Bworley, who maintains the garden? I don't know if you have organic nurseries over there but here I assume that plants from nurseries may have been sprayed. Once they're in my garden they don't get sprayed. Has your landlord actually said he wants to use non-organic plants? Is he talking about ornamentals? I think the important thing is what happens once they are planted. Hopefully you are responsible for the maintenance of the whole garden, not just your veggies, and you can choose not to use chemicals. I am against GMO's too. I thought, like some people have said, the GMO plants are crop plants for large farms not people's gardens. I would hope if they start releasing GMO plants for the home gardener they would be required to label them as such so people can choose whether they want to buy them. Perhaps you could find out what the labelling laws are in your area. Plants that have been sprayed in the nursery will become organic if you treat them as such. Plants that are GMO, well, hopefully between labelling laws and the test mentioned in Scientific American, consumers will be able to send a clear message by not buying them.

Here are some good studies -- at least from the descriptions there seem to be some well designed ones -- that show some higher nutrient levels in organic foods, and the specific nutrients are named. Some of the studies also demonstrate the higher levels of harmful pesticides in conventional foods, such as the study that measured the levels in the urine of children from two groups, one eating conventional and one eating organic. And the value of organic methods for soil microbiology and carbon sequestration and the like is also mentioned in some studies. I would like to note that the "source" for information in the posts by TMG1 on this thread is primarily a propaganda pamphlet paid for and produced by big AG (it's a circuitous route, which was described to him last year when he was last here touting these fictional "facts" but he didn't believe that his source was inherently flawed, and so he's come back armed with misinformation again.) If anyone really wants to know the route and how the pamphlet came to be sold on Amazon, I can lay it all out again. Here is a link that might be useful: nutritional values, pesticide levels, value to soil in organic foods

A lot of people might use organic methods but live right on top of large farms that use lots of chemicals so these chemicals are within an 1/8 mile or less. I believe as this is just my opinion that this negates any claims that their stuff is chemical free. Runoff is water from rain and melted snow which is not absorbed and captured by the soil, but runs over the ground and in and out of loose soil. Farm runoff is water leaving farm fields because of rain - melted snow - or possibly irrigation methods. As runoff moves, it picks up and carries pollution, which it can deposit into rivers,small ponds, lakes, coastal waters, and underground sources of drinking water. Agricultural runoff include,s pollution from soil erosion, livestock feeding systems, grazing, plowing, animal waste, and herbicides-pesticides, irrigation water, and fertilizer. Pollutants from farming include soil particles, pesticides, herbicides, heavy metals, salts, and nutrients such as excessive nitrogen - phosphorus. Large levels of nitrates from fertilizers in the runoff can infiltrate drinking water I wonder if these so-called organic method gardeners that say they are chemical-free explain this to their customers. All certified organic growers are the proper distance away from farm fields that use lots of different chemicals to prevent cross contamination or at least they should be. When I choose to grow produce for sale I do not mention anything even close to the word organic because I am NOT certified and tested and inspected and licensed ORGANIC If people ask me what chemicals I use for my operation they get all of my information. If they don,t ask I do not say anything because the weed/bug sprays that I use are available over the counter and are legal to use without special fed, or county-govt. permits. Nick

Thank you, Dr. Henry, for that paper on toxic GM-effects on goats. Corn & soybean & canola & cottonseed are genetically modified, the Republic Magazine stated that other grains are safe: "Other than corn, no GM grains are sold on the market. Look for 100-percent wheat pasta, couscous, rice, quinoa, oats, barley, sorghum, and dried beans (except soybeans). Most GM ingredients are products made from the “Big Four:” corn, soybeans, canola, and cottonseed. Sugar beets and 50% of Hawaii papaya are genetically modified." **** from Straw: That's why I buy sugar-cane products, rather than sugar made from beets. I fed my kid those Pepperidge Farm cookies (made from cottonseed oil) and she broke out in rashes and scratched herself bloody. I ate those cookies and had the worst hayfever: runny nose & sneezing. Went shopping yesterday: They had strawberries for $2.50 versus organic strawberries for $3.45. I sniffed both: the organic strawberries was more fragrant, versus the regular with a slight chemical scent. After sniffing both for several times, my nose was in pain (I stuck my nose too close). I realized that it's the pesticides sprayed on that inflamed my nose. My nose burned for hours afterwards Two years ago I tasted grape at the store, and had a tummy ache. Strawberries is known for the most pesticides I'm very sadden by UK’s Daily Mail report that an estimated 125,000 farmers in India have committed suicide because of crop failure and massive debt since planting GM seeds. Recent Center for Human Rights and Global Justice report: "Indian farmers bought genetically modified Bollgard Bt cotton seeds from the Gates Foundation-backed Monsanto corporation ... 85 percent of cotton grown in India being Monsanto-controlled Bt cotton by 2009. However, the seeds were expensive, and spiralling prices (coupled with planting restrictions from the multinationals selling the seeds) led farmers to hefty loans. Almost 300,000 cotton workers have committed suicide to date, some of them by drinking the same insecticides they were sold by multinationals." From Straw: Years ago I watched a documentary film "Seeds of deception" where Mexican agriculture scientists voiced concern with GM seeds corrupting the bio-diversity of local seeds, which are well-adapted to drought and adverse local conditions. Dr. Frank Lipman, from http://www.drfranklipman.com/basic-questions-on-gmos/ stated, "The major benefit of all commercial GMO’s is that they are bred to either tolerate direct application of herbicides and/or have the ability to produce their own pesticides. They have not been bred to increase yield, become drought tolerant, improve nutrition or to have any other benefit to the consumer. So at present they have no health benefit, their benefits are purely economic." *** From Straw: It's about power, money, and control. Politics and economic factors are factors, besides ill health. The vindictive dirt-throwing, defamation attacks against international scientists, and bullying tactics of big corporations made me more sick than the ill-effects of GM-foods. We are saved from our wheat being genetically-modified, thanks to the farmers voicing concerns that our wheat can't be exported, if genetically modified. More from Dr. Lipman: "In Europe, over 175 regions and over 4500 municipalities have declared themselves GM-free zones. And in 2009, Germany along with France, Hungary, Italy, Greece, Austria, Poland and Romania banned Monsanto’s MON 810 GM corn because of its documented dangers to biodiversity and human health. Additionally, states in Australia, regions in New Zealand and Brazil and the countries like Venezuela, Zambia, Sudan, Angola and others, all want to be GM-free.The balanced reporting of the press in Europe of the dangers of GMO’s made a significant contribution to the decision to reject GMO’s. Below link is a detailed list from Republic Magazine on which foods are GM-tainted: Here is a link that might be useful: List of GM foods vs. non-GM This post was edited by Strawberryhill on Sat, Mar 1, 14 at 15:06