Author Topic: Genetically Modified Food  (Read 5268 times)

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Offline Rime

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Re: Genetically Modified Food
« Reply #15 on: November 24, 2012, 11:00:16 am »
I'll have to take an issue SimSim, albeit one.  This happens in third world countries where the farmers don't have lots of money to buy seeds every year.
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Offline SimSim

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Re: Genetically Modified Food
« Reply #16 on: November 24, 2012, 08:12:09 pm »
Fair enough, I wasn't as exact as I should have been. I was talking about in the US, but didn't specify that. I know next to nothing about farming practices in other countries.

Offline Auggziliary

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Re: Genetically Modified Food
« Reply #17 on: November 25, 2012, 10:38:32 am »
The problem I have with GMO's is that they can make them immune to powerful herbicides. I know soybeans already do this. They can drown the soybeans in Round Up and nothing will happen to them, but it still kills the weeds. This fuck-ton of herbicide leaks everywhere else.
Plus with the patents(Rabbit mentioned this earlier) they can sue farmers because their non-GMO-soybeans were pollinated by GMO-soybeans.

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The problems with GMO's arrise from the legal aspects and cross-pollination. I have no problem with GMO's other than that.
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Offline Rime

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Re: Genetically Modified Food
« Reply #18 on: November 25, 2012, 12:05:15 pm »
I'll throw in a few other issues.

We now have Roundup-resistant weeds.  Which means we'll soon need something more powerful than Roundup to cut down on competition.  And gengineer a new resistant crop around it.  Or maybe develop a more sensible way to farm?

My problems with Monsanto isn't so much the research, it's their business practices which are perpetrated and subsequent misuse of the developments.  I'm not totally convinced that the testing is thorough enough, given what appears to be the rise in food allergies over recent years, but I'm willing to accept that I haven't done a lot of research into it. 

<opinion>
I think, however, we really need to look at agriculture in general and not just "how can we tweak it for some more money."
</opinion>
And when we're done soul searching,
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Offline Material Defender

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Re: Genetically Modified Food
« Reply #19 on: November 25, 2012, 12:15:04 pm »
Why not all GMOs are developed by monsanto. It's solely focusing on herbicide resistant ones, as opposed to ones that are naturally resilient to insects and weeds. There's a lot of cool things you can do GMOs, just Monsanto is really over focusing on one aspect.
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Offline Osama bin Bambi

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Re: Genetically Modified Food
« Reply #20 on: November 25, 2012, 05:48:29 pm »
The thing about herbicides and insecticides is that it will always be a battle. Always. When you find a solution to insects infesting the crops, there is always the chance that some of those organisms will be resistant to your "solution" due to a mutation. Thus, the insects repopulate, but they are more resistant the next time. This holds true whether you are using non-GMO foods with pesticides/herbicides/whathaveyou or GMO foods with those kinds of features "built in."

I support GMO foods, but the only somewhat reasonable argument against them that I have ever heard is that if all the crops in the world are too similar, then it will be easier for a disease or bioweapon to wipe out huge swaths of them at once.
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Offline Auggziliary

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Re: Genetically Modified Food
« Reply #21 on: November 25, 2012, 06:04:53 pm »
There needs to be regulations of pollution then since Monsanto is pretty much dumping a shit ton of plant killer on their farms without taking precautions.
Plus the whole patent thing is just a way for Monsanto to put other farms out of business. There shouldn't be patents on GMO's, or the farmers who have their crops pollinated on accident by GMO's shouldn't have to pay for it since it wasn't their fault.
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Offline Rime

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Re: Genetically Modified Food
« Reply #22 on: November 25, 2012, 06:23:44 pm »
Why not all GMOs are developed by monsanto. It's solely focusing on herbicide resistant ones, as opposed to ones that are naturally resilient to insects and weeds. There's a lot of cool things you can do GMOs, just Monsanto is really over focusing on one aspect.

I did say that I'm not against the research, but what they've done with it.  I also have some doubts because I've seen what appears to be a rise in food allergies over the last ten years, but maybe that's because we all go crazy now when we mention peanuts in public places.

Auggzillary:

It's not the company that makes it that's the problem.  It's the farmers who decide how much is enough which is why I think everyone needs to look at agriculture in general and not just "how can we produce bigger yields."  The same thing happens with potatoes.  Prince Edward Island can now proudly say that they're home to many rare and exotic cancers because the potato bugs are increasingly resistant to the pesticides sprayed on their crops.  So their answer is "We'll use more pesticide!"
And when we're done soul searching,
And we carry the weight and die for a cause.
Is misery made beautiful
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Mercy be revealed, or blind us where we stand?

Offline Auggziliary

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Re: Genetically Modified Food
« Reply #23 on: November 25, 2012, 06:29:23 pm »
Why not all GMOs are developed by monsanto. It's solely focusing on herbicide resistant ones, as opposed to ones that are naturally resilient to insects and weeds. There's a lot of cool things you can do GMOs, just Monsanto is really over focusing on one aspect.

I did say that I'm not against the research, but what they've done with it.  I also have some doubts because I've seen what appears to be a rise in food allergies over the last ten years, but maybe that's because we all go crazy now when we mention peanuts in public places.

