GM Crops

[Stix]

Given we shoot in them as well as consume them...
Whats your thoughts on genetically modified crops...?

The Bill is about to be passed here in SA...

Is it just a greed driven movement risking our future & sapping even more out of our dirt...?, or are they long overdue...?

Its not as if our non-GM crop yealds dont feed us...

Has enough testing been done...

Is farming becoming a profession that willbe run by scientists, where experience & intuition of land workers are going to be superseded by that learned from a text book--like so many other industries...?

Interesting i rekon...id kove to hear what you all think...especially you farmers...

[AussieCapitalist]

Put it this way mate. The Amish over in America have the lowest rates of cancer, deformed babies, autism and all those other diseases and disorders. They don't use fluoride, vaccines, GMO, atrazine,drugs, and all of the nasty artificial preservatives that are in everyday foods.

So there is a definitive link between natural foods and human health.

[Stix]

Hmmm...

I say this without judgement, but one cant help to raise an eyebrow at such a reply from an avatar named like yours...

[AussieCapitalist]

The beauty about a name like mine is that it allows people to makes choices. Whether they be right or wrong, the individual is free to make their own path. Just because something is available does not mean someone SHOULD use it but nothing should stop them FROM using it.

[bladeracer]

Put it this way mate. The Amish over in America have the lowest rates of cancer, deformed babies, autism and all those other diseases and disorders. They don't use fluoride, vaccines, GMO, atrazine,drugs, and all of the nasty artificial preservatives that are in everyday foods.

So there is a definitive link between natural foods and human health.

And they live such exciting and interesting lives as a result - no thanks.

[Harrynsw]

Nothing wrong with capitalism.

GM foods are eaten every day, even though you may not know it, that tasty tomato, or that sweet apple. It's about combining the most desirable traits to achieve the best possible result.
There's no definitive proof they are harmful, as there is no definitive proof they are not harmful. The only thing I currently see as a problem is to get some of these fruit to taste so good, the sugar content has been jacked up.

[AussieCapitalist]

And they live such exciting and interesting lives as a result - no thanks.

Yes their lifestyle is not for me either. However I do like some aspects of their holistic approach to healthy eating and sustainable living.

[Sergeant Hartman]

Put it this way mate. The Amish over in America have the lowest rates of cancer, deformed babies, autism and all those other diseases and disorders. They don't use fluoride, vaccines, GMO, atrazine,drugs, and all of the nasty artificial preservatives that are in everyday foods.

So there is a definitive link between natural foods and human health.

That could simply be because they don't generally goto doctors or hospitals, have a higher threefold of pain, work more manual labor jobs and do more physical exercise. They still vaccinated their children albet at a lower rate.

[poid]

The main issue I have with GM crops is not whether they are harmful or not, but whether it means farmers will become dependent on GM seed producers in the future. A GM seed provider will make money by ensuring you need to buy seed from them, not get seed from your crops. If we get ourselves into a situation where we are reliant on overseas supply and can't get seeds if the supply chain is disrupted that's a really bad idea (as the current situation shows).

The other one is whether we start to lose some crop diversity because of it.

I think we would do better through smarter land use than using funky seeds.

[No1Mk3]

G'day All,
Just remember everything you have ever eaten in your entire life from birth to now has been genetically modified, and I mean EVERYthing including your Mothers milk.

[Blr243]

I think there needs to be a balance between the scientists, agronomists and the men on the land who have been farming for 50 years .... I think a farmer would like to have a choice between several different varieties of seed , so he can choose which one suits his farm ,soil, climate etc ......I have had a bugger of a day .... the only thing I hope never gets modified is jack Daniels and coke because it’s so perfect just the way it is

[Stix]

The main issue I have with GM crops is not whether they are harmful or not, but whether it means farmers will become dependent on GM seed producers in the future. A GM seed provider will make money by ensuring you need to buy seed from them, not get seed from your crops. If we get ourselves into a situation where we are reliant on overseas supply and can't get seeds if the supply chain is disrupted that's a really bad idea (as the current situation shows).

The other one is whether we start to lose some crop diversity because of it.

I think we would do better through smarter land use than using funky seeds.

You raise some bloody good points there Poid...well, to me anyway...

I just assume the crop would be modified for yield, i hadnt even thought about whether they could be modified so as to make the yield into non-viable seed as well...
If thats the case it could certainly be a trap for those attracted purely to a quick boost in profits, by ultimately being rail-roaded into buying from a dictated source...

The crop diversity is a good point also...

That all poses the question in my mind, that if seed is better suited to certain areas, & not to others (in yield), would that then give the bigger players a far greater advantage over the small farmer running his 4000 acres in land not as ideally suited to the seeds genetics...
Which could easily see the big takeovers (that i guess already happening now), like that of the smaller supermarkets & "service stations" that dont 'serve' any more & whove been taken over by the big companies...

