Genetically engineered food
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From: Laveen
Genetically engineered food
Has anyone out here heard the loons going on about GE foods. To listen to these people you would think that the "frankenfoods" are a new and dangerous idea. Man has been practicing genetic engineering or manipulation since before recorded history, If they are serious about avoiding GE foods they better stay out of stores completely. Tomatoes as we know them aren't natural, red ones didn't exist until someone selected and breed them into existence,
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ancient civilizations used genetic engineering also, true, but using natural forms of grafting as 'engineering' and altering d.n.a.'s isn't exactly comparable.
i've heard the same for lemons/oranges, ect but i just know that i wouldn't want something that has been altered in that technical a manner by the advanced sciences available.
we still live in a society that finds it acceptable to feed cows milk to human babies/children and tolerate a high protein intake (fatness).
we're not as advanced as we'd like to tell ourselves. i agree 100% with what pat buchanan said on the McLaughlin Group today..."give it to the French"
i've heard the same for lemons/oranges, ect but i just know that i wouldn't want something that has been altered in that technical a manner by the advanced sciences available.
we still live in a society that finds it acceptable to feed cows milk to human babies/children and tolerate a high protein intake (fatness).
we're not as advanced as we'd like to tell ourselves. i agree 100% with what pat buchanan said on the McLaughlin Group today..."give it to the French"
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From: northern ca
ancient civilizations utilized the technology that they had available, and society progressed
now we have better technology, and to survive we had best exploit that, the learning process may be a little scary though
now we have better technology, and to survive we had best exploit that, the learning process may be a little scary though
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From: South Dakota
I don't worry about GEfoods, I've ate enough preservatives that when I die they won't have to embalm me. 'sides I've read enough packages to come to the conclusion that one way to get rid of toxic waste is to include it into the food chain. If someone can explain glycerol ester of wood rosin. If I want to eat a tree I'll go out an gnaw on one.
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From: Los Angeles safe and warm
Maybe some of you like the idea of gene splicing pesticides into the seed crop but I don't. We're not talking about improvement to the food quality as it pertains to nutrition, we're talking about improving production at the risk of consumers.
Did you know there are corn fields now that if a butterfly lands on the plant, they die? Butterflies are not pests to the farmer.
Agri-Industry over-use of hormones, antibiotics and pesticides (especially in plant genetics) poses a real threat to our health.
We just don't know how great yet.
Did you know there are corn fields now that if a butterfly lands on the plant, they die? Butterflies are not pests to the farmer.
Agri-Industry over-use of hormones, antibiotics and pesticides (especially in plant genetics) poses a real threat to our health.
We just don't know how great yet.
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From: Calgary Canada
I'm on the fence on this one, but I think if I fell off, I'd fall to the anti GM side.
I see the benefit of it, and I know that if we are going to meet the needs of an ever increasing population, something must be done. It is not without merit, IF USED CONSTRUCTIVELY and VERY carefully.
However, I tend to agree with sinjin. We're stirring up a witch's brew of plants and animals that we can't even begin to predict the consequences of. We have no idea what we may unleash, now, tomorrow, next year, 100 years from now. I find that scary. Even more scary is the fact it's a one way door, once you step through it, you can NEVER go back.
The worst part of it for me, is that this incredible science is not driven by humanitarian or environmental concern, it's driven by GREED. Profit margins and copyrights. I see Monsato as one of the most evil companies in the world, IMHO, we need to shed some serious light on what these companies are doing.
Just because we have the ability to do something doesn't mean we should. Cross-polination is one heckuva long way from inter-kingdom genetic modification.
Waxy
I see the benefit of it, and I know that if we are going to meet the needs of an ever increasing population, something must be done. It is not without merit, IF USED CONSTRUCTIVELY and VERY carefully.
However, I tend to agree with sinjin. We're stirring up a witch's brew of plants and animals that we can't even begin to predict the consequences of. We have no idea what we may unleash, now, tomorrow, next year, 100 years from now. I find that scary. Even more scary is the fact it's a one way door, once you step through it, you can NEVER go back.
The worst part of it for me, is that this incredible science is not driven by humanitarian or environmental concern, it's driven by GREED. Profit margins and copyrights. I see Monsato as one of the most evil companies in the world, IMHO, we need to shed some serious light on what these companies are doing.
Just because we have the ability to do something doesn't mean we should. Cross-polination is one heckuva long way from inter-kingdom genetic modification.
Waxy
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Originally posted by sinjin
Maybe some of you like the idea of gene splicing pesticides into the seed crop but I don't. We're not talking about improvement to the food quality as it pertains to nutrition, we're talking about improving production at the risk of consumers.
Did you know there are corn fields now that if a butterfly lands on the plant, they die? Butterflies are not pests to the farmer.
Agri-Industry over-use of hormones, antibiotics and pesticides (especially in plant genetics) poses a real threat to our health.
We just don't know how great yet.
Maybe some of you like the idea of gene splicing pesticides into the seed crop but I don't. We're not talking about improvement to the food quality as it pertains to nutrition, we're talking about improving production at the risk of consumers.
Did you know there are corn fields now that if a butterfly lands on the plant, they die? Butterflies are not pests to the farmer.
Agri-Industry over-use of hormones, antibiotics and pesticides (especially in plant genetics) poses a real threat to our health.
