GM Foods

[Guest HaReLdNkUmAr]

Im working on a project about GM foods and if anyone has anything intresting they want to share it would be much appreciated

[5614]

GM crops are a great way forward, however they raise alarms about how they may effect us.

 

the only way a GM crop could effect us is in the same way that a non-edible food is.

 

at the moment the things which we eat have edible cells, if we start changin those cells, they may no longer be edible (without harming us), sadly things like animal testing could quickly answer those questions.... and once we know if its safe or not, GM food could be a great step forward.

[MolecularMan14]

I agree. As long as GM foods are regulated and thouroughly researched properly before marketing, let alone comsumption. I think everyone's main problem is the possible harms that could come about from it. But once again, if we take the time and resources to develop and research everything we do before actually market it, we would prevent this. But I understand the problems that could arise from underdeveloped countries. GM foods would be something that must be handled by appropriate, and developed nations. (something with the resources to actually make the changes necessary for a positive development)

[Ophiolite]

We have demonstrated a singular inability to predict the impact of even small changes on an ecosystem. The concern is that GM foods may have a disastrous, unanticipated effect that does not show up within the constraints of the testing program.

 

The benefits of GM are questioned, and some argue they are grossly overstated by commercial interests.

 

Even assuming the benefits are genuine, the haste with with which we have embarked upon implementation of GM in some areas causes alarm among those who fear a catastrophe.

 

I favour continued cautious research, development and testing of GM products, but on a much broader base than current programs. There is no need for GM products at present unless you are a agri-chem company looking for enhanced profits.

[Jake712]

Right now i believe that any and all Genetic engineering of crops should be should be limited entirely to research until it becomes necessary to feed the earth's growing population. I did a project a while ago on this same topic and found a few incidents where GM foods caused severe problems.

 

Malthus - Population grows exponentially, agriculture grows arithmatically

(2,4,8,ect.) (1,2,3, ect.)

[Gilded]

I don't know if people should just let all GM vegetables and such be without careful research, but it almost makes me cry when because of Greenpeace (and the like) people in developing countries die, when thousands (if not millions) of lives could be saved with GM rice or such. "Do not eat these, they're bad to Mother Nature! Now, go to your huts and starve to death."

[Guest Fergus :P:P:]

hi im in school and doing a project on Gm food and the health risks can anyone pass on any info that would be much apperciated

[SubJunk]

Even if we spent 50 years researching just one kind of GE/GM food, we still wouldn't know enough about how it can effect the environment.

 

Evolution does not just happen by chance. It happens for reasons, reasons that are essential to the survival of the species it concerns, and these changes are very precise and very gradual. It's the way things have to work, because if we suddenly change one thing, even with all the research possible, it could get out and harm something we havn't planned for. In nature there are too many variables to possibly be able to ever calculate to the point where you could say "this modification won't have any harmful effects on anything".

Please note, this is not coming from a religious view-point as I'm an atheist, it's coming from the fact that we've only even named a fraction of living things on the planet, so we can never possibly know if a genetic modification will effect the majority of life on the planet.

I used to be pro GE, mostly just 'cause hippies and activists etc piss me off (not because of their intentions necessarily, but because of the ways they try to achieve their goals) until I did my research and a lot of thinking. One day it suddenly occurred to me just how literally impossible it would be for humans (at this stage or in the near future at least) to safely genetically modify anything and guarantee it's safe.

[Ophiolite]

I don't know if people should just let all GM vegetables and such be without careful research, but it almost makes me cry when because of Greenpeace (and the like) people in developing countries die, when thousands (if not millions) of lives could be saved with GM rice or such. "Do not eat these, they're bad to Mother Nature! Now, go to your huts and starve to death."

The global problem of food is not one of production, but one of distribution. Google for evidence if you are interested.

[Gilded]

"The global problem of food is not one of production, but one of distribution. Google for evidence if you are interested."

 

Well that's exactly what I was trying to point out (in a way).

[Aardvark]

"The global problem of food is not one of production' date=' but one of distribution. Google for evidence if you are interested."

 

Well that's exactly what I was trying to point out (in a way).[/quote']

 

True, the world has enough food for everyone but some people still go hungry.

 

However, GM technology could still be a potential way of helping the poor and hungry. The green revolution helped raise incomes and improve diets for many poor people. If GM lives up to it's promises it could also do the same.

[Mokele]

One day it suddenly occurred to me just how literally impossible it would be for humans (at this stage or in the near future at least) to safely genetically modify anything and guarantee it's safe.

 

What if it's sterile? It's not really that hard for plants, just make it triploid. It won't be able to assort the chromosomes evenly in meiosis, and thus no seeds or pollen. Iirc, triploidy (and other odd chromosome numbers) is how we have seedless grapes and other seedless fruits.

 

Mokele

[Gilded]

"Iirc, triploidy (and other odd chromosome numbers) is how we have seedless grapes and other seedless fruits."

 

I always wondered how they make those.

[daisy]

GM (geneticallymodified) foods are grossly misunderstood in my view. People think if they eat them they will be at risk....this is obviously nonsense. You don't become genetically modified if you eat a cow do you? The problem lies in the introduction of GM crops. Do we know how GM crops will impact the insect population, and how will that affect pollination, will this select for new pests, will this impact on native species of plants...etc...etc. If I eat a GM tomato, it WILL NOT change my DNA...every day I encounter "alien" DNA, in the form of food that I take in but I have not (yet) turned into a vegetable or anything else for that matter.