Then, just to keep an element of shooting in here, i wonder if us 17 & 20 cal teeny weeny explosive bullet fox shooters will have to upgrade to heavier cals so we dont loose penetration through thicker stubble...
It could make for the standard fox outfit morphing from a 22 cal centrefire & 240 Blitz, to a thermal topped 45-70 thumping out cast lead or FMJ's...

[AussieCapitalist]

Is it still meat if it is grown in a lab and not cut from an animal or is it vegan?

[DaveZ]

I just assume the crop would be modified for yield, i hadnt even thought about whether they could be modified so as to make the yield into non-viable seed as well...
If thats the case it could certainly be a trap for those attracted purely to a quick boost in profits, by ultimately being rail-roaded into buying from a dictated source...

It's more that the company who you originally purchased the GM seed from owns everything about that seed. You can't just go mass producing the seed for your next years crop without paying the owning company for it. Bit like buying a CD back in the old days and burning a heap of coppies to sell to your mates. There have even been cases of neighboring farmers being sued if the GM seed finds it's way onto their property without them having paid for the rights to use it. It's a crazy world.

And yes everything we eat has, to some degree, been genetically modified through selective breeding over many generations, but you're kidding yourself if you think that's even close to what a GM crop is. Taking genetic material from a totally unrelated species to change how an organism functions cannot be done through selective breeding. Selective breeding is a natural process, splicing squid genes into the DNA of your cat is not.

[AussieCapitalist]

Didn't carrots use to be purple but the Dutch changed the colour?

[Ziege]

Most crops we use these days are GM to a degree, the livestock we eat are GM by the same token.

What s**ts me is the rampant use of canola, it's f***ing terrible for the soil, the chemicals used on it as pesticides (regardless if GMO or not) kill off beehives by making the queen infertile, and in my area canola is directly linked the massive decrease in bird populations due to the beyond significant decrease in key insect life.

Canola spread, oil and so forth is terrible for people, it is directly linked to fatty liver and heart and arterial congestion and plaque. When canola margarine was made, it was originally a fat booster to fatten up Turkeys, it killed the turkeys so they bleached it, and put in yellow dye and now billions of mongs shove it down their throats. Some crops GMO or not are outright terrible.

[Stix]

Most crops we use these days are GM to a degree, the livestock we eat are GM by the same token.

What s**ts me is the rampant use of canola, it's f***ing terrible for the soil, the chemicals used on it as pesticides (regardless if GMO or not) kill off beehives by making the queen infertile, and in my area canola is directly linked the massive decrease in bird populations due to the beyond significant decrease in key insect life.

Canola spread, oil and so forth is terrible for people, it is directly linked to fatty liver and heart and arterial congestion and plaque. When canola margarine was made, it was originally a fat booster to fatten up Turkeys, it killed the turkeys so they bleached it, and put in yellow dye and now billions of mongs shove it down their throats. Some crops GMO or not are outright terrible.

Whenever i hear a report on the GM topic, if there is one crop that is always mentioned, its canola & how GM strains will be of benefit & reduce the amounts of pesticides required for that crop...thats what i heard on the wireless anyway...

[Ziege]

Whenever i hear a report on the GM topic, if there is one crop that is always mentioned, its canola & how GM strains will be of benefit & reduce the amounts of pesticides required for that crop...thats what i heard on the wireless anyway...

Ugh doesn't change the amount they use trust me... Canola attracts a lot is pests and creates a habitat for tonnes of pests that wouldn't Otherwise breed, the farmers around here growing GMO canola lather on the chemicals don't be fooled mate. Organic farming is better but way less productive, and even of GMO did remove the need for some pesticides (cos trust me you'll never eliminate mites) it would still be terrible for your body and everything else. There's a reason it's called "rape seed"

[Blr243]

A mate of mine had a job for a while harvesting canola that had been wind rowed ....he said that as his machine was cruiseig along the amount of foxes, birds and insects that flew out of there was staggering

[marksman]

Didn't carrots use to be purple but the Dutch changed the colour?

l had to google this

"It is considered that Carrots were originally purple or white with a thin root, then a mutant occurred which removed the purple pigmentation resulting in a new race of yellow carrots, from which orange carrots were subsequently developed."

[Stix]

Haha...!!!

Whale oil beef hooked...!!!

Mind you...isnt "Carotene" some kind of naturally occuring compound that is found in only a few things...?...like carrots...??...im under the impression carrots have had it ever since they were carrots, not because caveman selectively bred a genetic mutation...

Ill put this here to read later...i like this kind of educational stuff...!!...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carotene

I bloody love carrots...so much so that i even carry them in the car & eat them as a snack...

Yay for carrots...

I wonder if the purple ones are as sweet...?