GMOs

[Unkotare]

GLP Infographic: International science organizations on crop biotech safety | Genetic Literacy Project


So why all the hub-bub?

 

[waltky]

Granny says, "Dat's right - GMOs gonna feed the world...
:grandma:
Genetic breakthrough: Crops use more sunlight to grow
Thu, 17 Nov 2016 - A genetic technique makes plants produce more food from sunlight - a key step in feeding the growing global population, scientists say.

Scientists have improved "the most important biological process on the planet" - photosynthesis. The breakthrough, published in the journal Science, used genetic modification to increase the amount of sunlight energy crop plants can channel into food production. That increased yield in an experimental crop by 15%. Researchers say this is a critical step towards increasing crop production to feed a growing global population. Lead researcher Prof Stephen Long, based at the the University of Illinois and the University of Lancaster, said decades of research into the 140-step process by which plants convert sunlight energy into food had revealed specific "inefficiencies in crops". "There are bottlenecks holding up the conversion of sunlight energy into food," he told BBC News. "Our research has tackled one of those bottlenecks."

The scientists targeted a plant's natural Sun-protection mechanism - while plants have evolved to produce food using sunlight energy, they have also evolved to protect themselves from Sun damage, which slows the process down. "[To protect itself], the leaf induces a process that gets rid of excess energy as heat," Prof Long told BBC News. "But the problem is when a cloud moves across the Sun, there's less sunlight energy - the plant could use it all, but it carries on dispensing that energy as heat. "So what we've done is speed up the process by which that heat loss [switches off]." The team inserted extra copies of the genes responsible for this heat-loss switch. And when they then grew their genetically modified crop, it grew 15% larger than normal. "This is a big jump," said Prof Long. "Well, we're now making this change in rice, in soy bean and wheat; [15% in those] would be huge. "Globally - rice, wheat, maize and soybean are the biggest crops. "So if we could get the same increase in those, that would greatly alleviate what we see as the future pressure on food supply. "

Feeding the nine billion

That pressure will intensify in the coming few decades, according to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (UNFAO). By 2050, it projects, the world will need to grow 70% more food, as the global population rises to more than nine billion people. "At the current rate we're not going to come close to reaching that target, so we're really in desperate need of new innovations," said Prof Long. "For us [in the West], food prices will go up. "But for some of the poorest nations, many households are already spending almost 100% of their household income on food, so for those families and those countries, this will be a catastrophe." Dr Hans Dreyer, from the UNFAO's of the plant production and protection division, said: "This is just one change, and we don't yet know if these plants will require more of other resources like water. "It's really important to increase crop yields significantly, but also sustainably."

Prof Christine Foyer, who directs a food security project for Sub-Saharan Africa at the the University of Leeds, described the breakthrough as "vital". "In terms of making Africa green and solving the problems associated with agriculture in those parts of the world," she told BBC News, "improving the processes involved in photosynthesis is an important step in solving food security. "Many people in the world today don't get enough to eat. And it's possible to envisage, with these new developments, that we can achieve zero hunger within the next 20 years. "I would hope that poor farmers would have plants that would grow well across a wide range of environmental conditions. So if you end up in drought or flood, you could have crops that remain viable. "Giving people with very little the wherewithal the feed themselves, that's what matters." This research involved collaborators from the Polish Academy of Sciences and the University of California Berkeley.

Genetic breakthrough: Crops use more sunlight to grow - BBC News

 

[gallantwarrior]

Since the companies that produce GMOs also control the research, and the government regulation of same, I would not trust any information published by those entities. Follow the money. Of course the companies responsible for GMOs want you to feel perfectly comfortable eating their unnatural laboratory specimens.

 

[Unkotare]

So your position is based on a hunch? Intuition? Clairvoyance?

 

[Tehon]

GLP Infographic: International science organizations on crop biotech safety | Genetic Literacy Project


So why all the hub-bub?

Drink a bottle of glyphosate and report your findings in the morning.

 

[Unkotare]

Academies of Science finds GMOs not harmful to human health


GMO safety debate is over


The Debate About GMO Safety Is Over, Thanks To A New Trillion-Meal Study


Major science group weighs in on safety of genetically modified foods


Scientists Say GMO Foods Are Safe, Public Skepticism Remains


GMOs Are Safe, But Don't Always Deliver On Promises, Top Scientists Say


http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/18/b...eered-crops-are-safe-analysis-finds.html?_r=0


No evidence GMO foods pose risk to health, report finds

 

[gallantwarrior]

So your position is based on a hunch? Intuition? Clairvoyance?

No, my opinion is based on research and reading alternative sources not published by major GMO producers.
It really is OK to expand your universe beyond officially approved and sanctioned sources of "information".

 

[Unkotare]

So your position is based on a hunch? Intuition? Clairvoyance?

No, my opinion is based on research and reading alternative sources not published by major GMO producers.
It really is OK to expand your universe beyond officially approved and sanctioned sources of "information".

You're looking for the Conspiracy Forum.

