More junk media!

Title: Scientists to Breed Genetically Modified Bees: Here's Why

* Actual story never mentions genetically modified bees!

>Canadian scientists are _set to breed honeybees_ to make them resistant to disease and harsh winter conditions with a $7.3 million budget. 

> The UBC team will _analyze the genetic makeup_ of 1,000 bee colonies and will look for and breed 12 traits to help honeybees survive in the Canadian environment - and therefore be beneficial to the economy.

* Looking for traits? We have been doing that for centuries, so that isn't new. Finding the genetic correlates to honey bee behavior is a field in its infancy. So, they are looking for something they may not even be able to find. 

The gap between creating a genetically modified crop and planting it is significant and there are many restrictions. The restrictions on animals is far greater but they pale in comparison to the restrictions that have to be in place before a genetically modified bee could be created, let alone distributed.

I work with genetically modified animals and these are absolutely never allowed out of the facility, dead or alive. So how will you test a GM bee, if it can't go out doors? And you can't test it without putting it into the environment, it would have to be field tested before you even knew what you had (if anything). 

We already know what happens when you bring a new honey bee on to the market without adequate testing. Anybody remember what happened when they released a few queens in Brazil? And that was before GMO.

PLB

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