Campbells soup

[Darlene]

My mom alerted me last night about this and when I looked at the cans of Campbells soup I have in my cupboard, I discovered she was right. 
 

Every single can of Campbells soup has this alert:

 

“Contains bio bioengineered food ingredients….from genetically modified crops”

 

The cans I currently have will go to the dogs and I will never buy Campbells again. Just the thought of this bioengineered and genetically modified garbage makes me sick. 

 

 

 

[Littlesister]

I have some Cambell's soup in the pantry. I will be checking that out for sure and get rid of it. 

 

I think it is time to start really reading all labels on any canned foods we buy now. Can't trust anything any longer.  I do know that the chickens that are labeled smart chicken is not real chicken but the bioengineered or lab produced. I have been getting really picky about my meats for a while. 

[Necie]

IIRC, all soy and almost all corn (if not all) are GMO. So any product that contains those now has to put that on the label. The GMO isn’t new— the label *warning* is. 
 

GMO corn/soy/alfalfa/etc doesn’t bother me. Gotta feed the world. So, unless someone comes up with a better solution...

[Darlene]

4 hours ago, Necie said:

 

GMO corn/soy/alfalfa/etc doesn’t bother me. Gotta feed the world. So, unless someone comes up with a better solution...

My better solution is to make my own. 

[Littlesister]

I agree Darlene.  With making our own, we know what goes into it.  I will be passing the Cambell's soups to the food pantry at church.  GMO is in almost everything anymore. Hard to get away from that totally. 

[Midnightmom]

30 minutes ago, Darlene said:

My better solution is to make my own. 

 

I don't like mushrooms (texture), but I do like the flavor. I discovered mushroom powder! Now I can make my own "cream of" when I need it by using the powder and HWC, etc.

[Necie]

5 hours ago, Darlene said:

My better solution is to make my own. 

I probably oughta just keep my big mouth shut 🤐... but... I haven’t mastered that skill yet.  Maybe it’ll start a good convo with ideas/suggestions. 🤷‍♀️ 

 

With what? And where do we draw the line? Of course, anything with corn/soy would be out. Any animals (meat/broth) raised on corn/soy/alfalfa? Any byproducts of said animals— milk, cheese, eggs, gelatin, etc? 
 

We could minimize as much as we can. We can raise/grow our own as much as possible. Free range/grass fed... but if any supplemental winter feed is needed, it more than likely will have gmo ingredients. And many don’t have the ability to produce their own *ingredients*. 

[Jeepers]

I agree Necie. I sort of feel the same way about organic. I will buy it to try to hedge my bet, but I don't really believe anything is truly organic. There are toxins in the air, the water and the soil and over spray from the next farm. It is in the fruits/veggies, not just on it.  You can't wash it off. Especially Apeel. And people lie. Lies and Deception.

 

Good luck going non-GMO. About everything a manufacturer uses has something 'engineered' in it. If it has corn or soy in it (what doesn't) it is bioengineered. 

 

Check out the Cheerios debacle. Made in America with oats full of a banned pesticide. But the pesticide is legal in other countries where Quaker sourced their oats. 

 

Don't kid yourself about home canning and knowing what you put in the jar. You might know the ingredients but not how and where they were grown. Even your home grown is probably laden with toxins. And how safe are our spices. Read all the recalls lately? Cinnamon, turmeric and basil. I honestly don't think there is any clean eating. "Cleaner" for the time being maybe, but not clean. 

 

[Ambergris]

Cleaner can be an awful lot cleaner.

 

I think it was Westie's daughter who would react when she ate eggs after the fowl had eaten feed with soy in it.  I paid attention to that comment, and switched my hens to three-grain scratch feed instead of the crumble with soy.  The eggs immediately became more digestible.  In months when I could afford corn from one of the heritage farms back in the US, the eggs were noticeably better -- as in, more digestible.  

 

Now, my chickens eat sometimes mash, sometimes scratch.  The mash is cleaner than in the US, but I can still tell the difference in digestibility of the eggs.  The corn here is not GMO, but heritage corn from seeds kept in families and communities for maybe hundreds of years.  (You can get "production corn," but it is looked down on.)