[SubJunk]

Okay, i've never heard anyone suggest their own DNA would become modified upon consumption of GM food. The arguments against GM food that I feel are valid are the ones that don't look at selfish things like "how will this affect me" and think of the future of the planet and human life.

Here is a common one:

 

It only takes one big mistake with GM to possibly change the world forever. It could be a good change, but more likely it would be a bad one.

The "circle of life" isn't just a concept for kids who watch The Lion King, you know. There really is a cycle. Often as humans we aren't aware of this because we often act first and think later, especially when we're eager to invent/prove new technology.

It's important to remember that the living things that inhabit this earth havn't been like this forever, or even for long. Homo Sapiens are among the new species on the planet. We're a product of evolution - whether God put it in motion or not, I don't mean for this to become a religious argument.

We - and every other living thing on the planet - has been "genetically modified" by nature to best survive. It blows my mind that any human, or team of humans, could claim to have the foresight/intelligence/maturity to be able to change things at the genetic level safely. Just because we're the "smartest" beings on the planet, doesn't mean we're very smart in the grand scheme of things.

[Sayonara]

Okay, i've never heard anyone suggest their own DNA would become modified upon consumption of GM food.

I have, but that's because they were scare-mongering idiots who knew nothing about genetics and had nothing better to do.

 

 

It blows my mind that any human, or team of humans, could claim to have the foresight/intelligence/maturity to be able to change things at the genetic level safely. Just because we're the "smartest" beings on the planet, doesn't mean we're very smart in the grand scheme of things.

Depends what you mean by "safe" though, doesn't it. Wiping ourselves out would be quite funny for a lot of people.

[SubJunk]

I knew I should've said "i've never heard any credible person suggest their own DNA would become modified upon consumption of GM food."

 

Secondly... If they would find it funny, they wouldn't be wiped out.

[Aardvark]

Depends what you mean by "safe" though' date=' doesn't it. Wiping ourselves out would be quite funny for a lot of people.[/quote']

 

 

That's a risk i'm prepared to take

 

Blue bananas and purple carrots are worth any risk.

[Aardvark]

And on a less amusing note than human extinction.

 

We have been genetically modifying plants and animals for years, in a haphazard way of taking advantage of any randomn variations in livestock and plants.

 

In the 1960's rice seeds were exposed to radiation for the express purpose of inducing mutations. These seeds were then planted to see if the results were interesting. ( i wish i'd been involved in those experiments, they sound like they were fun!)

 

If you're worring about genetic modification then that would seem to be a little bit less safe than the GM technology of today.

[Gilded]

Heh, now that I think of it in the evolution aspect, it's kinda hilarious. Evolution created humans. Now humans think they know better. It's like if one was to build a machine, that then one day says "I know more about machine building than you do"... or something. And it actually doesn't, it just thinks it does. Like maybe it can build a simple gear-thingie itself, but it doesn't have a clue about computers and such. I would be rather pissed at the machine at that point.

 

"There aren't good analogies. There's just bad and worse."

-The guy next to that guy who lived by the nice lawn in a trash bag

[muad'dib]

There is one huge risk in eating GM foods, allergic reactions. In one case a gene from artic flounder was incorportated or spliced into the DNA of a tomato to make them frost resistant. The gene that was spliced produces a protein that has a very low freezing point (which allowed the flounder to live in very very cold water). This flounder isn't a staple of any diet anywhere so nobody knows if there are people out there who would have an allergic reaction to this protein.

[SubJunk]

exactly, gilded. That's exactly how I see it, and thanks for that analogy because I always have a hard time expressing this particular topic in words

[Aardvark]

It's like if one was to build a machine, that then one day says "I know more about machine building than you do"... or something. And it actually doesn't, it just thinks it does. Like maybe it can build a simple gear-thingie itself, but it doesn't have a clue about computers and such. I would be rather pissed at the machine at that point.

 

I wouldn't be pissed off, more like completely amazed.

[Gilded]

"I wouldn't be pissed off, more like completely amazed."

 

Yes of course at first, but when something does something without knowing s¤#% about it, the results are usually rather... bad.

 

Another bad analogy:

 

There's a kid. He want's to know about explosives. "Perhaps I'll make my own explosives when I have sufficient knowledge", the kid thinks. He then starts to study physics and chemistry. At a point, he thinks "I probably know enough", makes an explosive, prematurely exploding it, breaking three bones, getting bad burns and burning the house down. He didn't know enough; he just thought he did.

 

Talking of explosives, that is probably one of the reasons why YT isn't sharing too many HE-making instructions. If he would, the kid-scenario mentioned above was likely to happen.

 

Summary: Complete knowledge = good. Some knowledge, yet insufficient = mostly baaaad.

[Aardvark]

Summary: Complete knowledge = good. Some knowledge' date=' yet insufficient = mostly baaaad.[/quote']

 

 

If we just waited until we knew everything and had eliminated all risk then we would never achieve anything at all. The advance of science depends on experimenting with the unknown.

 

You used the analogy of a machine trying to make another machine and stated that ths would obviously be unsuccesful. On the contrary the history of evolution shows that more complex structures come from simpler ones, progress. (and nuts to Prof Stephen Gould)