Do you know what genetic modification is?

I am a little sick of seeing genetic modification tied in with antibiotics, pesticides, artificial colors and trans fats. Humans have been genetically modifying plants and animals since the first hunter-gatherers settled down to raise crops! It is the reason we have been able to grow the population of this planet to the levels we have today.

Granted, in the past, the genetic modifications were hit-or-miss, hard won, and long-in-development, but they were still what brought native corn from a pod not much bigger than a head of wheat to the big juicy cobs we ate as children. Now we are able to find the exact genetic code that allows a certain species to have a certain positive trait, to lift that code out and place it into an otherwise superior species, and create an even better, hardier, more nutritious, or better transported product.

If we stop genetic modifications, we will need to use more pesticides, more fertilizer, more antibiotics. If we insert genetic code that prevents pest infestation, we raise vegetables that haven't been coated with DDT or other known carcinogens. If we use genes that keep cattle healthy, we stop injecting them with antibiotics that are in large part the cause of our "super-bugs". And if we genetically create fruit that can travel long distances remaining fresh, then we can feed a world that has outgrown it's current resources.

Organic farming is lovely, and I do it myself as much as possible, but this world CANNOT feed itself on organics alone! If we tried, famine would grip every nation, and the population of the world would likely drop to about 30% of it's current level in under 3 years. The only way we can hope to decrease the use of dangerous chemicals in any significant manner is to develop crops and herds that have natural resistance to pests. The only way we can develop those species is to use our ever-growing knowledge of genetics to create them.

The fear-mongering related to GOM is outrageous. No studies have ever found genetically modified food to be dangerous to humans. To the contrary, over 80% of corn is genetically modified and we have been eating it for years. Somewhere around 45% of wheat is genetically modified, and American wheat feeds the world.

Please understand an issue before jumping on board with it. If you agree pesticides are bad, and antibiotics in meat are not healthy, then you should support genetic modification. Great if you can afford organics, but what about the 90% of the world that can't? If you want healthy food (and environments) for all people, not just the wealthy, then support genetic modification as our only hope for a clean food supply for all people.

Thank you for reading my little rant, and please learn more about the viability of organics and of genetic modification.

I'm sorry but you're wrong. You're confusing gross pollination, which is what gave us the the agriculture boost your talking about, with genetically modified foods. GMO's is when scientists alter the DNA of the seed/animal, this type of human interference wasn't possible even 20 years ago. This isn't the same as breeding a cross between two strawberries to make a bigger more stable strawberry, which can take years to perfect. or crossing a plum with an apricot to make a pluot. GMOs are when introduce something completely outside the nature of that organism's DNA, like resistance to a specific company's fertilizer so it kills the everything but that plant, this is what people are nervous about. I'm not saying that GMOs are necessarily wrong but i think we don't know enough about them to release then in to the wild because we don't know how they effect the natural organisms out there, they haven't been around long enough for us the really know what the long term effects are.