[Mother]

13 hours ago, Darlene said:

My better solution is to make my own.

I agree with that but also with Necie and Jeepers on this to an extent.  It is becoming extremely difficult to find non GMO crops to make your own from.  Organic is a step better but the cost is becoming prohibitive. The Environmental Working Group is a good source of information for eating as clean as possible.  There is also the Non GMO project ( I believe that is the name ?) that can be informative.   I don’t have a problem with GMO crops in general.  What I do have a problem with is what the crop might be modified for.  For instance, BT corn is engineered with Bacillus thuringiensis to make it more resistant to certain insects.  That is the same insecticide used on organic products.  I have used it myself for decades.  It normally doesn’t harm beneficial insects but there has been some discussion about that and there is ongoing studies.  Then there is Roundup ready GMO corn,  which is specifically been engineered to withstand the chemicals, namely glyphosate, that has been the subject of law suits lately.  The engineered corn itself is not as much of an issue for me as why the engineering is being used.  Being Multiple Chemical Sensitive I try very hard to stay away from food that has been sprayed with any type of toxin, even Seven.  
 

It is, however, true that it is almost impossible to find clean air, water, or soil, at least in industrialized countries and even growing it yourself we have to factor that in.  I have found the same thing about the digestibility of eggs (and poultry and meat) fed commercial grain  compared to organic pasture raised ones. Not everyone notices a difference but it’s still not known how much of this is a possible cause of the rising amount of illnesses.  
 

We all have individual tolerances to chemicals and toxins.  We all have different financial abilities.   I, for one, am glad that companies, like Campbells, are putting warnings about possible allergens and toxins so we can be better informed.  It saves me a lot of research and gives me choices. It’s the same reason I am grateful for the discussions and insight we have on Mrs S.  Working together to keep our families safe is definitely a good thing. 

[Darlene]

Everyone is different. For those that know me well, they know that a "No", or "Can't be done" is meaningless to me, but that's just me.

 

My perspective on all of this tends to reveal:

 

Of course nothing is truly clean anymore. Consequently, I can either purchase products that boldly and blatantly state that they are bioengineered from fake produce, or I can try to strive to minimize my purchase of such products.

 

Where do we draw the line? I've been drawing lines for decades. I've busted my backside to live and raise various products myself for a long time now. Making my own cream of mushroom soup? Piece of cake. I've already found several recipes that seem delicious. Can I find commercially made cans of cream of mushroom soup that do not boldly state they are bioengineered? Absolutely. I've already found a couple of brands - one being Wholefood's brand that is almost the same price as Campbells.

 

Maybe the way I perceive things is different from most, and that's ok. But there's no way I would give up and continue to purchase those types of products, when it's a piece of cake for me to figure out a Plan B or C. At some point, I've already accepted the fact that I will have to forego and not purchase 'whatever' in the future because it has become contaminated to the point where I refuse to ingest it, and after thorough research, I am unable to figure out a Plan B or C. In fact, that is a thought I've been having occasionally lately - living without 'whatever' - which is a topic for another day.

 

We cannot escape all of the contamination but I can sure minimize it through the work I do on the farm, my natural gifts and passions and prepare the best I can for the days that are accelerating and looming over us quicker than I want. For the record though, much of what I'm able to do here on the farm could be done if I still lived in the suburbs. It would require Plan B and C's, but it would still be doable. Consequently, I have a hard time giving up.

[Mother]

25 minutes ago, Darlene said:

much of what I'm able to do here on the farm could be done if I still lived in the suburbs. It would require Plan B and C's, but it would still be doable. Consequently, I have a hard time giving up.

I agree that most of what is done on a farm could be done in an urban setting.  Perhaps not raising large livestock but certainly the gardening, small animals, processing, and cooking from scratch with fresh wholesome food.
 

Unfortunately for many of us age takes its toll on our abilities.  I also have a hard time giving up and I continue doing what I can even if it means simply growing a jar of sprouts on the kitchen counter,. Which, by the way, is easily done and gives a wealth of nutritious greens with no soil, just water,  minimum light, and very little energy expenditure.  

