I don't want to rationalize or make excuses, need to get better informed. Instinctively I don't see how the old way was the same as GMO techniques although both change at the cellular level. I wasn't aware that the old method of cross pollinating allowed genes from different organisms to be introduced. Plus there would be mutation of a plant's own genes. I can see that it could and did happen, just that most cross pollination was from same type of plant material.
I thought maybe our bread flour isn't GMO but I'm not sure any more.
On a slightly different but related topic, farmers who use dicambra should be careful because it is especially prone to drife, and there will likely be lawsuits on account of damage to neighboring crops. I don't think we use it nor do we hire crop dusting planes, but it can drift with the usual spraying.
It is essential why? To feed larger populations with shrinking land in quantity and quality? I can see how it would improve nutrition.
Bread flour doesn’t need to be GMO to be contaminated with glyphosate formulations: They spray it wholesale on wheat crops as a dessicant to kill the wheat and speed harvesting & yields.
No joke.
I thought I was informed before researching my chapter on GMO; I felt like an idiot once I realized how ignorant I really was in ignoring all the anti-GMO crap as just ‘conspiracy-theory.’ Yes, there’s a lot of hyperbole on both sides, but it’s the hyperbole coming from the pro side which endangers us & our children.
Genes from different organisms can result through various mechanisms, for example, from virus activity. Although plants can cross-pollinate if the pollen is from a close enough species.
It is not unusual for genes to transfer laterally between species. Plants are especially easy to genetically modify because (unlike animals) they can tolerate a lot of mutations and modifications without adversely affecting viability. Some plants are so heavily modified genetically (using old school techniques, even) that they cannot survive without human intervention. Naval oranges and the common Cavendish banana are two examples; these fruits must be propagated through cuttings.