What do you think of GMO's?

[The Grand Nudger]

I don't buy much processed food. We already buy the gras-fed etc. etc. ground beef. It's not that much of a price difference anymore.

Yeah, because those folks used to be crooks, flat out. Gotta remember that food production is a game where the win is measured in fractions of a penny - so a difference of "not much" might actually be massive. How many fractions of a penny is the difference? Now multiply that by the number of pounds of beef bought and sold in this country. There's the benefit, to consumer, of GMOs - from just that one angle. Keep in mind that the GMO modified price of beef also modifies the price -you pay- for non GMO Beef. They can only rake you over the coals for so much, relative to the beef sitting right next to it on the shelf before theirs doesn't sell anymore - and they know that.

I mostly eat boiled grains - oats (steel-cut...yum), basmati rice, and split mung beans. I don't know if these are gmo or not.

Not likely - the grains maybe....but only maybe. Most products sold directly for human consumption aren't GMO. In some cases it;s beyond what the law allows for reasons to do with GMO's...sometimes for reasons unrelated to GMOs - and other times because retailers might see it as a risky proposition (and all of this reduces, somewhat, the potential economic benefit of GMO this or that. It could get you an even cheaper price, but the environment isn't friendly yet, and so theres that "cost" to pay).

I buy the oats at Aldi's as they're significantly lower in price (if this is because they're GMO, that's fine - again, I just want some of the benefit if I'm going to eat it). I buy the rice at Costco, again based on price. There's only one brand of split mung beans sold around here, so that's that.

The reduction in price in all goods with our major crops at the base of our economic ladder touches every aspect of retail business, yes. Aldi can afford to give you a better price on a whole range of goods because of the great price they source those goods at, but also because of their savings in other areas. They don't necessarily have to charge the same markup on everything, because any loss on one product can be absorbed by the gains in another. Think of it like a massive loss leader marketing campaign. If I can get a whole range of processed goods at a lower price I can continue to charge the old price to consumer on that range of goods (maybe a modest markdown) and then use that revenue to absorb a loss on a marque product that will bring people into the doors (like tomatos, or grass fed beef). The overall effect is that I make more money even If I sell one item at a loss, or a broad range of items at a slightly lower markup.

Ultimately, that's not something you have any control over, so I would say that it's beyond the remit of what you can do to minimize the amount of GMO that goes into whatever it is you buy, at whatever price you get it. It's worth considering, nevertheless. Thinking that you've managed to out GMO's from your life is to take a tunnel vision approach to your purchases. If you're comfortable ignoring the effects outside of that tunnel, and of course you're comfortable with the benefit to you- as a consumer...I'd wonder why you wouldn't just buy the GMO this or that directly, when it was available. Of course....I doubt that the shortlist you gave is the entirety of your diet - more like things you figured probably didn't have any relationship to GMO (they do, of course). I'm not criticizing your purchases (buy whatever you like, Murica!) - just trying to give you an idea of how pervasive GMOs are. It's a bit like sunlight. If you wanted to avoid it, you could, at least in so much as that you could tell yourself - reasonably, that you have done all you can - but it's effect would still be all around you and in everything you do. That's how big GMO is...and there's a reason that it got so big so fast - even in the face of Anti-GMO opposition and their clearly successful campaign of disinformation.