Why I Don't Want to Eat GMO

Do I actually know anything about GMO foods?  For that matter does anyone?  We all just assume that the boffins (as known as scientists) have our best interests at heart - but do they?  First off I had to look up a definition of GMO foods.  I had a vague notion that the process involves transferring genes from one organism to another to produce desirable qualities in the resulting genetically modified plant.  These desirable qualities can be, among others, resistance to a particular disease for example, meaning that the yield of the crop would be increased.  A brief search yielded the following link http://biotech.about.com/od/faq/f/GMOs.htm.

Modern agriculture has for decades concentrated on growing small numbers of plant varieties that are primarily high yielding.  Selective breeding has been carried out so that many old varieties of crops have been cast aside.  Seed Savers have done some amazing work to try to reintroduce and save these old varieties.  The problem with mass-growing of specially selected, high-yielding crops is that should a new pest or disease get hold the losses can be devastating.  For this reason the crops need to be sprayed with a cocktail of pesticides, herbicides and artificial fertilisers.  The pro GMO lobby will tell you that the new genetically modified varieties will need less spraying and so will be better for you and for the environment.  However, many of the varieties of plants discarded have better flavour, taste and in some cases are even more resistant to disease but are not high yielding. 

The natural environment is a very finely balanced ecosystem and if disrupted, the consequences can be serious.  I don't believe that there has been enough research carried out on ensuring introduction of genetically modified crops will have minimum impact on the environment or the delicate balance of the ecosystem.  What impact these crops will have on the animals they are fed to or in turn what impact will they have on us - the end consumer?  After all BSE was caused by feeding animal remains to animals that were natural herbivores.

Apparently Teagasc are about to start trials on GM potatoes to increase late blight resistance.  This is unbelievable especially with the recent furore over the raw milk debacle.  The reason the department of agriculture gave me for wanting to ban raw milk was to prevent any damage to the image of Ireland as a clean, green and tuberculosis-free producer of milk especially to our export market. It would make a lot more sense to promote our image as a GMO-free producer of food.

On balance, I made a decision a long time ago that I did not want to be a guinea pig for the biotech industries' trials on GM foods.  I avoid all soya as over 60% is genetically modified and it is virtually impossible to guarantee that any source is completely GM free.  Maize apparently is also genetically modified.  I heard years ago that tomato puree is made with GM tomatoes.  But far more difficult to avoid is eating meat from animals fed genetically modified cereals in meal.  For now there is not enough public demand for such meat or even if there was there are not enough producers.  One thing for sure though, is if the demand were to increase, the industry should want to zealously guard the image of Ireland as a clean green GMO free producer of food!

Going Back in Time in Sligo

Every year my family try to organise a weekend we all get together.  We are scattered over four counties and all have busy lives so to get a weekend that suits everyone can often take some organisation.  To date we have stayed in Galway (Connemara Coast), Waterford (Faithlegg), Leitrim (Ramada and Lough Rynn) among others.  We have been doing this now for probably the last 10 years.

This weekend gone we went to Markree Castle in Sligo.  It is a stunning place, totally unspoilt and a really authentic experience - down to the dodgy boot-camp showers, cool bedrooms (temperature-wise) and the threat of an appearance by the resident ghost!  It is a throw-your-boots-off and throw-your-leg-up on the coffee table, type of place! The drawing rooms are filled with elegant ancestral paintings, huge fireplaces and big comfortable old couches.  I spent most of the weekend wandering around in my socks.  They allow dogs which is lovely and there were a mixed assortment from pooches to big smelly hounds including my sisters's totally mad border terrier. The bedrooms are a real surprise; I had a big "frilly" (my brother's description) four poster bed in a lovely room with the most amazing view.  It had some very interesting antique furniture as well.  The other bedrooms were not quite as impressive but they were quirky.  One had steep steps down to the en suite - I could imagine a few worse-for-wear guests found that a challenge in the middle of the night!

