Is the health concern over GMO crops valid, or is it just basic fear of new technology? Or is all that just a distraction from the real issue?
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There’s a few different ways to examine this issue, the health aspect, the freedom aspect, and the economic aspect.
From a health aspect, I’m sure I’m courting a lot of hate comments when I say… I personally am not that concerned about GMO’s.
Here’s why… if you’ve been to the grocery store anytime in the last month, you’ve purchased genetically modified food.
And I don’t mean that in a “they snuck GMO’s into my hungry man meal," what I mean is that really, all food that we eat today is genetically modified.
What’s different about GMO’s is that they’re being cultivated by physically altering the DNA of plants in ways that would take thousands of years for nature to do it, or in ways that are simply impossible to do in a natural way.
As for what alterations are being made, they mostly fall into two categories: to increase output, and to make them more resistant to negative factors.
Negative factors include droughts, difficult growing conditions, and insects.
For instance, some crops are having their DNA spliced with plants that produce a natural insect repellant, which means that fewer pesticides are necessary to keep them viable.
And let’s keep it real, fewer pesticides is a good thing.
As the world population continues to surge, it’s actually hugely important that we find ways to create more sustainable food crops to avoid mass starvation, which is going to affect people in the developing world far more than in the industrialized nations.
In a way, complaining about GMO crops is a bit of a first-world privilege.
There is a freedom aspect to GMOs, and here’s where it starts to get murky.
In the United States, congress just passed what many are calling the Dark Act, which actually goes by the Orwellian name The Safe And Accurate Labeling Act of 2015, which says that companies are not required to label foods as genetically modified.
I’ve got no problem with genetically modified food, but do I think people have the right to know if their food has been genetically modified? Yeah, I do.
Third aspect: economics.
The dirty little secret about companies who manipulate the DNA of food crops is this: They own the patent.
Which means that if a farmer wants to raise those crops, they have to pay for the rights from the companies.
Which is quickly driving smaller farmers out of business.
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Some more links on this subject:
Test Tube Plus’ video on the subject of GMOs.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCWH7...
And another one by AJ+
https://youtu.be/_STr04wo_0w
http://omeleto.com/214155/
http://www.gmwatch.org/gm-firms/10558...
Image credits:
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OMG GMOs! The Truth About Genetically Modified Food | Answers With Joe | |
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| Entertainment | Upload TimePublished on 3 Aug 2015 |
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