[Littlesister]

A few years ago, I saw an article in the paper about non-organic and organic fresh foods. Both fruit and vegetables. A lot of stores will put them together in the same bin. One side being organic and the other being non-organic.  Those foods cross pollenate making the organic foods compromised. Stores still tend to keep them in the same bins next to each other.  I have no choice in fruits as I don't have fruit trees, but I do have a choice on my veggies. I will NOT use pesticides on my garden of any kind. The issue is that when the fly over releasing those chem trails, how much of those chemicals fall to the ground? That will be in our gardens if they do in fact fall to the ground. Or do they stay in the sky? That is something we cannot avoid.  And worse do we know what is in those chemicals. 

When I asked my yard man about weeding the flower beds and putting down mulch, he wanted to use Roundup. Told him no and it wasn't going to happen. So, he won't weed out my flower beds now. So, I am working on them as I can. It's harder this year for me to do because of my knee making it harder for me to get up and down, but I am getting it done. 

 

I think all of you are right about what was said above.  Don't think there is any real organic foods any longer. 

[Midnightmom]

4 hours ago, Mother said:

I agree that most of what is done on a farm could be done in an urban setting.  Perhaps not raising large livestock but certainly the gardening, small animals, processing, and cooking from scratch with fresh wholesome food.

There is a relatively new YT channel called "Becoming a Farm Girl" that does exactly what you are suggesting ; except for the livestock, that is.

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Do you dream of a simple, homestead lifestyle filled with healthy home-cooked meals and a connection to your community, stewardship of the land, and animals? Is your current reality on the opposite end of that because you live in an apartment, townhouse, in the city, or small space? Don't let that stop you from cultivating homestead skills. My channel is here to help you 'just start' by giving you attainable goals, doable projects, and scaling your micro modern homestead over time. Join me weekly by clicking 'subscribe', head over to my blog becomingafarmgirl.com and over on Instagram @becomingafarmgirl! I read books and run like my life depends on it and consider wine as a weekly grocery item. I'm married to my best friend of 15 years, a Navy Chief. By day, I work as a school administrator. We're proud parents of Frenchie named Thor! Welcome to the start of your homestead journey! Let's grow....together!

https://www.youtube.com/@BecomingaFarmGirl

 

 

[Darlene]

11 hours ago, Mother said:

I agree that most of what is done on a farm could be done in an urban setting.  Perhaps not raising large livestock but certainly the gardening, small animals, processing, and cooking from scratch with fresh wholesome food.

Bingo. 
 

I have done that my entire life. The fact that I can expand into larger animals does not negate the fact that I was prepping before it was cool and I was doing so in the suburban environment. With 4 children, a husband and extended family all included too. 
 

Homey could testify to the mountains of stash I had and still have in many ways. 
 

No Campbell soups for me anymore lol. 

[Mother]

3 hours ago, Darlene said:

I was prepping before it was cool and I was doing so in the suburban environment.

I remember the chicken raising project.  And the butchering that went with it.  It was nothing short of epic.    Didn’t they try to fine you for having those chickens?? 

[Ambergris]

LS your yardman has attitude and needs to be replaced.  He sounds too much like your DGS.  Even my yoga has to be adapted to keep me from having to put any pressure on my knee in certain positions.  We don't need helpers who pull us down instead of lifting us up.  We deserve better.

 

I even raised a pig on a quarter acre, although I wouldn't recommend this.  I had many fruit trees, bushes, vines, and once the neighboring houses were pulled down, I had guerilla garden space for pumpkins and beans on county land, which was also my water supply and fish supply.  Not fryer-sized fish, but sardine-sized and cat-food-sized.  I had rabbits, ducks, and chickens there too.  But mostly I had fruit, which ripened eight to (potentially) ten months of the year.

Edited May 2 by Ambergris

[Momo]

You have to read every label.  Even if you think you've read it before the companies keep changing.  I noticed the other day that some canned peas that I bought that used to say peas, salt and water, now says peas, SUGAR, salt and water.  Why would they start adding sugar?

