps certain dishes, but not a whole restaurant. The cost of sourcing ingredients would likely outweigh the uptick in business. If it's not personal for the owner, it likely won't happen. To the Pro-37 crowd that infects every rational discussion of food labeling - your fanaticism is the reason most people think you're all crazy. When you speak about "toxins" and flawed scientific studies like they're fact, you harm your point far more than you help it.
COMMENT 329413	2012-10-08 04:15 PM
@215 The information below from a website on commodities, shows that being able to eat corn in France but not being able to eat US corn is not "in your head". France does NOT IMPORT ANY CORN FROM THE US as France is the THIRD LARGEST EXPORTER OF CORN IN THE WORLD. Your assertions are pure lies. Monsanto can afford hundreds, if not thousands, of paid shills. "France is the sixth largest producer of corn in the world, averaging a production of 14,791 TMT. Average French corn consumption is 7,774 TMT. Due to its large production average and moderate consumption level, France is the third largest exporter of corn in the world. In France corn is grown throughout the entire country..."
FLICKA	2012-10-08 05:13 PM
One commenter 'doesn't pay this site" because of what is posted. Why, in heavens name, bother reading it? Crazy excuse to read free!
COMMENT 329490	2012-10-08 08:40 PM
Silvergreens tries to pass itself off as prudent, trendy and caring.

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