Posted on 08/28/2013 9:57:18 AM PDT by JerseyanExile
On August 8th, 400 protesters ripped out seedlings of a new genetically modified plant called golden rice at a testing ground in the Philippines. Genes from bacteria and corn have been added to the rice to make it a source of vitamin A. Vitamin A deficiency can lead to blindness and weakens the immune system, contributing to 2 million deaths every year. (Golden rice is being developed by a non-profit organization, not Monsanto.) As the Philippine government prepares to rule on whether or not to allow farmers to grow the wonder-crop, the anti-GMO movement is digging itself in for a fight. The New York Times reports:
If the rice gains the Philippine government’s approval, it will cost no more than other rice for poor farmers, who will be free to save seeds and replant them, Dr. Barry said. It has no known allergens or toxins, and the new proteins produced by the rice have been shown to break down quickly in simulated gastric fluid, as required by World Health Organization guidelines.
But the facts haven’t deterred the misinformed from campaigning against the technology. Greenpeace flatly rejects any and all biotech advances in agriculture, a Luddite and ludicrous position that is distorting the public debate:
“There’s so much misinformation floating around about G.M.O.’s that is taken as fact by people,” said Michael D. Purugganan, a professor of genomics and biology and the dean for science at New York University, who sought to calm health-risk concerns in a primer on GMA News Online, a media outlet in the Philippines: “The genes they inserted to make the vitamin are not some weird manufactured material,” he wrote, “but are also found in squash, carrots and melons.”…
“A lot of the criticism of G.M.O.’s in the Western world suffers from a lack of understanding of how really dire the situation is in developing countries,” he said.
With golden rice, we have a real, cost-effective way to safely provide millions of people with healthier food. The anti-GMO crowd is doing its best Marie Antoinette impression, saying the world’s poor should get the vitamin A this new rice provides by eating more fruits and vegetables. A well-balanced diet is a luxury many can’t afford. Cheap, nutrient-rich golden rice can save lives.
The anti-GMO fools don’t understand there is a bbig difference betwween adding vitamins to plant vs. Making a plant produce it’s own pesticide/herbicide.
I am all for GMO for adding good things to plants and animals ie. Vitamins to plants and omega 3 to land herbavores.
I am against adding things like herbicides and pesticides.
In this caase the middle ground is the best ground to be on.
I’m just mad about Saffron
Saffron’s mad about me
I’m just mad about Saffron
She’s just mad about me
They call me mellow yellow
(Quite rightly)
They call me mellow yellow
(Quite rightly)
They call me mellow yellow
I think we ought to plant seeds God made otherwise we will suffer unexpected consequences. Remember when we were told margerine was better than butter? Look how that turned out.
Liberalism is anti-human by design.
I’ve got a book idea:
A group of hardleft whackos go back in time and try to assasinate Norman Borlaug. The future sends a cyborg back to protect Norman and kill all the whackos. It’s an action film.
Exactly! Those poor people don't need their eyesight.
It has been millennia since we did that. People have been modifying food since the dawn of agriculture. Just look at what man did to corn as an example.
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I do have doubts about adding pesticides to plants. They may be safe for humans, but that needs to be verified, not assumed. But directly adding genes for nutrients, instead of laboriously crossing and recrossing the plants, generation after generation, doesn't sound like it would create a problem.
You eat cats and dogs?
I don't, but some people do. The point, however, is that even our pets are genetically modified.
I recently saw a documentary on how much dogs can, and have been genetically changed.
They commented how no other species has that much variety after selective breeding. They said, a cow is still a cow etc. But a Russian Wolfhound, a Pitbull and a Chihuahua are all very different animals.
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