[Littlesister]

Momo, I think a lot of our foods are changing now.  I do read all labels now. There is no reason for them to add sugar to anything. Not even the artificial sugars. 

[Mother]

It’s my belief they add sugar to certain veggies because the quality of the product is poor and sugar hides that fact. You will also probably notice more liquid and less actual product in the can. 
 

Another thing I have been noticing lately is the discrepancies on the labeling.  For instance, a 14.? Ounce ( used to be 15 ounces) can will say there are 3.5 servings and a serving size is 1/2  cup. The same amount the fifteen ounce can label showed.  Yet when you try to get even 3 half cup servings you can’t.  Even with the liquid.  Now, to be frugal I always save the liquid for making soups but I, nor few people I know, take the time to eat their 1/2 cup serving of canned veggies from a small dish that also holds the liquid. 
 

I’m finding similar discrepancies with frozen vegetables. In those cases they often say the same thing, 3 or 3.5 half cup servings. From a 12 ounce bag.  That sounds logical, 3x4 ounces = 12 ounces,  yet there are never that many servings in the bag.  At least they don’t have liquid on them.  Unfortunately, a lot of frozen veggies now come in 10 ounce sizes, supposedly with the same number of servings and size as the 12 ounce?  
 

I do appreciate the truth about a product that companies, like Campbells are being made or at least encouraged to divulge but sometimes, most times, it is meant to hide something else or to get people to buy it , like products that wouldn’t have gluten in it at the best of times are labeled “gluten free”.  
 

There are many things happening that are affecting the quality of our foods, even home grown ones, but at least we process our homegrown ones ourselves and know what WE put into them.  Buying fresh non sprayed from growers or farmer’s markets are my second go to; fresh, hopefully organic, from the store is my third; and frozen is my fourth.  Canned foods, with a few exceptions, are my last choice. I do store certain canned goods to use and as preps but I am picky about reading labels.  

[Ambergris]

Especially the artificial sugars, most of which make me sick in one way or another..  This is a pain here, where labels have to be scrutinized to find it.  For example, in a cola, (or Inka Kola) it wouldn't be marked with a different colored cap.  I'd have to read the label.  I seldom drink cola.

[Mother]

I actually tested allergic to cane sugar!!!  I have to be on my toes with my allergies AND ETC. 

[Littlesister]

I have also been noticing the difference in both quality and quantity. That is why I prefer to grow my own foods. But for corn I don't have the room to grow it. But this year I will get a bushel or two from the farm to can.  I will sit outside on the patio and chuck corn to keep the mess out there and not in the house. That and squash are the only two things I either don't have or not enough to get me through the summer.  I make my own soups and no longer buy the Cambell's soup. Though I do have some here. But it was bought during covid for the Church pantry, and they closed the church down due to covid. I have since taken a lot of the store-bought foods to church but still have some soups and things to pack up and take. Need to do that soon so I will have room to put what I have canned on those shelves. 

[Jeepers]

A lot of people are talking about the sizes of eggs they are seeing in the stores. They say they are smaller now.

 

I watch one guy occasionally who goes to stores and does price checks and sales. He shakes cans of veggies to hear how much they slosh. People are saying the cans are barely half full.

 

There has been a lot of recalls the past 2 weeks. Ham in Canada. In the States, two big hamburger recalls, apple juice and fresh basil that I can think of off the top of my head. 

 

Another huge one is organic walnuts. Both halves and pieces. They were sold in bulk bins and also packaged in organic and health food stores. I think about 19 states were involved. Mostly west of Missouri. 

 

I've never seen so many recalls. 

[Littlesister]

I have a bad feeling we will be seeing even more recalls over time. And I really need to sit my GS down about some issues I have been hearing about fast food places as well. He needs to back off a lot of those places as he does get sick from eating at them. The one this morning was from Domino's pizza. The sausage in a pasta bowl he ate late last night didn't agree with him.  So, no more Domino's food.