What GMOs are at the Grocery Store? My opinion on GMOs.

It is well known that many fruits and vegetables at the supermarket (as well as salmon) are genetically modified. As to whether it's safe or not, I am not sure, but at the same time, it irks me that GMO crops can affect normal varieties through cross-pollination. For example, some of Hawaii's papaya trees are contaminated by GMO, so it would be hard to avoid them at the grocery store. Not to mention, GMO seeds are patented, so farmers have to spend additional money that they wouldn't have to spend if they could save their seed.

Most packaged foods have GMO foods in them, so most people in the US consume GMO products whether they like it or not. If a search is done using the query "Why do people not trust GMO", only pro-GMO articles come up. That makes no sense, as I would expect to see at least some reasons from anti-GMO writers on the web on page 1. Scientific studies are unanimous on the finding that GMOs are perfectly safe (no surprise there), which is what many of these pro-GMO folks lean on. Although this is reassuring to those who have to consume GMO products due to convenience, availability, or price, science is not perfect, and GMOs are still relatively new on the grand scale of agriculture.

Regardless, if I am growing my own food, and non-GMO seeds are available at low cost, why not non-GMO? The most common modification is to make the plant more resistant to herbicide or Round -up. Do you really want to eat pesticides? The other reasons, like making a crop more productive, drought resistant, or disease resistant, are more noble, but then again, there are plants that are suited to each area. This is the problem with centralized, big farming, with not enough people growing their own food in their backyards. Making a crop sweeter is another thing that contributes to a sweet tooth that many in the US, including me, have a problem with. Some sweet is okay, but super sweet? I beg to differ.

If you are a small area, you can just have one cash crop that grows well in your area, without having to worry about it being drought resistant, or disease resistant. Some plant varieties are naturally that way. Wheat was altered to be more productive, but it is now less nutritious. It is debated whether this contributed to the rise of gluten allergies as well. At the very least, I want to grow things that require the least effort from me, with good yields. So far, kale and tomato can handle the heat excellently.

According to the Monsanto website,  the 10 varieties are: corn, soybeans, cotton, alfalfa, sugar beets, canola, squash, papaya, potato, and apple. I recall hearing that some strawberries have been crossed with fish DNA to create a more freeze-resistant strawberry, and that those are the large but flavorless variety seen at stores in the off season, but I am not sure on that.

For me, what I like about GMO the least is that animal DNA and plant DNA are possibly crossed. Couldn't they just stick with crossing plant DNA?

Even though organics are sold, they could easily be GMO fruits and veggies without use of pesticides, so if I saved seeds from them, I am not sure the plant that grows will be non-GMO. There's also no guarantee that what you grow will not be crossed with a GMO crop someone else is growing, so one can't be too concerned about things, at least in this world.

Why I love (and hate) Knitting

Image courtesy of Apolonia / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Knitting is one of my most favorite hobbies. In fact, I knit all the time. I just love to make things for myself, while watching shows. Since I don't have a job right now, it's nice to be able to make your own sweater for 16 dollars (versus paying 30 bucks or more for a new one). However, I also hate it. Why, you ask?

1. It's time consuming. I knit slowly, and that means it takes me longer to knit something that takes a person one day. And I knit most of the day, since I'm unemployed.
2. Due to my own failure.  I make way too many mistakes when knitting, and end up having to do rows over repeatedly. For example, I completed one of the sleeves for a sweater I'm working on, only to find out that near the beginning I skipped a row on the pattern. Since it's really bothering me, I'll probably go back and do it over. But that was days spent, now in the gutter.
3. I can't do it for long. I have to take breaks or I get bored or my hands start hurting. However this is only a minor problem, as I can go do something I'm supposed to be doing, like the online drawing class homework.
4. The right yarn for a project costs too much. Yes, acrylic yarn is the most affordable, and thus 95% of my stash is acrylic. The roughness of the yarn doesn't bother me that much, mostly because I don't use lotion so my hands are tougher than most. Cotton is much more expensive for less, but I have a bit to try and make a cotton jacket and socks. The other varieties are out of my price range, sadly. I also feel bad, because there's not much I can do with acrylic, since I have no use for scarves or hats (it never snows where I live, and the coldest it gets at night is 40 degrees F).

The most irritating of these reasons is #2. I want to learn how to knit faster without making so many mistakes (and maybe get in the habit of checking my work repeatedly to catch errors faster). If so, I would be less frustrated with knitting and like it more.

As a side note, I want to open an etsy shop, but I have no idea what would be good to sell. I'm thinking about selling small and affordable items, like hats, plushies, phone keychains (knitted), or bracelets. However, I am wondering if people would buy them, because I know it is hard to advertise and be noticed. Once I get more ideas, I will make another post.