Are "Nature's Promise" products safe?

[Anonymous]

I just noticed that Nature's Promise "organic" vegetables come from CHINA! On the package they say all Nature's Promise organic products are grown with respect for the environment. How is shipping vegetables from China "respect for the environment"? And do you trust that vegetables from China are organic?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

You can avoid foods from China by buying local. I thought Whole Foods supported local farms but could be wrong. I can't imagine that they import veggies from China though. How is that even cost effective? California, sure, maybe even Mexico, but China?

A lot of the frozen veg at WF are from China. No thank you!

Please give an example!

[Anonymous]

Sure would appreciate any pointers that better define "Nature's Promise" products. I have been given direction by my Dr. to go to a completely non-GMO (Genetically manipulated organisms, i.e. no Monsanto incorporated pesticides in our food) diet. After 40 years of eating (what I thought was) a completely healthy diet (my parents are both medical professionals) of fresh fruits, veggies, lean meats, etc., I have come down with diverticulitis; a nasty digestive condition. My Dr. said it looked like I'd been eating fatty, red meat 3 times a day for 20 years.....not a chance in &^%$ of that. Also a major side effect of GMO altered foods. At this point, I'm growing my own veggies, shopping exclusively at local Farmer's Markets and basically becoming a pseudo-vegetarian as a result of 80% of our food supply being tainted for the last 20 years with "Round-Up" pesticide being incorporated into our food supply with no FDA regulation, labeling or disclosure. Not that the FDA is accountable either. Watch your ballots in November for a GMO-labled foods divestiture choice....we NEED it. Problem is, the current head of the FDA is a former Monsanto Exec....not exactly a comforting thought. The original thought was to change, at the cellular/DNA level, a plant's ability to repel pesticides, provide higher yielding crops, etc........which failed miserably. See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genetically_modified_food. Do the research yourself...ever wonder why so many people are allergic to glutens and peanuts, etc.? Never even heard of it growing up....now Iknow why.

[Anonymous]

FYI - Site that explains which foods are/are not GMO: http://www.chiro.org/nutrition/FULL/Avoid_GMOs.shtml

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What is the issue with Method and Horizon? Very curious.

I don't know what the Method issue is, but hard-core organic folks say Horizon (and other big dairy companies) is not a pure organic set-up. They meet the FDA requirements for organic, but nothing else.

Horizon uses factory farms. Gross.

Method will not list its ingredients which is suspicious. I don't know if there are other issues with Method.

Horizon is super pasteurized so it can travel long distances. It is ridiculous to buy it. It is not as nutritious. even, as commercial milk pastuerized normally. I never buy Horizon. I stick to reasonably local milk that is from either "natural" cows, or "organic" as definied by Calif standards. I am in New England, but Calif definitions are the ones I rely on.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't know why Nature's Promises would be any more or less safe than any other food in are mass food supply chain. It's always on the brink of disaster anyway.

And yet we somehow all survive.

[Anonymous]

And have for the last, oh, more than two and a half years, which is when this thread started.

[Anonymous]

I just want to note, you should buy organic because you KNOW you wont be buying GMO foods. I find penn and teller to be the ones feeding "bullshit". Ironically enough, remember the episode that told us fluoridated water in our tap is better than spring source? Well that episode pretty much did it for me, I wont believe the bs information they've got going on

[Anonymous]

I am in correspondence with Nature's Promise because I noticed they put corn meal in "organic" products which do not normally contain corn meal, like whole grain bread and buttermilk pancake mix. I wanted to know if the corn was non-GMO. Their consumer affairs rep wrote to say that "we cannot guarantee that the crops we purchase have not come in contact with shared farm harvesting equipment, on farm and off farm transportation vehicles, grain elevators and storage silos." In other words, you might just find some pesticides in their products from GMOs even though they are billing everything "organic." I asked if their chickens (from which they make organic chicken broth) are fed GMO corn, waiting reply

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am in correspondence with Nature's Promise because I noticed they put corn meal in "organic" products which do not normally contain corn meal, like whole grain bread and buttermilk pancake mix. I wanted to know if the corn was non-GMO. Their consumer affairs rep wrote to say that "we cannot guarantee that the crops we purchase have not come in contact with shared farm harvesting equipment, on farm and off farm transportation vehicles, grain elevators and storage silos." In other words, you might just find some pesticides in their products from GMOs even though they are billing everything "organic." I asked if their chickens (from which they make organic chicken broth) are fed GMO corn, waiting reply

I thought most farmers used GMO corn because it's more pest-resistant (as well as drought-resistant), and therefore doesn't need as many pesticide applications as non-GMO corn. Herbicides are a different issue. They are modified to withstand Round Up applications.

And even organic corn has some GMO corn in it -- cross-pollination from nearby non-organic farms.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't know why Nature's Promises would be any more or less safe than any other food in are mass food supply chain. It's always on the brink of disaster anyway.

