2000 reasons why GMO foods are safe

GM foods are safe and predictable. The alternative breeding method is to wait for random mutations to improve food, and then you have no idea what you are getting. With GM you know exactly what you have added and what, if any, safety concerns might be present.

So you're saying science trumps mother nature..

Do you have a pet? Bred by humans to be domesticated. Defying Mother Nature.

Organic food? Bred by humans to be as plump and tasty as possible. Defying Mother Nature.

This argument is centuries old. I don't know why people think it's something new...

A lot different than splicing something like fish dna into food to deter pests.

And yet still very much the same.

Also I like fish. As far as I know eating fish doesn't hurt me any. Why do I care if my produce is part fish?

I am going to throw my two cents in, whatever it's worth. I am a microbiologist/bio technologist. I understand these concepts very well. Yes, humans have been altering plants and animals for centuries. But to tell people that GMOs are similar is not accurate. One change we make is to introduce a bacterial gene into plants to make them resistant to certain insects. No matter how many years we bred these plants, this change would not happen in a normal evolutionary setting, at least not using this gene.

Am I afraid of eating GMOs....no. We've been eating them for quite a while now. I am not afraid of any human safety aspect, although with some of them I do worry about an environmental impact (round up resistance). But when we lie, it looks like we are hiding something.

Biotechnology has the capacity to accomplish really great things. Insulin production is a great example. We can use bacteria to produce human insulin, rather than relying on swine or bovine insulin like we did in the past. Everyone should educate themselves to know how these changes truly affect us, and which ones are useful and which ones are not.

The more you know....

What are your concerns on the enviro with roundup?
Do you have concerns on the ingestion of roundup (AKA does the plant absorb it and do we eat it?) Does this residue of roundup in food have an affect on human gut bacteria?

I have seen a few articles/studies in this area but don't know if they hold water.

Nothing better than a GMO tomato which is made with fish genes - yum! I buy organic for foods labeled organic cannot contain GMOs.

Do you even know the reason why they spliced fish genes into the tomatoes? Frost protection.

I'm afraid of the bones . . .

"My concern with the environment is round up resistant weeds. We are the going the same way we did with antibiotic resistance. If you put severe pressure on a species, it will try to get around it."

So...don't use round up to kill weeds because then we won't be able to use round up to kill weeds anymore?

I don't care who thinks GMO's are safe. Bottom line they should be labeled. I like to know what I'm eating. We're not rats.

No they're not labeled out here in the United States. And Monsanto has been spending millions of dollars making sure that labeling is not enforced. I'm thinking of moving to Europe for that reason.

Am I afraid of eating GMOs....no. We've been eating them for quite a while now. I am not afraid of any human safety aspect,
Like you, my only concern is the potential environmental impact. From a health perspective, I don't really see a problem.

You should be concerned about eating any "plant" that is registered with the EPA as an insecticide.

Many plants have natural insecticides, will you not eat those either?

Again....emphasis on registered as a pesticide with the EPA. Pesticide=formulated in a lab to kill living organisms. Naturally occurring bacteria in healthy plants? Absolutely non-comparable.

I would be VERY surprised if pyrethrin wasn't registered.

Pyrethrins aren't sold as a food item. BT corn is. So I am not sure as to what point you are trying to make?

Pyrethrins~as they occur naturally aren't found in foods--just certain flowers. As derived for being used as an insecticide, they require a synergist ( additional chemicals). Used alone it is biodegradable, hence it's use in organic farming.

You suggested that pesticides registered with the EPA are all formulated in the lab - I was offering an example of a pesticide that occurs naturally. That was the point I was trying to make.

BT Corn...which is GMO corn....which is in most food processed in the USA ( if it contains corn or corn by-products) is registered with the EPA as a pesticide.

Pyrethrins are NOT registered with the EPA, but rather Pyrethrins with additives ( synergistic chemicals which increase their effect). And btw....all pesticides registered as pesticides with the EPA? None occur naturally.

In the case of Bt corn, the donor organism is a naturally occurring soil bacterium, Bacillus thuringiensis, and the gene of interest produces a protein that kills Lepidoptera larvae, in particular, European corn borer. This protein is called the Bt delta endotoxin. Growers use Bt corn as an alternative to spraying insecticides for control of European and southwestern corn borer.

Bt Delta Endotoxin
The Bt delta endotoxin was selected because it is highly effective at controlling Lepidoptera larvae, caterpillars. It is during the larval stage when most of the damage by European corn borer occurs. The protein is very selective, generally not harming insects in other orders (such as beetles, flies, bees and wasps). For this reason, GMOs that have the Bt gene are compatible with biological control programs because they harm insect predators and parasitoids much less than broad-spectrum insecticides. The Bt endotoxin is considered safe for humans, other mammals, fish, birds, and the environment because of its selectivity. Bt has been available as a commercial microbial insecticide since the 1960s and is sold under many trade names. These products have an excellent safety record and can be used on many crops until the day of harvest.

To kill a susceptible insect, a part of the plant that contains the Bt protein (not all parts of the plant necessarily contain the protein in equal concentrations) must be ingested. Within minutes, the protein binds to the gut wall and the insect stops feeding. Within hours, the gut wall breaks down and normal gut bacteria invade the body cavity. The insect dies of septicaemia as bacteria multiply in the blood. Even among Lepidoptera larvae, species differ in sensitivity to the Bt protein.