It is truly amazing to me to see how little people understand about basic genetics and molecular biology.
Every food crop that exists has been genetically modified. People have used a number of methods throughout history to accomplish this.
A popular technique at the turn of the 20th century was to expose seeds to strong radiation, which causes significant damage to the DNA in the form of altered nucleotides (i.e. mutations) and double-strand DNA breaks (which can cause whole segments of DNA to disappear or to move to another part of the genome where it didn’t already exist). The seeds that randomly picked up desirable traits were bred and became the basis of many crops.
No one seems to mind the old random methods of genetic alteration of food crops. But when a single gene is targeted for alteration, inactivation, or insertion without changing a single nucleotide of the rest of the genome, then, all of a sudden, it’s “Frankenfood.”
Seriously, people, before getting all panicky about targeted genetic engineering, inform yourselves.
Old genetic engineering methods (going back thousands of years) were random and unpredictable, comparable to trying to take a sledgehammer to a marble statue and hoping to improve its aesthetic qualities. New genetic engineering methods, dating back to the 1970s, could be compared to taking a tiny chisel and tapping the statue gently to remove a nearly invisible flaw.
All of the diabetics have to realize that the insulin that they take is produced by genetically engineered bacteria. They don’t make it from pig pancreases anymore.
You wrote:
“It is truly amazing to me to see how little people understand about basic genetics and molecular biology.
Every food crop that exists has been genetically modified. People have used a number of methods throughout history to accomplish this.”
Additionally, many organic crop are only possible commercially because of of previous non-organic practices.
For example: organic cotton is possible in large part because of pesticides that have made the “Bowl Weevil” almost extinct. Once the pest were extinct there is no need to poison them.
There is a bunch of misinformation put forth by the organic food movement.
That does not mean that the big agricultural companies are blameless or without sin but the organic food movement is just as bad.
BTW: I used to own a State Certified Organic farm so this is something I know something about
Thanks for posting this. You are spot on of course.