[stillafreemind]

We raise our own beef for family and friends. We know what goes in them. We don't want this gmo alfalfa. It's like watching Pandora's box open farther.

[Milhous]

bump

[Sherman Logan]

Are Americans sicker now than 30 years ago?

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.

[Gen.Blather]

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.

[lack-of-trust]

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.

[Mortrey]

The sissy-boy-in-chief appointed Monsanto’s former Vice President, Michael Taylor, to be the U.S. food safety czar...

[Mase]

This article is devoid of useful information. For what purpose is the alfalfa being genetically modified? We're never told. However, the author ends her article by saying:

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.

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.