GMO use blocked by ill-informed opinions

[BillT]

This is a nice but long article from Slate, mostly about the nutritional pros and cons of GMO foods.
As a geneticist, I find the genetic arguments about GMOs (not much covered in this article) to be completely unconvincing.

http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/science/2015/07/are_gmos_safe_yes_the_case_against_them_is_full_of_fraud_lies_and_errors.html?utm_content=bufferc8ad5&utm_medium=social&utm_source=linkedin.com&utm_campaign=buffer

[LizStreithorst]

I know all the pros and cons.  I've followed this issue for a long time.  On one side we have an overpopulated world with people who are hungry.  Then we have the United States with it's mono culture crops that are subject to infestations.  The entire system works wrong.  If there were fewer people to feed, the soil were healthy because of the addition of animal manure, and we were all substance farmers, there would be no need for GMO's.   We'd live off the bounty of the land in small numbers.  That's not the way it is.

Every step forward comes with it's own curse.  Dams produce energy from water, but look...we have to now to transport fish miles away so they can find their way's up stream to spawn.  Wind farms kill sea birds.  I'm quite sure that GMO's will be found out to be cursed, too.  It won't be from deleterious affects from us eating them.  Heck...Look at antibiotics.  We now have bacteria that are resistant to our best ones.  Look at DDT, which was considered to be another great life saver, and all the other pesticides which were OTC and are now banned.

I'm not necessarily against GMO foods.  I have a heart.  We have people who are starving in the world.  I believe that every action has an equally strong reaction and that good old Nature will reach a place of ballance  in time.

[Mugwump]

A good read...thanks. I've read several pro/con articles and basically feel that foods containing GMO's from crop products will be safe. I think one of the biggest concerns is the use of pesticides, and feeding livestock with engineered foods, for rapid growth and development...where do we draw the line?...

That being said, my trust level isn't high on the scale just yet.

[BallAquatics]

They will never draw the line, it's all about making an extra nickel.

We force feed cattle corn, which of course makes them sick as they are designed to eat grass.  Them we poke them full of antibiotics which in turn leads to super bacteria that we now have no drugs to combat.  And on top of all that, corn fed beef is not as good for human consumption as is the grass fed beef.....

I read an article of a study not long ago that stated they believe that Roundup?, (better not leave off that trademark, I don't want to be sued by Monsanto), is killing the beneficial bacteria in soil and for all intent and purpose ruining it.

Speaking of Monsanto, if GMO foods are so safe, why is Monsanto pushing for federal law to prevent states from passing labeling laws to require the disclosure of GMO products in food products.  The bill was due to be on the floor this week, but I haven't heard what became of it.....

Dennis

[LizStreithorst]

I think that Mug and Dennis are a bit over the top.  We wouldn't need GMO foods in our rich nation if it weren't for our practice of monocroping.  Now, if we are interested om keeping stomachs full in very poor countries, it's a different matter.  Like I said, I'm not against them.  What I think is that our world is overpopulated by humans and humans have big brains and by nature want something for nothing.  I'm as guilty as anyone. 

GMO foods will come with their curse attached.  We've not yet seen what the curse it, but it's there. 

[Mugwump]

I think that Mug and Dennis are a bit over the top.  We wouldn't need GMO foods in our rich nation if it weren't for our practice of monocroping.  Now, if we are interested om keeping stomachs full in very poor countries, it's a different matter.  Like I said, I'm not against them.  What I think is that our world is overpopulated by humans and humans have big brains and by nature want something for nothing.  I'm as guilty as anyone. 

GMO foods will come with their curse attached.  We've not yet seen what the curse it, but it's there.

Monsanto GMO crops are being grown in many under developed nations that not been able to grow enough food for themselves....and they are doing very well....so they helped to feed these poor countries.....but like you said...."We've not yet seen what the curse it, but it's there."

[BillT]

I think its like any other technology. Could be used for good or bad.
Genetically it easier to figure out what changes are made in GMO animals, than with most conventional genetic techniques, and how they might change over time.
Therefore unexpected results should be (and are) much less common.
Overall it seems to me to be more good than bad.

I am in favor of detailed labeling of everything.
This almost passed in Oregon last year. Monsanto doesn't want this because they fear they will lose them sales because so many people will not want to use it. That's their problem and they should educate people about their product. Something they have not really done. I believe their bill is going through the corporate funded congress now.

Something that bugs me more about GMO crops is that when recombinant pollen blows from field owned buy farmer A into farmer B's field, it becomes farmer B's problem and they are supposed to destroy the resulting seeds etc. Seems to me to be a completely misplaced responsibility based upon corporate clout with lawmakers.

[GraphicGr8s]

I know all the pros and cons.  I've followed this issue for a long time.  On one side we have an overpopulated world with people who are hungry.  Then we have the United States with it's mono culture crops that are subject to infestations.  The entire system works wrong.  If there were fewer people to feed, the soil were healthy because of the addition of animal manure, and we were all substance farmers, there would be no need for GMO's.   We'd live off the bounty of the land in small numbers.  That's not the way it is.

Every step forward comes with it's own curse.  Dams produce energy from water, but look...we have to now to transport fish miles away so they can find their way's up stream to spawn.  Wind farms kill sea birds.  I'm quite sure that GMO's will be found out to be cursed, too.  It won't be from deleterious affects from us eating them.  Heck...Look at antibiotics.  We now have bacteria that are resistant to our best ones.  Look at DDT, which was considered to be another great life saver, and all the other pesticides which were OTC and are now banned.

I'm not necessarily against GMO foods.  I have a heart.  We have people who are starving in the world.  I believe that every action has an equally strong reaction and that good old Nature will reach a place of ballance  in time.

We can feed way more than we do. We can even do it organically. But we won't. Why are we still paying farmers not to farm?

I like Europe's stance on GMOs. Prove it's safe first. Like we used to do with drugs.
Monsanto could give a fat rat's rear quarter about actually feeding the world. They will control the food. They will then control the people. I don't trust Monsanto. Never have.

[PaulineMi]

I find it very sad to see farm fields out here that are totally barren. Nothing, not even weeds, grow in them. They're a sickly color...not a nice earthy shade. It's disconcering, to say the least, when I can smell the various chemicals being applied to those fields.

Then there are the hay fields with wind rows of alfalfa that are moldy and a black color rather than rich green. The attitude is that it's okay to feed to cows...horses would colic and possibly die eating that stuff. However we are the ones who drink the milk from those cows.

Then there's the manure spread on the fields that food is grown on. It's the waste from animals raised on antibiotics, hormones and feed of questionable quality.

Just sharing thoughts that occasionally cross my mind while out bike riding in the otherwise beautiful countryside.