when it comes to GMOs I believe the EU was being wise to stop the
unmitigated flow of gmo ~
many people I am in contact with are fearfull of saving their own garden
seeds just because they are afraid of crossing w gmo and either being sued
or reaping the truly unknown effects of gm crosses ~ the tests just have
not been done on to see the effects over generations of crosses, or even
long term studies on people .
Here are some of my questions/comments based on my own experience with
open-pollinated, replant-able seeds and some atadotal evidence that I have
not seen disproved yet .
I have training under John Navazio Ph.D. Senior Scientist for the
Organic Seed Alliance (OSA) and plant breeding and seed production extension
specialist for Washington State University . I was also Assistant Seedsman
at Turtle Tree Seeds
myth ~ fact or both
has round up use gone up with round up ready crops ?
is there any independent researchers (besides industry supported
universities) that are legally allowed to do long term testing without
patent infringement?
are there any benefits to having seeds that produce infertile seeds ?
unfortunately ~ my research on seeds and agriculture has not been enough to
satisfy these questions .
~
I gather that most GM crops are not meant to be saved for seed by farmers,
usually due to a contract prohibiting seed saving . But who can stop
farmers from saving seed, or cross pollination into plots meant for seed
production . no one . I have seen little to no research on long term
conventional breeding of once Genetically Modified crops ~ what i have seen
is people loosing their jobs for doing research and being unable to
complete long term studies ~ can we say for example that the ancestors of
bt crops will not harm unintended insects or humans
I am not against GM on principle ~ I will not grow however, any plants
that Im legaly not aloud to save seed from, or seeds that are still in
question as to health risks and scandal over research . I will also state
that new GMOs need evaluation on a case to case basis ~ even if all past
GMOs were safe. it would be silly to say all GMOs in the future will be
safe too . To say that all GMOs are safe is a lazy statement . What about
the unproved GM wheat that got loose and contaminated other crops . Japan
now refuses to get wheat from us . Real good economics .
the facts show that soil depletion is turning once fertile areas into
barren land across much of the united states' farm land . Round up
eliminates many potential cover cropping regenerative methods . fields
left barren are evaporating water and nutrients .
and lastly there is repeated antidotal evidence that roundup effected
grain causes difficulties with reproduction in livestock
even if round up ready crops were safe ( there has been no long term human
studies) there is repeated antidotal evidence that roundup effected grain
causes difficulties with reproduction in livestock ( no one is aloud to
official study a patented product with out gaining the rights) correct?
~
peter ~
please understand that I come from the belief that we are all in this
together, there is no %1 and %99 .
I want to understand the GM issue much better so I know where to put my
support . The big ag companies have an incredible opportunity to feed the
world . I want to support them to not only feed the world today but allow
farmers to feed the world for thousands upon thousands of years . The
patent issue is something that I deeply question in regards to long term
sustainability . Used to be every farm was a seed bank with locally climate
and use adapted verities . I understand that this is not simply a GM
issue, as hybrid seed often does poorly if grown a second generation as
well . This can be devastating for farmers who have always treated food
and seeds the same ~ eat some plant some ~ now much of the grains at some
markets would be unsuitable to grow and many farmers time is wasted because
they are not "educated" to buy seed from specific seed stores every year ~
I will say that I am gaining much respect for the aspirations of GM and
open-pollinated plant breeders alike ~ I am saddened by the vast gap
between folks with ultimately the same goal ~
I also find it sad that GM expects to be an equal in its first 15 years of
life ~ Organic agriculture (or agriculture as our grandparents called it)
has thousands of years of adapting use . we tool that time to lessen the
toxic that deterred animals ~ now why do we want to put them back in (BT ~
built in insecticide) ~ well I know why but I think our health suffers from
our laziness .
In a diverse open-pollinated verity, some of the individual plants will do
well in a drought year others well in a flood year. All the genetics are
held within the population, expressed and unexpressed and carried on to the
next generation . Much of the world experiences uncertainty of weather and
availability (price or transportation) of nutrients . They need versatile
crops . Where there is ample and consistent irrigation, insurance and a
steady market for nutrients than we have more flexibility to take the risk
of high production, boom or bust monoculture . ( we are in debt to
subsidies and petroleochemicle agriculture) Its not even worth it for us
the US . we still have plenty of new and old reliable nutritious crops all
we need is some education and finding out what farmers diverse regional
needs are . easier said than done, but not used it will be lost ~ lost to
those who do not use it ~ not I
In a large commodities market we will likely not go hungry growing
hybrids and gmos . this is what got us so fucked up in the first place .
shipping food across the world, where more than a third goes to wast due to
shipping and price shifts ~ A small farmer growing a multitude verities of
trees vegetables and grains to sustain a local community with diverse
nutrition will benefit more from open-pollinated savable seeds . its not
just a GMO issue but a monocrop issue as well ~ please keep in mind my goal
is not large scale organic mono-cropping .
Yes the loud minority (spiritually informed ) should do less wining and
more seed saving . They can not fill the supper markets today with vast
amounts produce transported around the world . The will in a thousand years
still have a closet or bucket of seeds, sufficient to plant a garden to
feed them selves and many others .
--
Ross
livingseedlibrary.net
[log in to unmask]
Agricultural Consultation, Education, and Manifestation
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
this was a response to
Peter Loring Borst <[log in to unmask]>
(sorry nothing personal ~ gm is not a fix all )
excerpts from:
Why is the EU so against GM crops? Unfortunately, the reason is political
expediency.
EU politicians will not come off the fence on the subject of GM crops for
fear of upsetting a small but vocal minority. The main opponents are the
environmental lobby, who would rather accept the unnecessary use of
hazardous chemical pesticides rather than acquiescing to the growth of GM
crops, the safety of which has been proven by more than 15 years of
cultivation around the world with not a single reported adverse effect.
The European organic lobby also opposes GM crops, seeking to protect their
price premiums for products which are now known to be no more healthy or
beneficial than any other crop. The de facto moratorium on GM agriculture
in Europe is an economic issue, not a safety issue as these opponents would
like the public to believe.
Others object to GM technology on the basis that it is controlled by "big
business," but this ignores the fact that agriculture itself is dominated
by big businesses that produce and distribute seeds. The business model
adopted for GM technology is no different than that in use for conventional
agricultural products. The "big business" fear mongering is more straw man
than actual bogeyman.
The time has come to fight against this insidious attack on the progress of
European science. It is fair to ask questions, demand answers, and ask for
evidence of safety. But it is not fair to continue an aggressive campaign
of Luddite opposition when all the evidence supports a positive role for GM
agriculture in Europe.
If we pander to a vocal but ignorant minority, the EU will end up the poor
cousin in a world of growing affluence, where those willing to embrace
biotechnology and its ability to address the global challenges of hunger,
poverty, disease will become the future’s new economic leaders.
By Gemma Masip, Maite Sabalza, Eduard Pérez-Massot, Raviraj Banakar, David
Cebrian, Richard M. Twyman, Teresa Capell, Ramon Albajes, and Paul Christou
Gemma Masip, Maite Sabalza, Eduard Pérez-Massot, Raviraj Banakar, David
Cebrian, Teresa Capell, Ramon Albajes, and Paul Christou work in the
Department of Plant Production and Forestry Science at the University of
Lleida-Agrotecnio in Spain. Richard M. Twyman works at TRM Ltd in the
United Kingdom. And Christou also has an appointment at the Institucio
Catalana de Recerca i Estudis AvanÇats in Barcelona.
http://www.the-scientist.com//?articles.view/articleNo/35578/title/Opinion--Don-t-Fear-GM-Crops--Europe-/
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