GMO/rBST School lunch caloric intake? (home, buy, public school)

[Badatta2de]

Hey guys. I just got a letter last week from 2 schools (I am still on the mailing list for public) that announced there would be new standards for school lunches and less caloric intake. I guess I can understand this given the nations obesity problem. What I don't understand, is a big long number they used as reference as far as milk. When I looked it up, it was the Bush administration approving rBST in school milk. My kids were going to public school that time in Indiana, and I NEVER got a paper home concerning this. I find this alarming seeing all the problems growth hormones are known to cause in children.
Up to last week, I had been more than happy with the school lunches and have actually eaten them on several occasions. I should note that my kids school gets their lunches prepared by the people that do the Kamehameha school lunches. The public school lunches were gross and I made my kids brown bag it.
So what does this mean for our school lunches? The letter wasnt very specific. Any thoughts?

[oregonwoodsmoke]

Did it actually say that they will be using BST milk? Easy solution, have your kids pass on the milk and drink their milk at home.

You can't even buy BST milk where I am at since none of the area dairies will use it. So, a little more research before you get too freaked out. Are they actually going to use it or is it just a notice that it might happen? CYA sort of thing?

My best guess is that yes, there might be some GMO foodstuff in the school lunches. I would simply assume that is going to happen.

[hotzcatz]

The island dairy planted GMO corn to feed their herd, at least, that's what I heard. They don't use the bovine growth hormones, though, again however, this is just what I've heard. You could ask the school where they source their milk (or have your kids bring home a milk carton) and then ask the dairy listed on the carton.

[Badatta2de]

I was just really hoping I wouldn't have to deal with this crap here. After some reading I found that 90% of canola oil is affected now even though farmers did not plant the GMO crops due to cross breeding. =(

[KauaiHiker]

I know you're on the Big Island, but it's a little known fact that Kaua'i is ground zero for the GMO seed companies. Dupont, Syngenta, Pioneer, they're all here testing their crops here, spraying them with tons of chemicals, and growing the seed to sell around the world. Yay. I don't think they do their research here, just the field work. IMHO, we need the ag industry to preserve land and jobs, but we don't need the chemical ag industry.

Among other stories, that should dispell any myth that Hawaii is some sort of paradise where everybody does things "right."

[nullgeo]

GMO?
https://www.city-data.com/forum/26738231-post52.html

[OpenD]

Originally Posted by Badatta2de

I was just really hoping I wouldn't have to deal with this crap here.

I agree with the others, in terms of hormones, this was probably more of a CYA notice than anything, which gives them flexibility about how to source the milk they serve. Most dairies don't carry it any more.

In terms of GMOs, they've been in US supermarkets for 15 years, and most processed foods today have some GMO content, so it's reasonable to expect school lunches to have at least some GMO content.

The good news is over time the fears about GMOs are turning out to have have been overblown. Personally I'm not losing any sleep over it.

Are GMO foods safe? Opponents are skewing the science to scare people. - Slate Magazine

After some reading I found that 90% of canola oil is affected now even though farmers did not plant the GMO crops due to cross breeding.

No, it's more like 95% of the canola oil is now produced from GMO seeds, because that's what farmers want to plant. Ditto the corn, ditto the soybeans. And nearly all the papayas in Hawai'i are GMO, because otherwise there would be no papayas at all. Unless you want to grow all your own food from heirloom seeds, there's already GMO content in most of the processed food you buy. I think this is more of a CYA, than anything, as Hotzcatz suggested, because corn grown in the islands to feed the dairy cows in the islands is likely to be GMO.

But to be honest, I think school lunch milk in the islands mostly comes from the mainland, because it is cheaper.