Posted on 09/11/2009 8:51:46 AM PDT by Scythian
Your proof that Monsanto and Rosa DeLauro were going to ban heirloom seeds was to mention H.R. 875 which didn't mention heirloom seeds.
You haven’t pointed out anything except that you favor the revolving door of corporate execs and government positions that favor corporate execs
But I don't favor that.
and the lawyers at CSPI pushing anti-salt and anti-soda, etc., agendas through the Government.
How else do you balance Monsanto scientists except with anti-science, anti-business, anti-fun nuts from CSPI.
I already apologized for any confusion co-locating the 2 sentences might have caused. My point was that we are now living in the only country that allows GM foods to generally enter the market with no labeling or warning, and this condition exists because former Monsanto lawyers and executives worked at FDA when the issues that favor Monsanto came before the FDA. Now 70% of our soybeans are Monsanto GM "Round-up Ready" soybeans.
And CSPI isn't going to impact corporate/government collusion on GM policy while they are busy suing McDonald's over trans fats, or trying to get schoolkids not to drink sodas.
And the dead in the streets are proof our policy was mistaken.
Now 70% of our soybeans are Monsanto GM "Round-up Ready" soybeans.
And the problem with "Round-up Ready" soybeans is what exactly?
Nothing at all, Todd.
I don’t have any problems at all with any of this. None. It’s perfect. I think it is great that government and industry can work together to genetically modify our food supplies, and make billions in the process.
Have a nice day.
Does science frighten you or only genetics?
The only thing that frightens me are people naive enough to believe that the corporate/government dynamic that put GM food on the market is innocuous.
I had some GM food yesterday. I died.
Too bad the CSPI didn’t save you.
While you are busy being dead, you will miss driving your GM (Government Motors) car, insured by GM (Government Monopoly) from the house you financed through GM (Government Mortages) to the store to buy GM (Genetically Modified, or was that Government Mandated) food ... all in perfect safety and comfort.
You’d have loved it ...
Please ping me if you see any proof. Thanks again. Look out for that science, it's scary!
Hmmmm.......
Seedless watermelons cannot reproduce on their own, so plant breeders use genetic tricks to produce them. The first seedless watermelon was invented over fifty years ago.
Normally, watermelons are "diploid." This means they have two sets of 11 chromosomes, the structures that contain an organism's genetic material. They get one set of chromosomes from each parent, for a total of 22.
Producing a seedless watermelon involves three steps. First, a plant is treated with colchicine, a substance that allows chromosomes to duplicate, but prevents the copies from being distributed properly to dividing cells. As a result, a plant with four sets of chromosomes is created, a "tetraploid."
In the second step, a tetraploid plant is crossed with a diploid to produce offspring that are�.? That's right, triploid, with three sets. They get half the number of chromosomes from each parent.
Finally, the triploid seeds are grown into plants. Although they must be germinated under very careful conditions, once the seeds grow into small plantlets, they grow just like normal watermelon plants. They can produce flowers and the female flowers can produce fruit, the watermelons.
However, triploids cannot reproduce sexually. The reason is that the cell divisions that produce pollen and egg cells are very particular; they require precise alignment of chromosome pairs in the middle of the cell, an impossible task with an odd number of copies. Since the triploids have three sets, this crucial process gets mixed up and the eggs inside the watermelon are never formed. Without eggs, the seeds do not grow.
So far so good, except that pollen is still needed to trigger the female flowers to make the watermelons. Since triploid plants cannot produce pollen, farmers grow diploid "pollenizer" plants near the triploids. The diploids produce the necessary pollen, bees carry it to the female triploid flowers, and the seedless watermelons grow. Actually, a few seeds develop partially, so you can find some white, empty seed coats in the red flesh.
3 sets of chromosomes instead of 2. I guess that doesn't modify their genetics, does it?
Will do, loverboy.
Meanwhile, try to differentiate your projections and my argument.
