I posted the below in a response to an article posted on GMOs. I thought perhaps it deserved its own post.
https://steemit.com/homesteadersonline/@soulturtle/the-issues-with-gmos-and-could-they-be-beneficial
On the surface this seems like a fair article. However it is subtly deceptive. It has a couple of earmarks from the pro GMO propaganda. This is not to say the author purposely was trying to deceive. Perhaps this author just doesn’t realize it or actually believes it. This is fairly common even among anti-GMO folks.
Ok I’ll get to it. The first one is that selective breeding or hybrid plants have nothing in common with GMO franken-fruits the propagandists are trying to tell us are safe. You can’t selectively breed fish genes into a tomato! This is what they are doing. They are splicing genes from incompatible species into fruits and vegetables to get the desired effects.
Second and more important is they use viruses to insert these genes into the cells. Because a virus is the only thing that can penetrate the cell wall without the organism’s immune system killing it off. Viruses ALWAYS mutate. So they are introducing all sorts of new viruses into the dance of life with no clue as to the consequences they will have on the environment and us and our animals etc. Think about that my friends.
http://naturalsociety.com/safety-group-blows-lid-on-secret-virus-hidden-in-gmo-crops/
"For example, virus strains may be modified to carry genetic material into a plant cell, replicate,"
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK215771/
Few people even among the anti-GMO folks know about the viruses being used to insert the genes. That is of course by design of the pro-gmo lobby. They have deep pockets and have convinced many farmers GMOs are better. However the stats do not bear that out. Production initially spikes but then tapers off and actually falls below what it once was.
The Pro GMO lobby has worked long and hard to convince folks Gene Splicing is the same as selective breeding so that it seems familiar and safe since selective breeding has been going on for centuries by humans and millennia by nature. IT’S NOT!!
Why does the GMO lobby fight so hard against labeling? Obviously they have something to hide. Do we not have a right to choose what we put into our bodies? Evidence is pretty conclusive now that GMO’s are harmful to the environment to animals and humans. I won’t belabor the point this is a polarizing subject unfortunately. I just emphasize to do your research. To many people have “beliefs” about GMOs without having done the research. It’s not a matter of belief its matter of facts and evidence. It’s available for those who want to know the truth.
The way forward is through Restoration Agriculture as per Mark Shepard and Permaculture as per Sepp Holzer and Geoff Lawton and many other lesser known pioneers in these areas. The earth has spent millions of years developing the fruits of the earth! Humans have been part of that too, we have much to learn from nature!
This right here is the simplicity of the argument. It's untested. Most people either don't know GMO's are so rampant, or they bought that it's no different than hybridization.
Just like the doctors in the 1950's who told the public which brand of cigarette they preferred didn't know the effects of smoking until decades later, no one knows the effects of genetic modification either. Unlike the consequences of discovering too late that smoking is bad for you effects only the smoker, discovering genetic modification is bad for you effects the world indiscriminately. And by then, it could be too late to do anything to fix it.
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This is a lovely article, upvoted at full power and resteemed <3 I believe I had heard before that GMOs were created with the help of viruses but honestly I forgot, though I am intuitively against GMOs, and well, its just common sense!
Is it not common sense to figure out that fucking with DNA, evolution, nature and more is going to lead to problems?
Have they never heard of Fullmetal Alchemest or chimeras lol.
Knowing now that they are made using viruses, something that is inherently dangerous to us and all other species on the planet, just confirms more what I already know; that Genetically Modified Organisms are no good, they are a giant world threatening scam, and that permaculture is the way forward! (and permaculture is much less expensive and anyone can do it!)
GMOs are a scam and permaculture is the solution!
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it is indeed a contentious subject and i dont have nearly enough science or expertise to judge, however i value discussion on this subject.
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Thanks Blayne great article. I try to stay away from GMO, I dont trust the corporations doing the research, as a matter of fact I really don't like the "legal idea of a corporation". Corps kill people, poison people rob people and yet never really get brought into to the courts or prisons. Corporations don't really exist, they are directed by people, people out to poison, kill, rob or what ever else is necessary to make a profit, that is what corps do, make a profit at any expense. Contaminated vaccines to c-diff salad makes no difference to them as long as the profits roll in. IMO Corps and futures contracts as done today are illegal and immoral. Just remember this next time you hear some corp got fined a few million and settled after killing people, A person directed the corporation and you will never see that person in court.
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You say this without a citation, and I have seen many studies that show the exact opposite. This meta analysis shows the exact opposite. Crop yields increase by 22%, reduced pesticide use by 38%.
I do think GMO should be labelled though, like everything else should.
EDIT: Fixed a link.
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Which is why I encouraged people to do their own research. Your link just links back to my article? The stats you site are all over the internet they are pro gmo propaganda. They even claim we need GMOs to feed the world yet millions are still starving and glyphosate (roundup) use has increased as weeds build immunity and farmers use more of it because the GMO herbicide tolerant plants can withstand more of it..
https://www.ewg.org/agmag/2015/03/claims-gmo-yield-increases-don-t-hold#.WkV-qlWnG00
https://www.forbes.com/sites/bethhoffman/2013/07/02/gmo-crops-mean-more-herbicide-not-less/#406b86623cd5
http://naturalsociety.com/new-study-ge-crops-dont-increase-crop-yields/
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Being widely available on the internet doesn't make them pro-gmo propaganda. However, assuming you are correct, why would 80% of US corn farmers switch to GM corn if they didn't see at least some improvement? Why would they pay for seeds and thus lower their yield and profits multiple years in a row? If I was a farmer and I saw my profits go down after using GM corn I would just stop using it.
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I never said that's what made them propaganda. The fact is they are propaganda and they are all over the internet. Why do you assume your assertions are correct? Where are your cites?
For sake of argument let’s say you are correct. It shows the power of the propaganda in convincing farmers to switch. They usually go into debt with promises of greater ROI so they can quickly pay it off. When it doesn't pan out they are stuck like crack addicts going into debt every year to buy new seed and all the chemicals it taks to grow them like chemical fertilizer, herbicide and pesticides since they are forbidden to keep seed or their crop does not produce fertile seed, and try and make ends meet. Not to mention the bullying tactics and even legal attacks farmers get who want to grow real food and save their own seed. Many of whom have been sued when their neighbors GMO crop cross pollinated their non GMO crop. Many of them do quit...farming altogether.
Monstanto has bought Judges who ruled against farmers saying they had to pay the fees for patented seeds when through no fault of their own their crop was contaminated by neighbors GMO crop. Thats outrageous! Why do most farmers have off farm Jobs? Because they aren't making any money farming!
You really need to dig into this to see the underhanded tactics they have used and the scope of the propaganda campaign for them to gain control of the seed and food market and create the chmica market. There aren't many family owned farms left most of them sold out to big corps because they could not get ahead. Some of them stayed on to run their farms but they are forced to use GMO and all the chemicals.
We are heading for a catastrophic disaster in the food supply as they continue to kill the soil and raise nutritionally deficient and toxic crops through chemical farming. I’m not going to continue to argue been there done that to many times with folks who want someone to do it all for them instead of taking responsibility for their own health and welfare and what actually ends up on their tables and in their and their children’s bodies… do your research if you really care.
You’d think most people would figure it out with all the rampant diseases these days that were almost unheard of or rare 50-75 years ago…
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