View from the knot garden

Main entrance

The beauty of the place was that we all felt as if we could really make ourselves at home and as if we were the only guests (even though it was full on the Saturday night).  The staff were mostly eastern European and were efficient as they tend to be but they lacked the real charm and friendliness of the Irish staff or the willingness to think "sideways".  One late night barman when asked for a pot of tea answered "it is not my service to provide".  The bar and the whole place was empty by this time and we were the only stragglers left.  We wanted nibbles earlier before dinner and were unable to get them so one of our party drove to the local filling station.  However we did feel that if we arrived in with our own wine and nibbles we would not have been challenged.
 

My bedroom

View from my window

The food while not bad was not great either but I am always accused of being the critic from hell.  The garnish was very dated with piped swirls of mashed potato and the side orders of veg were the usual unadorned lumps of broccoli, carrots and very roasted - roast potatoes.  Some of the family had the steak the first night and said it was really good and to be fair when I had it, I asked for it - "walked through a warm room," and they obliged!  We had little option but to eat in the hotel both nights as we had young children with us and we would have needed a fleet of taxis to go the 15-20 minute drive into Sligo.  They screwed up on the gluten-free request for my brother giving him the correct bread but a non gluten-free sausage and a triangle of toast under his scrambled egg.  Oh, and the tea was dire at breakfast, but this is coming from a family of tea leaf users, with the tea pot scalded and the milk in first brigade. 

Overall the experience was very positive and we all agreed we would be very happy to go back again.  It could have been amazing though and that makes me sad.  There was no sign of either the owners or even a general manager all weekend and one or two staff cover both the reception, the bar and the bar food service so when you go to order drinks you had to go look for someone!  However, all that said we had a great time and are already looking forward to another get together.

The very elegant dining room

We spent a lovely morning in Sligo pottering about the great selection of foodie and craft shops.  We had lunch in Hargadons, a pub decorated with every imaginable accolade outside.  They were justified, as the food was great, the service fantastic and so friendly and the atmosphere charming. After lunch we had a bracing walk on the beach at Rosses Point.  On Sunday we went to Tobercurry as my father had worked there over 50 years before as a newly qualified accountant.  Then onto Tarmonbarry to the fantastic Purple Onion for lunch (another well decorated establishment).

A Marriage of Taste

Gingerbread has not really been "in vogue" for a while now.  It's funny how foods go through cycles of popularity - from being on every trendy bistro menu to suddenly disappearing.  Prawn cocktail, baked Alaska, Black Forest gateau have all made the comeback as "retro foods". So why not gingerbread?  I have to admit I love gingerbread and remember my mother making big trays of it when I was a child.  She had an old beaten up copy of Maura Laverty's Full and Plenty, which was well-used and had drawings of cats and other doodles at the back, done by my father and me and my siblings.  Funny the things you remember - so when I found the copy at home recently I got all nostalgic for gingerbread.  There are four recipes in the book and I just took down one and true to form modified it. 

I made it the first time recently - the same weekend I had invited people to dinner.  More due to laziness than anything else I decided to turn the gingerbread into dessert and started thinking how I could "jazz" it up.  For some strange reason caramel sauce came into my head.  I had never made it before so did a search in Google for a recipe.  What followed was a marriage made in heaven.  Some combinations just work together and this works supremely well.  I served the gingerbread with the caramel sauce and a good vanilla ice cream. 

This is my version of Maura Laverty's Recipe

100g Butter
150g dark brown sugar
2 eggs
300g spelt flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. grated zest of lemon
1 tsp. grated nutmeg
2 tsp. ground ginger
A piece of stem ginger (optional)
half a cup of boiling water
2 heaped tablespoons of treacle or molasses

Cream the butter and sugar until soft and fluffy.  Add in eggs one at a time and continue beating. Add lemon zest, nutmeg, ginger, stem ginger chopped finely, treacle or molasses.  Then fold in sifted flour, baking powder and gradually beat in boiling water.

Place in a lined roasting tin and bake in a pre-heated oven gas mark 4 for about an hour or until feels firm to a light touch.

Caramel Sauce
100g butter
100g brown sugar
100ml cream

Heat together until combined and then simmer for a few minutes.  Pour into a jug.  It can be re-heated in the microwave if it cools and thickens.

Gingerbread   Caramel Sauce  Maura Laverty  Full and Plenty Cakes  Dessert Recipe Ideas  Food