Thread: Genetically Modified Foods - What do you think?

I Personally don't like GM food, u never know what it would lead to right!? But it seems like we're more or less being forced to buy it nowadays. Some scientists claiming we must consume genetically modified food to survive in future, which is much likely. But is it really worth it? I did some research on the net and found these arguments.


Benefits

• Crops
  
  • Enhanced taste and quality
  • Reduced maturation time
  • Increased nutrients, yields, and stress tolerance
  • Improved resistance to disease, pests, and herbicides
  • New products and growing techniques
• Animals
  
  • Increased resistance, productivity, hardiness, and feed efficiency
  • Better yields of meat, eggs, and milk
  • Improved animal health and diagnostic methods
• Environment
  
  • "Friendly" bioherbicides and bioinsecticides
  • Conservation of soil, water, and energy
  • Bioprocessing for forestry products
  • Better natural waste management
  • More efficient processing
• Society
  
  • Increased food security for growing populations

Controverses

• Safety
  
  • Potential human health impact: allergens, transfer of antibiotic resistance markers, unknown effects Potential environmental impact: unintended transfer of transgenic through cross-pollination, unknown effects on other organisms (e.g., soil microbes), and loss of flora and fauna biodiversity
• Access and Intellectual Property
  
  • Domination of world food production by a few companies
  • Increasing dependence on Industrialized nations by developing countries
  • Biopiracy—foreign exploitation of natural resources
• Ethics
  
  • Violation of natural organisms' intrinsic values
  • Tampering with nature by mixing genes among species
  • Objections to consuming animal genes in plants and vice versa
  • Stress for animal
• Labeling
  
  • Not mandatory in some countries (e.g., United States)
  • Mixing GM crops with non-GM confounds labeling attempts
• Society
  
  • New advances may be skewed to interests of rich countries

Also take a look at these very interestion videos about the risks.

"They knew and didn't tell"

A major wakeup call!?


Some very common gm foods u can but today are: Milk, Corn, Soybeans, Canola Oil etc. One simple way to protect yourself is to stop eating these foods unless they come from a certified organic source.

Is it really worth it? I want your opinion.

Hmmm I think nowdays you cannot avoid GM food, but I think you can really minimize the use of it, if you try.
For example, I hate GM milk, so my family is buying milk straight from the "source", meaning we go to a nearby farmer and we get "pure" unprocessed milk. But that's one small example where we try not to use GM food. In the spring/summer etc. we try to use as much as possible of home grown vegetables.
The most GM food I find problem with is meat, but nowdays organic meat is so so much expesive that most people can't or won't buy it, which is a shame, because it's completely different from what you usually buy in the store.

Well that was mine modest opinion.

No thanks.I don't need to eat an apple that has orange taste.I curently like normal food.No need for genetically modified one.

Personally, I find it intriguing tbh. I like the advancement in this aspect of biology/genetics. However, I wouldn't really enjoy the "un-natural" taste of certain things. I'd prefer organic over synthesized foods any day.

You know I would be more into the organic food as I am seeing more and more people buying it in the efforts of going "green" but my question is why oh why do Organic foods cost more if they are handled with absolutely no pesticides? Wouldn't you think they would be cheaper considering that they do not have to have anything added and are grown naturally? that is my only question. I don't have any interest in GM foods either I would love to eat organic but if I go all out organic I can't totally afford it........

Originally Posted by hummingbird

You know I would be more into the organic food as I am seeing more and more people buying it in the efforts of going "green" but my question is why oh why do Organic foods cost more if they are handled with absolutely no pesticides? Wouldn't you think they would be cheaper considering that they do not have to have anything added and are grown naturally? that is my only question. I don't have any interest in GM foods either I would love to eat organic but if I go all out organic I can't totally afford it........

Its exactly for that reason. Organic food is not sprayed with pesticide
therefore needs to be looked after more (so bugs don't wreck it). That is why it costs more.

Originally Posted by ethicks

Its exactly for that reason. Organic food is not sprayed with pesticide therefore needs to be looked after more (so bugs don't wreck it). That is why it costs more.

yapp, and besides the "no worry for the bugs", say a gm rice plant grow can yield 3/4 times more than a regular plant. And u can make the plant add valuable nutrients to the rice. So gm is both cheaper and healthier. Or at least this is what they say.

Here's some stats from different countries.

Yes or no to Gm?


Now my guess is most of these people have no idea about the drawbacks!

Its just awful how much junk food people eat nowadays...