“Organic” certified without Seeds?
Perhaps “Writer’s Mental Block” is not a total loss!
After all, one gets a lot done during that period of procrastination. Like checking and responding to email, facebooking, tweeting, and listening to wild dreams of those around you, children!
Oh Yes! You even get to think about the “to-do” list, and finally pay attention to those “pop-up reminders”.
Story of my life!
My Writer’s Mental Block gave me a chance to peruse my iPhoto album. There, I came face to face with “that picture”, that I have been meaning to send for umpteen days. It is a picture of the “Nature’s Promise “Organic” Eggplant that I bought a week ago at our local food store.
I am strongly committed to my health. I am an ardent consumer of all things Organic with a Capital “O”. My understanding is “O” represents all things non-Genetically Modified (GMO), not produced with pesticides, and non-synthetic. It also means the seeds are all natural, ‘free-range” not produced from any laboratory or ‘artificial intelligence’. So, I expect to find seeds in all produce that I purchase.
To my great shock, the “O” Eggplant I bought did not have any seeds in it. Not even one! Yet, the non-GMO certified eggplants I previously bought bore seeds in them. Pas Possible!
I decided to write to the producers, to verify the authenticity of this ‘anomaly’. A non-GMO eggplant without seeds! I searched the www for a phone number or email address of the producers. All that kept coming up was my local food store, Giant. So, I decided to check-out online discussions about “Nature’s Promise” products.
This came up: Are “Nature’s Promise” products safe? on a forum for DC Urban Moms and Dads
The jury is still out! An anonymous writer claimed that “Nature’s Promise” Organic vegetables comes from China. S/he wondered [like I would], how vegetables transported all the way from China would be respectful to the environment, as the packaging claims!
I clicked on another link compiled by Frank M. Painter, D.C., on How To Avoid Food Brands Made With Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs). Indeed, the list includes tips on GM, what to look out for and how to avoid GM purchases. It also includes several manufactures of GM and non-GM products, as well as some certified NON-GMs, associated with or produced in GM environments. On the list: fruits and vegetables; meats, fish and eggs; alternative meat products; diary and alternative diary products; baby foods and infant formula; grains, beans and pasta; cereals and breakfast bars; baked goods; frozen foods; soups, sauces and canned foods; condiments, oils, dressings and spreads; snack foods; candy, chocolate products, and sweeteners; sodas, juices and other beverages; and invisible GM ingredients.
Here is another link on GMO Awareness: about the risk of genetically modified foods (GMOs). It lists favorite and all [or other] GMO-free brands, with useful details on each. Funny, some “Certified GMO-free” also have the reputation of financially supporting legislation opposing mandatory certification in some states! Turns out, my neighborhood food stores like Wegmans, often lauded of their “Non-GMO stand, are not without beyond rebuke for their association with “anti-GMO labeling grocery stores”. Click on the list of more details.
As for me, I finally penned down that letter to Nature’s Promise, and amazingly found out, it is a product of my neighborhood food store – Giant, confirmed through a phone call to my local Giant. Here we go…
I am a committed Giant Foods Customer, and an ardent Organic produce consumer. My understanding of “Organic produce” is that they are grown with no pesticides use, synthetic fertilizers or GMO. I expect that “Organic” products will have seeds in them, just like all the foods I grew up eating before GMO spread.
So, I was pretty shocked when the “Nature’s Promise Organic Eggplant I bought at my local Giant had not a single seed in it.
Please help me understand, how an “Organic” vegetable would have no seeds? I have also read mixed reviews online about “Nature’s Promise”, and quite concerned, if I am indeed getting the quality I seek with extra spending on this and all other “O” products I purchase at my local Giant Food Store. My the Force be with us! Will keep you posted!
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