GMO Crops

Many of the foods we eat today are a product of genetic modification. These techniques allow for the incorporation of desired traits, such as taste, size, resistance to diseases, and yield. Proponents of genetic modification say that farmers growing GMO crops use less harmful pesticides and herbicides than they would with regular crops, and that the increased yield of GMO crops are a crucial part of solving the world’s hunger crisis. Opponents of genetic modification say that growing GMO crops has lead to an increase in pesticide resistant insects and herbicide resistant weeds.

I wanted to hear all of your opinions on the subject.

 

Idk is it harmful to eat beef from domesticated cows (reletive to undomesticated cows) because humans have changed their DNA? I’d say on the whole, no. Its pretty much the same thing with GMO crops except we have been able to do it faster and make them more nutritious then we could using artificial selection.

 

The selective breeding employed in industrial farming is genetic modification.

 

i thought u died

 

I had to quit for a while, but I’m back now

 

The problem with GMOs are that they aren’t just black and white. (They’re either harmful or helpful). The reason for this is that GMOs are so new that the negative side effects aren’t concrete. On the one hand, GMOs are great because they can be more nutritious and better looking, in addition to them being able to last longer and them having resistance to environmental factors. GMOs would be cheap to produce, and could be shipped to malnourished third world countries. On the flip side, some studies say that GMOs would be major pollutants and would effect large chains of ecosystems. Also, lots of people don’t really know what goes into their food, and foods that are genetically modified have the vague descriptor of “This food has been genetically modified” or something along those lines.

There are other reasons that show that GMOs are bad, but right now we’ll just have to wait and see.

 

There are no studies directly linking GMOs to health issues.
I don’t believe in « common sense », which people use to tell others how bad GMOs are when they have ran out of valid points, and is supposedly an instinctive sense to know what is good and bad for you. I believe in concrete facts, and if someone shows me a valid study of health issues directly linked to GMOs, I’ll fight against it all you want. Until then, I’ll enjoy my oversized watermelon.

 

GMOs aren't bad. Just as how selection by farmers to bring out certain traits in crops and livestock isn't inherently bad either. These things are just the names of things that these DNA tools have been used on. The fear most people of of GMOs is the fear people have whenever they hear about a learning program. Learning programs only do what they're taught to do. GMOs only deviate from the original plant by what they're made to do.

There are still some dangers from GMOs and these are they:

1. An overambitious GMO project could, using processes much faster than traditional methods, change an organisms makeup to create an unexpected result. This danger still exists in traditional methods but at a slower rate.
2. GMO DNA can be combined other plants of the same species and GMO animals could escape which could spread a GMO rapidly. The danger here would be if the GMO were productive enough to outcompete the rest of an ecosystem. Techniques can be utilized to prevent the spread of GMOs, such as one study which used CRSPR proteins to only allow DNA from one parent to be used for offspring. (I don't have a specific source, but I know it was used on mosquitos)

Common myths:

1. Insects become more resistant to plants because of GMOs
   • Pests become resistant to crops regardless. Pesticide resistant pests already exist from the use of traditional methods of plant selection. One goal of GMOs is to reduce the use of pesticide so pests may lose their invulnerability to them. GMO methods could also be used to remove pesticide invulnerability directly from certain pests. Insects and bugs become resistant to pesticides and other methods of protecting plants due to a lack in diversity of protection methods, not from DNA modification.
2. GMOs have special side effects
   • Once again, GMOs are based on an already existing organism. Any changes to an organism to create a GMO are about as dangerous as traditional processes, just without having to wait for random chance.

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One final annoyance I have. Not all domesticated crops and animals are GMOs. The point of language is to create understanding between two organisms, which for this conversation also means that there needs to be clear names for objects within the conversation. If you want GMO to represnent all organisms (which the majority of biologists and governments don't) then you need to provide a new name to refer to these organisms. I will be defining GMOs as organisms which have had DNA edited directly within the organism instead of the annoying definition which seems to be any organism which had its DNA affected by humans.

 

I like corn.

 

Me too.