 

[Unkotare]

Academies of Science finds GMOs not harmful to human health


GMO safety debate is over


The Debate About GMO Safety Is Over, Thanks To A New Trillion-Meal Study


Major science group weighs in on safety of genetically modified foods


Scientists Say GMO Foods Are Safe, Public Skepticism Remains


GMOs Are Safe, But Don't Always Deliver On Promises, Top Scientists Say


http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/18/b...eered-crops-are-safe-analysis-finds.html?_r=0


No evidence GMO foods pose risk to health, report finds

.

 

[xyz]

The only GMO seeds that have been marketed are ones that are resistant to herbicides and pesticides, so you have to buy those too.

The "feed the world" theory has not been marketed, it has not been applied in the real world.

Plus a lot of food is thrown away. America especially throws away a lot, maybe even most of its food production. Keep in mind that it's not only the grain that has rotted in silos and the funny-looking tomatoes, but the day-old doughnuts as well.

 

[JustAnotherNut]

Why all the hub-bub, you ask?

1. Agri-biotech conglomerates have gained control over the world seed supplies and those same companies have been going thru mergers & acquisitions. There are only about 3 major companies left in the world. Of those, Bayer, who's parent company IG Farben (Germany) produced the gas Zyklon B used in the 'showers' of Nazi Germany.....is either in the process or recently has merged/acquired Monsanto (that acquired Syngenta) who produced Agent Orange used in Viet Nam and the weed killer RoundUp.......they (Monsanto) also were leader in GMO research & production. Not only did they make the seed, but also the weed killer that seed is supposed to be immune from.
http://www.naturalnews.com/055326_Monsanto_acquisition_Bayer_IG_Farben.html
Senate Questions “Tsunami” of Mergers and Acquisitions in Ag Industries | National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition

2. GMO's are produced in a laboratory not in nature, by gene splicing and changing the DNA on purpose......including human DNA. Does your rice come from Kansas? You could be eating Aunt Martha Human genes engineered into experimental GMO rice being grown in Kansas
There has also been findings of human DNA in hotdogs (and other foods as well) Report: Human DNA found in hot dogs The article does say that only 2% of 345 from 75 brands sampled were so contaminated, and 2/3 of the human DNA samples were vegetarian AND it was possible for some type of human error during testing for the DNA presence. I would think it prudent to retest to ensure validity of results, either way.

3. Some say "what's the big deal? Genetic modification happens all the time in nature"....NO. Cross pollination of different crop varieties (squashes-pumpkin & hubbard....or corn-sweet & field types) do happen in nature. Most crops are insect pollinated and I think corn is the only wind pollinated crop, but not 100% on that. Cross pollination creates hybrids which are combining some of each variety involved and the result . Human intervention has also happened for thousands of years by cross pollinating different varieties, saving the seeds from the 'best of the best' of whatever traits the farmer is looking for and thereby creating a new type of crop. This can take years to develop a superior crop for market. IF GMO's stopped there, it would be a good thing because they shorten that timeline. But they don't. GMO seed is basically created in a lab and considered 'Terminator or Suicide' seed and is therefore not sustainable. The farmer cannot save the seed from his crops to plant future crops but must purchase the seed every year.
Monsanto has been a detriment to many a farmer worldwide because of their patents on the GMO seeds, and any possible cross pollination of surrounding local crops/farms.
EXAMPLE=Farmer Jones lives & farms the property right next door to a Monsanto owned or operated farm and they both grow the same crop. Let's say watermelon that are pollinated by honey bees visiting the flowers, going from plant to plant. When Farmer Jones crop is tested....it tests positive for GMO's and Monsanto who owns that GMO patent sues Farmer Jones for infringement. But it is not his fault because he planted heirloom seeds handed down from Great Grandpa & can't figure out how his crop was tainted. He loses the suit, the family farm and everything he has....just because of wayward honey bees.
And it's worse for corn producers since corn is wind pollinated and shouldn't be planted within a mile or more of other corn crops.

4. Speaking of those honey bees......as GMO crops have multiplied, the honey bees population has nearly died off. Connection? Highly possible but nobody has admitted it since the so called experts have said 'they don't know what's behind the loss of bees'. Similarly cancers, allergies, ADD, ADHD & a host of other health problems have skyrocketed in recent years with the ever growing use of GMO's.

5. The last I had heard, there had only been limited research into the harmful or health effects of GMO's. But no, I repeat NO long term studies done. If I remember correctly it was either 3 month or maybe 6 month studies.

6. Agri biotech conglomerates are big political supporters. Especially Monsanto that financially supported both Republicans & Democrats and had a 'revolving door' policy with the FDA, USDA and other key positions within government that had either direct or indirect impact on their interests. Even Hillary Clinton is or was tied to Monsanto by having worked for the law firm or Attorney's that were on Monsanto's payroll

Conspiracy theory? Maybe, maybe not Any ONE of the listed reasons would atleast call it into question, but all 6 that I listed (and there is more) would or SHOULD make any reasonable minded person question the impact and safety of GMO's.

What a lot of it comes down to is this......when you control the food supply, you control the world.