Quote:
Originally Posted by Frownland
And show me your evidence of any cross pollination occurring. A group of farmers attempted to sue Monsanto for that very idea and their case was thrown out because they were unable to cite a single instance of cross-pollination of GMO crops.
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Evidence of GMO cross pollination with non-GMO plants:
(1) In 2000, Starlink GMO corn genes were found to have contaminated non-GMO corn through cross-pollination, leading to Kraft's recalling millions of taco shells.
''I didn't grow any StarLink corn, but I got contaminated by a neighbor,'' said Keith Weller, 50, who farms near Westside, Iowa. ''This issue of contamination is a real problem.''
Gene-Altered Corn Changes Dynamics Of Grain Industry - NYTimes.com
(2) In 2001 and 2004, corn transgenes were found in non-GMO corn varieties in Mexico. This was especially bad because GMOs weren't even supposed to be allowed in Mexico:
A. PIÑEYRO-NELSON
et al. (2009) Transgenes in Mexican maize: molecular evidence and methodological considerations for GMO detection in landrace populations,
Molecular Ecology
Transgenes in Mexican maize: molecular evidence and methodological considerations for GMO detection in landrace populations - PI[]EYRO-NELSON - 2008 - Molecular Ecology - Wiley Online Library
(3) In 2011, after GMO rice was found to have modified non-GMO rice, Bayer paid the farmers $750 million in damages.
"Bayer and Louisiana State University had tested the rice, bred to be resistant to Bayer’s Liberty-brand herbicide, at a school-run facility in Crowley, La. The genetically modified variety cross-bred with and 'contaminated' more than 30 percent of United States ricelands, Don Downing, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, said at the start of the first farmers’ trial in November 2009.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/02/bu...hrCBGsooWJU6PQ
Quote:
Originally Posted by Frownland
A group of farmers attempted to sue Monsanto for that very idea and their case was thrown out because they were unable to cite a single instance of cross-pollination of GMO crops.
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The case was actually thrown out for a very different reason: Monsanto had already agreed that it would not sue farmers if their crops were only
slightly contaminated with its GMO crops.
Reading from this article about the case, "The crops are widely used in the United States and Latin America.
It has proven difficult to keep the genetic alteration from contaminating non-biotech crops, as recently occurred in a wheat field in the U.S. state of Oregon."
"In its ruling Monday, the court noted that records indicate a large majority of conventional seed samples have become contaminated by Monsanto's Roundup resistance trait."
Monsanto Wins Lawsuit Filed By U.S. Organic Farmers Worried About Seed Contamination
Quote:
Originally Posted by Frownland
If you haven't noticed yet I'm pretty pro-GMO. [...]
Really, we've been genetically modifying foods for thousands of years through artificial selection. Science has just come up with ways to speed up the process without the arduous process of continuing to select for ideal traits in artificial selection (and natural selection to a degree, but that doesn't really apply to agriculture).
Here's a good article from an accredited source: Core Truths: 10 Common GMO Claims Debunked | Popular Science |
Creating GMOs is fundamentally different than traditional breeding because GMOs introduce DNA from one species into another using non-sexual methods (with uncertain outcomes when the foreign DNA integrates in the target organism's genome), while traditional breeding uses a single species' own sexual reproduction methods to shift different naturally occurring alleles of genes within that species.
The article you site that attempts to debunk common GMO claims actually substantiates one of them, which is one that concerns me: the impact of GMOs on insect species.
Quote:
9) Claim: GMOs harm beneficial insect species.
A 2012 paper from Iowa State University and the University of Minnesota suggested glyphosate-tolerant GMOs are responsible for monarchs' recent population decline. The herbicide kills milkweed (the larvae's only food source) in and near crops where it's applied.
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My opinion on GMOs:
I support the use of recombinant DNA technology in the creation of vaccines (such as the recombinant flu vaccine
How Influenza (Flu) Vaccines Are Made | Seasonal Influenza (Flu) | CDC ), but
I oppose the creation of GMO plants and animals for three reasons:
(1) Most GMOs are an attempted quick fix to problems that could, and I feel should, be addressed using less risky, conventional methods. For example, people desire higher grain yields and fewer pests, but this problem can be addressed by using more crop rotation and greater crop diversity, and by reducing the quantity of grain fed to animals to produce meat such that more land is available to grow crops to feed humans directly.
(2) GMOs can have unpredictable consequences, which creates the potential of harm to people and non-human animals. For example, there is the possibility of a person's being allergic to a protein introduced into the food species that normally wouldn't contain that GMO. Also, making GMO animals is using the animals as "guinea pigs" to fulfill the whims of humans, and I oppose that.
(3) As documented above, GMO plants and animals can cross-breed with natural plants and animals in the wild, which creates genetically modified organisms no longer under the control of people. This has possible unintended consequences for plants, animals, humans, and ecosystems.
Here's an article describing how GMO salmon (which are not 100% sterile) could potentially escape and interbreed with wild salmon and other fish species:
Genetically Modified Salmon Can Cross-breed and Pass on GM Material : Animals : Nature World News