Goji Berries bad??

[KaitAnne]

I just read that 90% of all goji's imported from China are pesticide-laden and toxic, and basically are a scam, is this true? What do you all think?

[RawKnitster]

The goji berries I have say they are 100% wild Tibetan-grown, and pesticide free. I read somewhere that it is the soil in the Himalayan mountains that makes them so special. Maybe that's true, maybe it's just a good marketing tool. I'm not sure I'll buy them again anyway. They are okay, but I'm not convinced they are that special.

I've heard bad things about garlic, ginger, and pine nuts grown in China. I prefer to buy as local as possible, but all the pine nuts seem to be from China. I always spend the extra money and buy organic pine nuts, and hope that they are.

[spicyfull]

China has given themselves an untrustable repatation..

[petitoiseau]

Yes, I do believe that the coveted "Goji berries" are authentic Tibetan Goji berries. These would be grown in mineral rich, "ancient" and organic soils. I have tried some great ones that are so fresh I can tell. Other sellers grow the berries wherever (eg in the US) and it can be inorganic.

Some wolfberry producers are now calling their berries Goji berries and putting wolfberries into other products, selling them by calling them Goji berries. My guess is you are looking for the real thing, so like with any company you are purchasing from, make sure they are wholesome and trustworthy first. So yes, there is a difference between certified Goji's and others.

I recently heard about growing your own Goji berries.. I am sure getting your soils rich would be trickier and couldn't match their native grounds.. but that is just the thing about trying to globalize foods. It doesn't exactly work (and raises environmental problems when done on large-scale). Nevertheless local is fresh, which I am sure what sparked people to try growing their own.

[earth_sista]

kaitanne, where did you read this-do you have a link to the article?

and petitoiseau, i was under the impression that wolfberries and goji berries are the same thing? i've read this from several credible sources and just heard it from people. if they aren't i'd like to know-do you have any info or a link or something with some info?

[petitoiseau]

I have heard both, my understanding was that Goji was the name given to the authentic "superfood" basically (referring to the original berry). I have read about both online/books, so for me its basically just its a "Goji berry" if its the honest authentic and organic berry, not a fad produced to sell as a health food.

[rawstrength]

Goji means Wolf in Chinese. Goji berry = wolf berry. I found this out when I went to China :) .

Make sure that you get certified organic goji berries because then they can't be treated with chemical crap. You'll notice that organic goji berries taste much better, too.

The soil at the base of the Himalayan mountains is actually very poor. The weather conditions are also extreme, cold winters, hot summers, and constant drought. I've been there, and touched and seen the soil, and heard from the villagers that the only plant that grows there (besides the goji berry) is rapeseed. Rapeseed is such an unhealthy and unnatural crop, a hybrid, and often genetically modified to boot. It is used to make rapeseed oil, which is slowly replacing the traditional lauric acid and omega-3 rich raw yak's milk butter used in Tibetan cooking. Ironically, rapeseed oil is being marketed as more healthy because it is lower in saturated fat, though it is filled with too much omega-6 and far too few omega-3s, and also is highly processed. However, growing rapeseed helps many farmers survive. By purchasing the goji berries from Tibet, you are making sure that this wonderful superfood continues to be grown where it traditionally comes from, and you are saving goji farmland from being converted into rapeseed fields.

But I also understand concerns about food being locally grown, and food can be irradiated when it goes through customs to enter the USA. I wish there were USA grown goji berries that we could buy.

The goji berry grows really well in the desert climate of Utah. Someday, I will purchase a big swatch of desert land in Utah, which is probably pretty cheap land anyway. I will grow organic goji berries there with lots of love and care. I will sun-dry them and sell them at a fair price, minimally packaged to raw foodists everywhere. This is my dream :) .

[mongodelight]

Pesticides are not the level of damaging of heated food. The body can deal with some poison but it cant deal with enzyme deficient toxic masses of food. The pesticides in the food is a small part, the rest of it is great - IF ITS RAW. I would worry more about if there re heated above 42 degree celsius.

Personly i count on the history of using the goji berry in china. I believe its raw but maybe full of pesticides.

[rawstrength]

Pesticides are not the level of damaging of heated food. The body can deal with some poison but it cant deal with enzyme deficient toxic masses of food. The pesticides in the food is a small part, the rest of it is great - IF ITS RAW. I would worry more about if there re heated above 42 degree celsius.

Personly i count on the history of using the goji berry in china. I believe its raw but maybe full of pesticides.

Why not just buy raw organic goji berries? Then you get all the enzymes, and no poisons :) .

[mongodelight]

Why not just buy raw organic goji berries? Then you get all the enzymes, and no poisons :) .

Because there are people that think i cant afford it. I pay 9 dollars for 1 lbs. I ll buy 100% Organic soon. I also want to own some organic farms with special high quality items. But 50% organic is all that i can afford at the moment. I could spend more, but i ve spend 250 dollars for books this month.
900 dollars on clothes(there are no organic clothes i would like to wear). The goji berries i had tasted good. its RAW, haha the cover says its dried under 42cels. !!! The next i ll buy is a home office. Budget: 3000 Dollars.

Show me cheap berries: Maximum 25 $ 1000g

[rawstrength]

Yeah, budgeting can be tough.
I don't eat all organic, but I try to buy organic when it really counts. For me, getting organic goji berries is a priority because they can be one of the most contaminated foods (like sulfur dioxide, yuck). To afford my organic goji berries, I scrimp on other foods, like buying conventional bananas (they are cheap and one of the least pesticide contaminated crops). Also, fasting occasionally is beneficial and cuts food costs. I also don't buy goji berries all the time. I still get the benefits of goji by only eating them when I can afford them, this also brings variety to my diet.

[kaybee]

yeah, ive been wondering about pesticides in gojis..... you actually CANT GET organic ones here where im living in Ireland, neither from the grocery store, nor from the hfs, nor even from the wholesale healthfood distributor. they only have one brand, its all the same brand, and its NOT organic. These were not a staple for me in the US, but I started including them here because alot of others things I was used to werent available. to be honest though, every time i bought a package of them, i wondered about how contaminated they were.... though i cant always afford organic fruit, i do try to do organic on things like dates and dried fruits.... so i think i will have to stop buying these babies and wait to stock up on genuine organic ones when i make another trip home. why are pesticides legal?GGGRRRRR

[NoGMO!]

do you mean if the lable says organic they may not really be organic?? :confused:

[Coolexplosion]

do you mean if the lable says organic they may not really be organic?? :confused:

First off, be sure to AT LEAST buy the "dirty dozen" organic. The big two are apples and peaches but, be sure to buy these organic too whenever possible: sweet bell peppers, celery, nectarines, strawberries, cherries, pears, imported grapes, spinach, lettuce and potatoes. Look at the Environmental Working Group's website for more information.

As per No GMO!'s question: Hardcore Organicans flat-out don't buy stuff from China (or Walmart since pretty much everything they get is from China), Mexico, or any other nation that is deemed to have unworthy standards for organics. China and Mexico are the big two though. Reason being because China disallows any foreigners from checking their farms out so, that obviously includes organic certification agencies. Basically, any organic product from China could easily be no better or even worse than American conventional produce.

Mexico isn't worlds better. Sure, they have better standards than China but, not too much better. Nowadays you see all of this organic produce from Mexico but it is naturally going to be worse than American produce.

Anything from China should naturally be looked upon with skepticism. The only truth is that American organic produce is going to be better than American conventional produce but, that is all that has been tested thus far.

[NoGMO!]

Yeah I picked up a bag of goji berries at Whole Foods and they are "certified organic" but still from China. I'm hoping they are not pesticide laden. :cool: