To GE or Not to GE, that is the Question - Healthy Eating

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To GE or Not to GE, that is the Question

et_tu_brute profile image
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What do you think of the new development regarding the 107 Noble Laureates, including many scientists, condemning Greenpeace for their anti GMO campaign and especially against "Golden Rice?"

How safe or unsafe, in your view, is our future if we include GE (Genetically Engineered) crops in our staple diet?

washingtonpost.com/news/spe...

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et_tu_brute profile image
et_tu_brute
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linlow profile image
linlow

Hey ho, is that a triffid I see down the bottom of my garden??

Crossing a bramley's seedling with a cox's orange pippin is one thing. Crossing that same bramley with a fish so that it can grow in marshy soil is a whole different kettle of worms. OR modifying wheat so that it has a higher gluten content, is resistant to pests, drought and blight, so that it yields a higher crop yet is easier to harvest That would be silly. Oh! wait! that's already been done and just look at the effect that has had on the nation's health. Look at the effect it is having on global health. :(

Animals fed modified crops are evidencing modified DNA. That modified DNA is showing up in our foodstuffs. It doesn't take a Nobel-winning scientist to see where this is leading. Oh yes, the FDA approving genetically modified salmon for human consumption.

Genetically modified salmon are bigger than wild caught. They also cannot breed amongst themselves. (Does this infertility pass on to us?) Since salmon think that 'bigger is better' in terms of breeding partner it could toll the death-knell for whole breed when the first GMO escapes.

Who can say what effect a modified gene will have on our gene pool. If modified DNA can modify the DNA of one species, who are we to say that we can't be got. We are what we eat. Our lifestyle, our food, our environment all have an impact upon our genes. We have to evolve but why on earth would we want to hasten the process of extinction.

Golden Rice may be the least of our worries!!

et_tu_brute profile image
et_tu_brute in reply to linlow

The reservations about an unforeseen future is duly noted.

1- Since the genetic material of species is nearly the same. I am 97% similar to a butterfly.

It is not which organism is selected for gene transmutation, it depends on the gene that has been selected. Many of our fears emanate from the outer appearance of organism rather than looking at the genome, which is quite similar.

2- In the past 20 years of research on GMO, is there a controlled study of large sample size that conclusively states GMO crops to be detrimental to our health?

3- Why is there a scientific consensus over the fact that vastly, GMO possess no unique threat, which if present are also present in the traditional crops?

4- There is an uncertainty about gene modification. This is the reason that there are stringent norms on GMO to be tested over a period of time to ensure that no or non significant anomalies are detected.

All said, there is a need to keep the research going, especially against the ills (if any) of GMO to establish with certainity, hopefully in the coming years, about the effects of GMO on our lives, nutrition, food chain and environment as a whole.

Has the strong lobbying on both sides kept us blind to the facts, and each side to the opinions of others?

scientificamerican.com/arti...

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