Auggzillary:

It's not the company that makes it that's the problem.  It's the farmers who decide how much is enough which is why I think everyone needs to look at agriculture in general and not just "how can we produce bigger yields."  The same thing happens with potatoes.  Prince Edward Island can now proudly say that they're home to many rare and exotic cancers because the potato bugs are increasingly resistant to the pesticides sprayed on their crops.  So their answer is "We'll use more pesticide!"

That has nothing to do with what I said, but that is a very good point.

Herbicide isn't pesticide. The chemical that Monsanto sprays on their plants is Glyphosate, Aka Round Up. They spray buckets of it on their crops because no matter how much they spray, it wont effect their crops. Of course this could affect the enviorment and other farmers tremendously.
Also the patent thing is just absurd. If they can't control where their pollen goes then they shouldn't be able to get that patent.

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Offline Material Defender

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Re: Genetically Modified Food
« Reply #24 on: November 25, 2012, 07:33:10 pm »
GMOs allow for one to produce a lot more polyculture, because right now we have trouble with monoculture. With GMOs we could have sweet, yet poly culture apples. We could have many different types of potatoes techinically, but yeah. IF one thing wipes out one, it doesn't effect the rest.

Why not all GMOs are developed by monsanto. It's solely focusing on herbicide resistant ones, as opposed to ones that are naturally resilient to insects and weeds. There's a lot of cool things you can do GMOs, just Monsanto is really over focusing on one aspect.

I did say that I'm not against the research, but what they've done with it.  I also have some doubts because I've seen what appears to be a rise in food allergies over the last ten years, but maybe that's because we all go crazy now when we mention peanuts in public places.

I was just stating myself. I wasn't sure I was clear. I didn't mean to be accusing you of anything.
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Offline SimSim

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Re: Genetically Modified Food
« Reply #25 on: November 25, 2012, 10:57:42 pm »
Why not all GMOs are developed by monsanto. It's solely focusing on herbicide resistant ones, as opposed to ones that are naturally resilient to insects and weeds. There's a lot of cool things you can do GMOs, just Monsanto is really over focusing on one aspect.

I did say that I'm not against the research, but what they've done with it.  I also have some doubts because I've seen what appears to be a rise in food allergies over the last ten years, but maybe that's because we all go crazy now when we mention peanuts in public places.

Auggzillary:

It's not the company that makes it that's the problem.  It's the farmers who decide how much is enough which is why I think everyone needs to look at agriculture in general and not just "how can we produce bigger yields."  The same thing happens with potatoes.  Prince Edward Island can now proudly say that they're home to many rare and exotic cancers because the potato bugs are increasingly resistant to the pesticides sprayed on their crops.  So their answer is "We'll use more pesticide!"

That has nothing to do with what I said, but that is a very good point.

Herbicide isn't pesticide. The chemical that Monsanto sprays on their plants is Glyphosate, Aka Round Up. They spray buckets of it on their crops because no matter how much they spray, it wont effect their crops. Of course this could affect the enviorment and other farmers tremendously.
Also the patent thing is just absurd. If they can't control where their pollen goes then they shouldn't be able to get that patent.


Erm, Monsanto doesn't spray anything. They produce Roundup, which farmers then buy and distribute themselves.

Offline Auggziliary

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Re: Genetically Modified Food
« Reply #26 on: November 25, 2012, 11:06:44 pm »
Why not all GMOs are developed by monsanto. It's solely focusing on herbicide resistant ones, as opposed to ones that are naturally resilient to insects and weeds. There's a lot of cool things you can do GMOs, just Monsanto is really over focusing on one aspect.

I did say that I'm not against the research, but what they've done with it.  I also have some doubts because I've seen what appears to be a rise in food allergies over the last ten years, but maybe that's because we all go crazy now when we mention peanuts in public places.

Auggzillary:

It's not the company that makes it that's the problem.  It's the farmers who decide how much is enough which is why I think everyone needs to look at agriculture in general and not just "how can we produce bigger yields."  The same thing happens with potatoes.  Prince Edward Island can now proudly say that they're home to many rare and exotic cancers because the potato bugs are increasingly resistant to the pesticides sprayed on their crops.  So their answer is "We'll use more pesticide!"

That has nothing to do with what I said, but that is a very good point.

Herbicide isn't pesticide. The chemical that Monsanto sprays on their plants is Glyphosate, Aka Round Up. They spray buckets of it on their crops because no matter how much they spray, it wont effect their crops. Of course this could affect the enviorment and other farmers tremendously.
Also the patent thing is just absurd. If they can't control where their pollen goes then they shouldn't be able to get that patent.


Erm, Monsanto doesn't spray anything. They produce Roundup, which farmers then buy and distribute themselves.

They spray round up all over their GMO soybeans. They modified the soybeans to be immune to roundup so that they can spray it all over their plants. They also have a patent on the Round Up immune soybeans. They sell those plants to soybean farmers so they can do the same.
Also since they own the patent, if one of their soybean plants pollinates another farmer's non-GMO soybeans, they can sue them for patent infringement.
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