We just don't know how great yet.
genetic engineering is big business and they have no political resistance.
lets face it: we dont have a food shortage and if anything, lets be honest, we, as PRODUCERS, throw away more food than there is a demand for in the rest of the world. we subsidize everything and throw away what isn't sold, yet we could be helping people like the south of Sudan (persecuted christians who are starving), Ethiopia (been starving for a while), Mexico, and all these other countries around the world (since obviously, feeding our own starving here in the US is obviously out of the question)
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sinjin:
"Did you know there are corn fields now that if a butterfly lands on the plant, they die? Butterflies are not pests to the farmer."
I'd kind of like to know where you got this one. Can you supply a source, so we can look at this statement in the context of the rest of the information associated with it.
Later Larry
"Did you know there are corn fields now that if a butterfly lands on the plant, they die? Butterflies are not pests to the farmer."
I'd kind of like to know where you got this one. Can you supply a source, so we can look at this statement in the context of the rest of the information associated with it.
Later Larry
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From: Southern IL
Sinjin, i'd like to know where you get your information. Butterflies will not die because of landing on a GM plant. If they eat the plant then yes they may die. The main reason for this protection is to guard against plant damaging worms. Also as far as pesticides go, Monsanto does not put Roundup into seed. The Roundup Ready seed does however contain a gene which makes it resistant to Roundup. This is a good thing for farmers like me and rest of society. Roundup is a very safe chemical, unlike some previous herbicides which were a threat of groundwater contamination.
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From: Baileyton, TN
I much prefer my food to be naturally created, even if by cross pollenation. Taking things from insects, and mixing them with things from plants, then making a plant host the result, and do something else, is not my idea of naturally created foods, so I avoid things like that, when I know about them. Unfortunately the companies that develop modified food don't have to tell us which is which, because "people may not buy them if they knew" duh!!!
Theo
Theo
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From: Calgary Canada
Originally posted by deere81
Sinjin, i'd like to know where you get your information. Butterflies will not die because of landing on a GM plant. If they eat the plant then yes they may die. The main reason for this protection is to guard against plant damaging worms. Also as far as pesticides go, Monsanto does not put Roundup into seed. The Roundup Ready seed does however contain a gene which makes it resistant to Roundup. This is a good thing for farmers like me and rest of society. Roundup is a very safe chemical, unlike some previous herbicides which were a threat of groundwater contamination.
Sinjin, i'd like to know where you get your information. Butterflies will not die because of landing on a GM plant. If they eat the plant then yes they may die. The main reason for this protection is to guard against plant damaging worms. Also as far as pesticides go, Monsanto does not put Roundup into seed. The Roundup Ready seed does however contain a gene which makes it resistant to Roundup. This is a good thing for farmers like me and rest of society. Roundup is a very safe chemical, unlike some previous herbicides which were a threat of groundwater contamination.
Is creating a plant that is resistant to one of the most powerful herbicides we have and letting it loose to potentially cross-polinate with other less desirable plants (weeds) really good for you, IN THE LONG RUN? It's solving your problem now, but what about 10 or 20 years from now? Just add more chemical?
That's the problem I see, we don't know what nightmares we might be creating for ourselves just around the corner.
I'm not saying that Roundup and other chemicals should not be used, I just think we need to be VERY careful about how we use them. We need to be EVEN MORE CAREFUL about how we integrate them with plant genetics.
Waxy
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From: Laveen
A few years ago Fry's and a couple of other markets sold GE tomatoes that were vine ripened and wouldn't rot as fast, apparently ripe tomatoes when picked almost immediately start producing a "self destruct enzyme" and they figured out how to suppress the gene that enabled this and you get a tomato that will vine ripen and rot more slowly after picking. I thought they were pretty good. Now you can't find them.
What I need right now is something that will get rid of scorpions, every time my wife finds one she freaks, but they are tough. They don't bother me, I've been stung so many times by scorpions and bees I don't pay much attention any more. We did have a wild bee hive out back but my wife finally decided that since they announced that most wild hives in Arizona were africanized it had to go. I was watching the growth of the hive closely through the openings in the cable reel, it grew fast, and I only got stung once but since it was under my sleeve I think it just got stuck. The africanized bees make big hives quick, the keeper that took it away said he was going to add it to his operation.
What I need right now is something that will get rid of scorpions, every time my wife finds one she freaks, but they are tough. They don't bother me, I've been stung so many times by scorpions and bees I don't pay much attention any more. We did have a wild bee hive out back but my wife finally decided that since they announced that most wild hives in Arizona were africanized it had to go. I was watching the growth of the hive closely through the openings in the cable reel, it grew fast, and I only got stung once but since it was under my sleeve I think it just got stuck. The africanized bees make big hives quick, the keeper that took it away said he was going to add it to his operation.
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From: Los Angeles safe and warm
http://www.news.cornell.edu/releases...flies.bpf.html
Turns out I need to correct myself. It was the catepillars that died when the came into contact with the pollen from GM corn.
But I suppose no catepillars, no butterflies.
I should also admit that the debate over the experiments results is far from over.
Turns out I need to correct myself. It was the catepillars that died when the came into contact with the pollen from GM corn.
But I suppose no catepillars, no butterflies.
I should also admit that the debate over the experiments results is far from over.