Posted on 01/29/2011 8:26:09 AM PST by stillafreemind
Maybe honest third party testing without influence from government or companies like Monsanto is called for. Are biotech crops safe to eat? Are Americans sicker now than 30 years ago? Are there any links between this food and our kids ailments? We may never know if Mr. Vilsack, the USDA and companies like Monsanto have their way.
(Excerpt) Read more at associatedcontent.com ...
bump
One of the few indisputable statistics on this issue is that Americans continue to live longer. Which doesn't seem likely if we're sicker than we used to be.
I understand what you’re saying but do we feel healthy? Or, are we full of prescription drugs to keep us going? Our grandparents seemed to go full speed until they met the Lord.
We are thousands of years down the genetic modification road. I guarantee someone from 100 years ago wouldn’t recognize the oranges we eat today.
If you want faster horses, you breed the two fastest ones, then breed them again and again until you get a horse that breaks its bones as often as it breaks records. You want more beef from a cow? Same approach. Same for wheat and corn yields. The problem comes in when you cross types to breed in, say a human enzyme to aid digestion. Or, you use potential allergens to have gluten enhanced alfalfa or a peanut plant that perhaps makes it hardier or self-replanting, but puts peanut allergens in alfalfa.
It didn’t say in the article how or why the genetic modification had been undertaken. The entire thing should come down to potential risk. If the only risk is that cross pollination may make the current alfalfa hardier or longer-lived, I don’t have a problem. If, however, it produces growth hormones to make cows bigger, okay, I’ve got a problem. What if the growth hormones made locusts into Japanese horror movie monsters?
We have something like 6 billion humans on the planet. We need to find faster, more efficient, cheaper ways to feed them. Unless, of course, you plan on forced abortion, sterilization and war as the controlling factor. Frankly, a hardier, cheaper to grow alfalfa seems a small price to pay.
But, again...what did they modify? What gene did they use? What are the worst-case downsides? The article addresses none of that.
The issue with GMO Alfalfa is containment.
Alfalfa is pollinated by the wind, so if you neighbor plants it upwind of your regular alfalfa, you are likely to end up with cross bred plants. You fields can no longer be GMO free.
The sissy-boy-in-chief appointed Monsanto’s former Vice President, Michael Taylor, to be the U.S. food safety czar...
Alfalfa is pollinated by bees, not the wind.
Ah, I see. The author has an agenda. For this reason I will assume that the modification(s) Monsanto is engineering will prove beneficial. That's why the author, a supposed journalist, never explains them.
This is pure political BS from a chemicalphobe who also happens to a scientific illiterate. Just my humble opinion, of course.
Maybe people just want the choice, I’m one of them. If you want to eat GMO stuff..go for it, I have no problem with that. But when you take my choice away, I do have a problem with it.
I’m not sure what you are complaining about. I believe the article is pointing out that the restrictions will be non existent. To lay out tech jargon should be done by someone with that educational background. You can minimize the author, the article and GMO, that’s fine with me. But it still comes down to big companies and government taking away our choices. I thought we were against that.
Just my humble opinion, of course.
Alfalfa is pollinated by the wind, so if you neighbor plants it upwind of your regular alfalfa, you are likely to end up with cross bred plants. You fields can no longer be GMO free.
_____________________ I agree. This is the point most people don't look at; who owns the alfalfa ?
GMO varieties are patented. You don't just buy seeds with GMO, You rent the ‘intellectual property right’ to grow their variety of a plant.
When all the fields are contaminated, all the alfalfa will contain their patented GMO traits. Every farmer will have no choice but to grow GMO alfalfa and pay the patent owner's price.
“All your alfalfa is belong to me”
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.