Genetic Modification in Food

[wellAlbidarned]

Nah. I used to be a bit like that, but in the last couple of years I've realised how dumb such unwavering absolute beliefs are, so I've started trying to open up a little more.

 

[Johnners]

The ones which are destroying soil fertility, slowly diluting the nutritional content of food, and shrinking produce gene pools.

ITSTL, do you have any evidence of this? And where exactly is this supposed to be happening?

 

[wellAlbidarned]

ITSTL, do you have any evidence of this? And where exactly is this supposed to be happening?

Can't remember exactly where I first came across it, but here's an article from a quick google:
Nutritional value of fruits, veggies is dwindling - Health - Diet and nutrition - NBCNews.com

It's the inevitable by-product of the focus on getting increasingly larger short-term yields from limited amounts of land.

The gene pool shrinking has mostly been noted in bananas, though the same mono-cropping is probably leading to similar problems in other staple foods:
Scientists unpeel banana's genome - Technology & science - Science - DiscoveryNews.com - NBCNews.com

and there's loads of stuff about soil fertility being a long term problem
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/w...-is-holding-back-african-recovery-472161.html

 

[silentstriker]

Seems like that just makes the case for GM food future where we completely control the genetic nature of our food.

 

[uvelocity]

eat moar greens

also I don't trust scientists, cane toad.

 

[uvelocity]

there's also plenty of rich people in chad, laos and even new zealand

save them from the horrors of vitamin a deficiency and they'll be claimed by something as bad or worse

 

[Spark]

cane toad was about as unscientific as they get tbh

 

[wellAlbidarned]

It's a prime example of the "We have to solve this problem and we have to solve it now!" mentality going wrong, though.

 

[Top_Cat]

It's a prime example of the "We have to solve this problem and we have to solve it now!" mentality going wrong, though.

Wasn't science-driven, though. That and it was, what 90 years ago they were introduced?

Might be shocked at the scientific advances we've seen since then. We now know what DNA looks like!

 

[uvelocity]

I think often people think they have looked at all the possibilities, and they are confident right up to the moment when they realise they didn't think of that

 

[Shri]

Correct me if I am wrong but wasn't the domestication of dogs a certain form of genetic engineering? It took thousands of years but we can do the same to other organisms in a lab in a generation or two as opposed to waiting for so many generations of trial and error over a longer time? I think the only way for all these modern ideas to go ahead is if people born in this generation or the next become leaders. Because I don't think the people born before the late 80s/early nineties really 'get' what we are talking about.

 

[silentstriker]

FFS, late eighties? Kids these days...

 

[silentstriker]

And you don't need to look to dogs - most of the food you eat isn't the wild type, it's been heavily selected for over thousands of years (e.g bananas without seeds).

 

[uvelocity]

how about parmi

 

[wellAlbidarned]

Wasn't science-driven, though. That and it was, what 90 years ago they were introduced?

Might be shocked at the scientific advances we've seen since then. We now know what DNA looks like!

I'm sure they thought they were being pretty thorough and scientific, hindsight is wonderful stuff eh.

I'm aware there's been massive advancement. I have no problem with GE practises being put into practise where necessary. I just think our understanding of all the implications of it are being slightly overstated by some in this thread. Throughout history the lesson in this sort of stuff is the same: make triple sure you know what the **** you're dealing with. Because it's always "Nah, we know exactly what we're doing. Nothing can possibly go wron- oh ****"

 

[Uppercut]

So we're all now agreed. GM foods are awesome and anyone that objects can go suck a bag of dicks.

 

[Top_Cat]

I'm sure they thought they were being pretty thorough and scientific, hindsight is wonderful stuff eh.

No, and the historical record is actually pretty clear on this. It was tried in other countries then tried here with no attempt to measure, verify or test the results from the other countries before trying it here. The main science involved was Aussie scientists saying not to do it. They were ignored by the sugarcane industry and govt of the time.

I'm aware there's been massive advancement. I have no problem with GE practises being put into practise where necessary. I just think our understanding of all the implications of it are being slightly overstated by some in this thread. Throughout history the lesson in this sort of stuff is the same: make triple sure you know what the **** you're dealing with. Because it's always "Nah, we know exactly what we're doing. Nothing can possibly go wron- oh ****"

Straight-up, I've got no idea where to start with this. Scientific research isn't hit and hope, what do you think we're doing with our time?

 

[uvelocity]

I doubt you're making proper use of auspost itbt

 

[Shri]

I'm sure they thought they were being pretty thorough and scientific, hindsight is wonderful stuff eh.

I'm aware there's been massive advancement. I have no problem with GE practises being put into practise where necessary. I just think our understanding of all the implications of it are being slightly overstated by some in this thread. Throughout history the lesson in this sort of stuff is the same: make triple sure you know what the **** you're dealing with. Because it's always "Nah, we know exactly what we're doing. Nothing can possibly go wron- oh ****"

Are you actually just frightened of a zombie apocalypse?

 

[wellAlbidarned]

No, and the historical record is actually pretty clear on this. It was tried in other countries then tried here with no attempt to measure, verify or test the results from the other countries before trying it here. The main science involved was Aussie scientists saying not to do it. They were ignored by the sugarcane industry and govt of the time.



Straight-up, I've got no idea where to start with this. Scientific research isn't hit and hope, what do you think we're doing with our time?

I know it's not "hit and hope", I'm just saying it's perfectly understandable for people to want a better-safe-than-sorry approach. Give people good reason to feel fine about it, suspicion about new scientific developments is pretty normal.