Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member Latest Breaking News Editorials & Other Articles General Discussion The DU Lounge All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search
2 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
Genetically modified foods. How are they bad? (Original Post) SarahD May 2024 OP
I wouldn't say they're bad or good but one thing that's true mahina May 2024 #1
Our bodies can't tell the difference, but that'snot the problem Warpy May 2024 #2

mahina

(18,650 posts)
1. I wouldn't say they're bad or good but one thing that's true
Fri May 31, 2024, 12:37 AM
May 2024

Is that some of them are designed to be resistant to specific pesticides that I would prefer not to eat. I am no expert on the topic, but I do recall that a bunch of chemicals are only legal in this country, not in Japan or Europe, and we eat a lot of them.

Being anti-gmo across the board doesn’t make any sense to me. Anybody who’s ever done? Anyone gardening in Hawaii would probably appreciate gmo papayas that don’t get the icky virus Whose name I cannot remember at the moment.

Warpy

(112,779 posts)
2. Our bodies can't tell the difference, but that'snot the problem
Fri May 31, 2024, 01:14 AM
May 2024

The problem comes in the developing world that have a mixture of big farms run by rich landowners and small farms on marginal land owned or rented by subsistence farmers.

The big guys use the GMO seed because the crop yields are greater. They buy seed every year because those big yields produce sterile seed, Monsanto's way of protecting their intellectual property. No problem, the big guys can afford it. The small farmers need to save seed from one crop to plant the next.

The problem is that the pollen from the big GMO fields drifts over to the small farmer's field. That reduces the amount of his saved seed that will grow the following year. Even products advertised as "non GMO" have failed testing becuse the fields have been contaminated by GMO pollen which produced sterile seed for them, too.

I think we can all see the problem here. There is also nothing we can do about it, not yet.

Latest Discussions»Culture Forums»Science»Genetically modified food...