Replies

Mock away, but there may turn out to be some validity in his arguments. I'm concerned about GM, too. I don't buy into all the hype about global warming, etc., but something has caused the disappearance of our honeybees. We have none now. Bumblebees and a few other insects are doing the pollination in my little corner of the world. A beekeeper in my state whose colonies have not yet been affected by CCD is shipping his bees to CA to pollinate mainly almond crops during the winter.

We've just been through a Japanese beetle invasion that is slowly and relentlessly moving westward. They are very destructive, get into corn silk which prevents pollination. To counter them, they are spraying with new chemicals. There is a new class of neocontinids (sp?) containing, for one, imidacloprid. I have seen the destructive effects of the residual effects on a bumblebee and wasplike insect, definite disorientation and probably death. I don't need a scientific study to make the connection, and if I ever feel driven to use that chemical again, will cut off blossoms. They suspect something about the coating of corn seeds is systemic which carries through to the pollen. I've barely scratched the surface and have to admit my shortcomings and inabilities in doing a truly scientific study.

But this is just one pest. Roses are an ornamental crop and industry. We can get along without them. But when food crops, GM crops now, are affected, maybe we had better open our minds a little and not stick to narrow agendas. No, I don't presume to have the answers, just more questions.

Jap beetles have now made inroads in the Pacific northwest. It doesn't take rocket science to see that they will make their way into CA. If they come from the north, it will be the grape crops. Then the fruit crops in the valleys as they have a preference for certain plants over others. There is no really safe way of eradicating them and no natural predators. If we import the wasps, then we are taking another risk. The U of MI has started giving out on an experimental basis for people to try in their gardens adult beetles innoculated with a disease they spread from one to another. No one knows the unintended consequences that could cause.

I did grow cherries for years. I never treated them with anything, bumper crops almost every year. They were specially bred, but I doubt by genetic manipulation, but I don't know for sure, in Minnesota for their cold hardiness. Finally my two trees died, and I replaced them with another variety, don't know how that is going to be, managed to keep most of the beetles off them; they prefer the newest leaves. I never sprayed my apples, lose most of my wonderful apricots to late frosts, and usually the apples are wormy, a few good years. And so it goes. Going straight organic is not easy in the midwest. I've finally resorted to spraying on a limited basis, being careful to gather information on products I choose and their potential effects on the environment.

My only beef with the environmentalists is using it for a political agenda which may be based on false assumptions and conclusions. We are all in this together whether we like it or not. It has always been so.

I'm also 4th gen & 5th gen of a couple of first cousin marriages, some of the lines seem tainted with a particular disorder but no way to prove a link, way above average intelligence though in some descendants, so haven't drawn any specific inclusions one way or the other. Obviously too much of that does have deleterious effects on offspring.