Maybe you think Genetically Modified foods are perfectly safe. The jury is still out.
Maybe you also think it’s fine that the US ended up being the testing grounds for GM food because of the cozy relationship between the FDA and the leading provider of GM food. I don’t.
Maybe you think they are poison.
Did you hear about Monsanto? They made an expensive product with a lower yield that kills everyone who eats it. Diabolical!
I put you with you acting like a snippy little bitch because I admitted my first post was unfocused.
But if you don’t get it by now you aren’t going to, so piss off.
That’s exactly what I thought a snotty little $hit like you would look like.
I put you with you acting like a snippy little bitch because I admitted my first post was unfocused....so piss off.
Thank you for your contribution to the debate. You are an asset to Free Republic, and a pleasure to deal with.
Are you this daft naturally or do you have to work at it? I said the genetic modification of plants by Norman Borlaug (and others) has saved more than a billion lives. Anyone remotely educated in Ag or food science knows this to be true. That you twist my words and take issue with my statement leads me to conclude, again, that you've made yourself believe you understand this topic.
Norman Borlaug: A Billion Lives Saved
He's the founding father of high-yield agriculture who achieved results by genetically modifying plants. The results are staggering: In 1950 the world produced 692 million tons of grain for 2.2 billion people; by 1992 production was 1.9 billion tons for 5.6 billion people -- 2.8 times the grain for 2.2 times the population. Global grain yields rose from 0.45 tons per acre to 1.1 tons; yields of corn, rice, and other foodstuffs improved similarly. From 1965 to 1990 the globe's daily per capita intake grew from 2,063 calories to 2,495, with an increased proportion as protein. Malnutrition continued as a problem of global scale but decreased in percentage terms, even as more than two billion people were added to the population.
The world's 1950 grain output of 692 million tons came from 1.7 billion acres of cropland, the 1992 output of 1.9 billion tons from 1.73 billion acres -- a 170 percent increase from one percent more land.
Yeah, saying that without Borlaug's efforts at genetic modification we'd never have experienced the Green Revolution, was, how did you put it? Ah, yes, you said it was foolish. When you post here you have the opportunity to show people you know what you're taking about or that you don't have a clue. You ought to be embarrassed.
Only someone who has no idea what he's talking about would believe that the relationship between industry and the FDA is anything but adversarial. You whine about the supposed collusion between government and industry while completely ignoring the fact that those conducting the studies you cite have a vested interest in discrediting Monsanto's products that increasingly dominate the market and costs much more. As a matter of fact, DuPont, Monsanto's main competitor, has admitted to aligning itself with and financially supporting groups critical of Monsanto.
You don't possess the knowledge or skills necessary to determine if this study was funded to find the desired results or the truth. If you know anything about research these days you know that finding the truth is usually a secondary concern. Again, you don't have the information or knowledge necessary to make that determination.
But here you are....
Frankly, I really find your comment irritating.
“Freepers are very ignorant about GMO, they think it means things like watermelon seeds.”
Since I think I am the first one to mention watermelon seeds, I take it as a personal flame.
Let me clarify. I don’t believe I EVER said watermelons are GM food. This is in fact what actually I said, & I really question your research, sources and motives if you are going to twist my words the way you did:
“BTW, as I understand it, the GM technology in this country have not been incorporated into food for human consumption anyway—unless you are talking about all forms of hybrid plant breeding like seedless watermelons.”
So I said they are an example of hybrid food technology—good old plant breeding that has been going for probably 50 years or more. Perhaps you are against that too? My point was to say that seems to me I recall reading that we are not eating GM foods now—not unless you wish to include regular plant breeding such as watermelons.
Really insulting to be called ignorant; are you an expert? PhD in plant genetics? If you claim to be, can you list your credentials. Oh and I still am concerned about aligning myself with environmentalist green organizations & movements like your website posting the FDA(?) which was my original comment on this thread.
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.