And yet we somehow all survive.

But isn't the point that ALL of us don't survive. A friend has breast cancer at 49, another friend had colon cancer at 50, another friend died at age 59 from a brain tumor that metastasized from breast cancer diagnosed at 55. Many of my friends have a child with a learning disability or full-blown autism, a friend has a child with cancer, diagnosed at age 3.

Our food supply is directly responsible for the outrageously high rates of obesity, high blood pressure, diabetes, and heart disease in our country. These are preventable diseases if people eat healthy food and exercise.

Eliminate all artificial ingredients in food, and we will balance the Federal budget. Medicare and Medicaid costs are exploding due to the cost of treating these costly and preventable illnesses. Big Food, Big Pharma and Big Chemical would scream bloody murder, so it will never happen, unless consumers insist on it. Europeans have far fewer chemicals in their food, but Europeans spend more money and time on food, and they are disgusted by what passes for "food" here in the USA.

I read labels, shop at the farmer's market, ask questions and cook most of my family's food. I no longer trust restaurants, except for a select few I know use fresh, local ingredients. The label "organic" is almost as meaningless as "natural" so I don't rely on that.

I've bought "Nature's Promise" food from time to time, but I scrutinize labels. I doubt it's high quality food, though, but likely is better than most non-organic alternatives.

I realize this is an ancient thread. It's all still relevant, though.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am in correspondence with Nature's Promise because I noticed they put corn meal in "organic" products which do not normally contain corn meal, like whole grain bread and buttermilk pancake mix. I wanted to know if the corn was non-GMO. Their consumer affairs rep wrote to say that "we cannot guarantee that the crops we purchase have not come in contact with shared farm harvesting equipment, on farm and off farm transportation vehicles, grain elevators and storage silos." In other words, you might just find some pesticides in their products from GMOs even though they are billing everything "organic." I asked if their chickens (from which they make organic chicken broth) are fed GMO corn, waiting reply

I do not believe any mass-produced product sold at Giant with the label "organic" is truly organic. It's very difficult to grow completely organic food, even in your own back yard. Even if you use no pesticides, previous owners of your house may have used DDT, and it's still there, a half-century later. Pesticides from your neighbor's lawn-care company can be blown over into your yard, contaminating your "organic" garden.

It's best to know the company, know the farmer, do as much research as you can, and then wash everything before cooking, and hope you have a healthy immune system. Processed food is processed food, whether it's called "organic" or "natural" or whatever. It ain't healthy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So if I choose organic simply for the health reasons (i.e. I don't want pesticides or growth hormones in my milk) and the other issues (small family farms, etc.) aren't my priority (got nothing against those issues, LOL, just not my priority), is Horizon fine? Now I'm getting worried!

Yes, good grief. I buy Horizon and Nature's Promise milk depending upon which is cheaper that week and am satisfied with both. If you can afford to buy locally raised, free range, 100% organic everything, great - but most of us cannot. Removing pesticides and hormones from your family's food and buying things that meet USDA organic standards is still a major improvement over traditional factory farmed meat and dairy. Stop worrying about what the "organic police" militants here have to say and do the best you can.

[Anonymous]

What are your thought on "organic" chicken from trader joes?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is anyone else totally fed up with this stuff? Not with the idea of using organics, but with our food system and our safety & labeling standards, and having to decipher what organic means, which brands actually are truly organic, which pesticides are "worse" for you, blah, blah, blah. And it's not just food, it's sunscreens, household cleaners, plastic containers, everything. I don't even feel 100% ok eating the veggies we grow in our backyard garden - maybe our water has too many toxins in it or something!

I mean, I have to do hours of research before I can go buy a friggin' gallon of milk for my kids?! Who has time to keep up with all of this?!

I think it's because the food industry and food industry lobby has done a really good job of making things overly confusing. In 1980 the USDA food guidelines were allowed to say "limit sugar." Well, that made the sugar lobby "uncomfortable." So now look at the guidelines on sugar - it is 27 words! All about "moderating sweeteners" etc. Please. Tell us to limit sugars.

And the adding "whole grains" to sugary kids cereal just makes me sick. Sugared cereal is sugared cereal. Fun and great in moderation. But let's not misrepresent it as healthy.

As for organics, in my opinion, some things are worth it. Not nutrient wise but chemical wise. And things like buying local and eating humanely raised chickens, the food is just fresher and tastes better. It doesn't travel as far (local stuff). The good thing about Whole Foods is that they are aware of the scrutiny of their customers and they make changes. not saying they are perfect but they are aware. There is a sign in my Whole Foods about no food from China BTW. And they make it clear where things are from, so at least you can tell that.

My husband and I joke about this all the time. When my sugar smacks (oh how I love you!) became honey smacks, I knew it was ok. It's healthy.