BEE-L Archives

Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology

BEE-L@COMMUNITY.LSOFT.COM

Options: Use Monospaced Font
Show Text Part by Default
Show All Mail Headers

Message: [<< First] [< Prev] [Next >] [Last >>]
Topic: [<< First] [< Prev] [Next >] [Last >>]
Author: [<< First] [< Prev] [Next >] [Last >>]

Print Reply
Subject:
From:
Christina Wahl <[log in to unmask]>
Reply To:
Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Tue, 11 Jul 2017 15:26:05 +0000
Content-Type:
text/plain
Parts/Attachments:
text/plain (33 lines)
Dick,


"If I define GMO as transfer of DNA from one species to another species in some manner other than by breeding operations then I fail to see how anyone can possibly have a blanket objection to GMO products. "


People who understand how GMO products are generated don't have a "blanket objection", they might however have a selective objection. Those who object to *all* GMO are really just nervous because they don't know which are which (technology differences, outcome differences) and they are suspicious because we have seen some spectacular failures in the world of GMO products.


And then there are the so-called "success stories" that are in fact a mixed bag. For example: There was a GMO rice a couple decades back that was touted as the solution to many third world problems because it carried the gene to make vitamin A. Anyone eating this golden rice, it was claimed, would benefit by vitamin A supplementation and the world would be a better place. My daughter won a university essay competition for her paper on this rice. Big fanfare.


What happened?  Quoting from a high school bioethics course:


"Golden Rice may seem like a realistic solution for vitamin A deficiency (VAD), but those opposed say the project is deeply flawed. For starters, Friends of the Earth and MASIPAG agree that merely planting Golden Rice will not solve the VAD crisis. They point out that there are multiple recourses for malnutrition planned and currently in place, that are cheaper and do not require GMOs, that should make golden rice unnecessary. For example, UNICEF employs a vitamin A supplementation programs that improves a child’s survival rate by 12-24% with the price of only a few cents. In addition, golden rice may specifically target the deficiency of vitamin A but it could not address the countless additional social, economic, and cultural factors that contribute to vitamin A deficiencies. Friends of the Earth stated that golden rice produces too little beta-carotene to eradicate VAD, solely 1.6 micrograms per gram of rice and 10% of the daily requirement of vitamin A. The amount of golden rice needed for sufficient vitamin A intake would be too great in comparison to the rice available in developing countries.

Another source of opposition to the project stems from questions regarding the motives of the Golden Rice Project and its ties to several large biotech industries. Is it a ploy to enhance public support for GMOs, which could take funding away from cheaper, more realistic solutions? Or are they out to make a profit? The biotech industry’s push of their technology raises concerns about their motives and contributes to the negative connotations of GM crops. (Those involved with the Golden Rice Project vehemently reject that their ties to biotech companies undermines their integrity.)

_____


Leaving out the politics, GMO is not the same as genetic selection through breeding, which has been done for thousands of years and has produced many of the domesticated animals and plants (and even bees!) we humans exploit today.

GMO splices genes willy-nilly "somewhere" into the genome.  To put this simply, it is similar to adding a new chapter (that has nothing to do with the topic) into a book at random.  Genetic selection via breeding is analogous to making small changes to existing chapters of the book.  There are worrisome differences here that most scientists understand.  However there are many opinions about whether or not the difference matters.

Christina

             ***********************************************
The BEE-L mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned
LISTSERV(R) list management software.  For more information, go to:
http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html

ATOM RSS1 RSS2