| Topic Name: |
The "You have all failed" recap. |
| Message Name: |
from the first website I googled...frightening |
| Date Posted: |
06/10/2005 |
| In Reply To: |
of scientific papers which have been published on the genetic modification of foods, and grains in particular. There are also the consensus papers which have appeared many distinguished journals, such as Science, and Nature.
A Google search on "genetically modified food safety" will bring the searcher more than he or she will have time to read. Looking only for "muckraking" articles by lay journalists may be easier and more exciting reading than the actual work produced and reviewed by relevant scientists in their respective disciplines, but that's how science is done. |
| Message: |
GM Products: Benefits and Controversies
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
Controversies
Safety
Potential human health impact: allergens, transfer of antibiotic resistance markers, unknown effects Potential environmental impact: unintended transfer of transgenes 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 Industralized 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
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