Monsanto Protection Act Sneaks Through Senate

Here's a full text article, though not as recent, on the topic of GM food safety in general.

 

This appears to be a critique and subsequent re-analysis of studies that were originally done on behalf of Monsanto, rather than original, independent research.

Greenpeace??? WTF. If they're involved I'd be inclined to dismiss it completely. In any case, the more recent article I linked to above is critical of the one you have linked to here, as I understand it.

Another point to note is that science isn't intended to be a contest between authorities. Lots of studies get published in peer reviewed journals that turn out to be wrong in their conclusions, faulty in their methods, or just plain crap in general. That is what peer review is for. If you were to review the scientific literature in any field of study you'd find all kinds of contradictory conclusions, scientists who don't agree with scientific consensus, etc. It's just the way it is...which doesn't make it any easier for non-scientists to figure out for sure.

 

we may end up with GMO's infecting and taking over the natrual. It's hard to stop pollen in the wind.

 

Good luck on the fight my friends. Gentically modified food is bad for not just our health but for the planet.

This colonizing technology needs to be stopped before the earth is a lifeless rock.

 

That has already happened on occasion, as I recall, and the arrogance of Monsanto in attempting to bill the farmer whose field of corn was infected is utterly mind-blowing. This is where they completely step out of bounds, imo. If they can't contain it, it's a problem. That they try to charge people who unintentionally grow their strains is criminal.

On another note, there really is no "natural" strain of corn or maize. Corn is a plant that has been artificially selected by humans for thousands of years from an ancestor known as teosinte. This artificial selection is responsible for all the current varieties of corn, as with many other domestic plants.

 

Artificial selection also known as hybridization is not the same as Genetic Modification.

 

they have won cases against farmers in Canada and the US

"On another note, there really is no "natural" strain of corn or maize. Corn is a plant that has been artificially selected by humans for thousands of years from an ancestor known as teosinte. This artificial selection is responsible for all the current varieties of corn, as with many other domestic plants"
that is an argument pro gmo people use a lot
breeding is natural manipulation by man within cycles . genetic modification is outside natural cycles.
you can't breed corn with a frog, but you could take a gene from a frog and using a virus add it to the genetic make-up of corn . breeding and GM are not the same.

 

No, of course not. Artificial selection changes the frequency of certain alleles that are already available within a species genetic pool. Genetic engineering often introduces alleles foreign to a species' genetic pool. I was just commenting on the use of the term "natural". People often assume that if something is natural it is automatically good and exists in some kind of biologically static or pristine state, which is simply not true.

 

I wasn't using it as an argument, just an aside comment on the use of the word natural.

 

Anyway, I'm off to go buy some genetically modified fruits and vegetables. It's not a preference, you understand. The organically grown produce is nearly twice the price. I simply can't afford it. In any case, the risk of getting in my car and driving to the grocery store is much, much more than any health risks posed by the genetically modified veg's, so I'm good to go.

 

I am not an advertiser trying to deceive you with words. my meaning was clear.

the frown you gave me was turned upside down after I noticed "Hanlon's Razor: Do not attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by ignorance or stupidity."
so I won't

 

"Anyway, I'm off to go buy some genetically modified fruits and vegetables. It's not a preference, you understand. The organically grown produce is nearly twice the price. I simply can't afford it. In any case, the risk of getting in my car and driving to the grocery store is much, much more than any health risks posed by the genetically modified veg's, so I'm good to go. "

unless you are buying corn, soy, or rape seed products chances are you won't have any.
possible health risks are not the real issue! genetic diversity is!

 

Are there any local farmer's markets where you live? They aren't always necessarily organic but some are and at least you know you are supporting local farmers instead of a huge corporation. I've found that produce at farmer's markets are significantly cheaper than produce from a supermarket.

 

Price is an excuse and just general lazyness.

1) I grow a lot of my own food and I live in an apartment.

2) I make a lot of my own food

3) I'm a vegetarian and cutting meat out of your diet makes a huge dent in your bills

4) Without meat you start to see you don't need a fridge. That saves money

5) I found that not eating OGM and processed food ment I finally started getting the nutrition my body needs. So I ate less and even lost 20lbs. (I lost a futher 35lbs in less than a 6 weeks when I refused to by food that had touched plastic)

 

R.I.F I was quoting someone. you know " " like "Price is an excuse and just general lazyness."
sometime huger beats ideals! when you are starving 400+ cal. for buck at McShites seem damn good!
elitism in all walks of life is unnecessary. P.S Meat is yummy!

 

What most people want is to eat exactly the same *crap* but have a logo that say's Bio or Organic and they want it at the same price or cheaper.

But it doesn't work like that.

It requires an entire change in lifestyle. But of course that means having to actually make an effort and the majority of people would rather die 10 years early and/or live in a toxified enviroment before doing that.

As for meat.
It's a disgustingly expensive and inefficient way to get protein. Not forgeting about the inhuman and cruel way that those animals are *harvested*. Or how this mass production method of *meat harvesting* leaves the meat a poisoned biological nightmare unfit for even insect comsumption or even organic decomposition.

 

What the everlovin' fuck are you talking about? I never suggested you or anyone else was trying to deceive me, nor did I give you or anyone else a frown or thumbs down or whatever. Feelin' persecuted tonight or something?

 

You might be surprised. I was looking at a list of products (genetically modified and novel food items) recently approved for sale...here. I think we'll see more and more of these products on the market.

Yes, I'm well aware of this aspect of gm organisms as we've already noted earlier in this thread...or maybe it's the other thread on GMO. They're very similar.

 

In the summer, yes and I do go there when I can. Not many vegetables grown here in the winter.

 

Actually the problem I have with gmo or non-genetically modified, modern hybrids is that a lot of them (apples for instance) are just bloody tasteless. I've a particular bug about apples since my family had an apple orchard and when I was growing up could go out and pick Wealthy's (yum), Northern Spy and MacIntosh that were all mouthwatering and delicious. We had some nice pear trees too. I buy them in the stores now and they look pretty but the taste is...meh. In the fall the orchard up the road from me sells a variety called MacCoun which are absolutely delicious but short lived. I buy a bushel of them and gorge myself on apples for two or three weeks, then rarely bother with them any other time of year. I can buy Spy apples there too that are awesome for pies.

On another note, I've grown many vegetables over the years when I've had a place to do it. I have no sun in the summer where I am now as my house is completely buried in trees that block it. Doesn't matter. I go help my mom in her garden now and can get lots of fresh vegetables in the summer. Winter is a pain in the butt for food though. The good news is I don't care very much about the food as long as there is snow and I can ski.