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Humanist_Activist

(7,670 posts)
Wed Mar 30, 2016, 06:27 PM Mar 2016

These vitamin-fortified bananas might get you thinking differently about GMOs

[div class="excerpt" style="margin-left:1em; border:1px solid #bfbfbf; border-radius:0.4615em; box-shadow:-1px -1px 3px #999999 inset;"]In the winter of 2014, students at Iowa State University received emails asking them to volunteer for an experiment. Researchers were looking for women who would eat bananas that had been genetically engineered to produce extra carotenes, the yellow-orange nutrients that take their name from carrots. Our bodies use alpha and beta carotenes to make retinol, better known as vitamin A, and the experiment was testing how much of the carotenes in the bananas would transform to vitamin A. The researchers were part of an international team trying to end vitamin A deficiency.

The emails reached the volunteers they needed to begin the experiment, but they also reached protesters. "As a student in the sustainability program, I immediately started asking questions," said Iowa State postdoc Rivka Fidel. "Is this proven safe? Have they considered the broader cultural and economic issues?"

Fidel and a group of six other alarmed students began asking the researchers and the school administration to publicly answer questions about the experiment. They started showing up at events bearing a petition with their list of questions. Sometimes one of them would dress up as a banana.

http://www.vox.com/2016/3/30/11318252/gmo-bananas-vitamin

Thought I'd throw this in the mix. In addition, its really fucking infuriating that activists are using fearmongering to try to prevent scientists from fucking helping people from not dying.

Also, to nip it in the bud, no, you can't have them grow fucking carrots. Carrots are a cold weather crop.

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These vitamin-fortified bananas might get you thinking differently about GMOs (Original Post) Humanist_Activist Mar 2016 OP
O cruel, needless misunderstanding! Trajan Mar 2016 #1
Not sure of the point of your post, also, and this is important, it has nothing to do with Monsanto. Humanist_Activist Mar 2016 #2
Because they're in cahoots with the lizard people and the illuminati to control the population Nailzberg Mar 2016 #5
They are literally brought up in every thread involving biotech, even when they had... Humanist_Activist Mar 2016 #7
Yeah, it bugs me immensily. And I'll just get called a Monsanto shill for saying it. Nailzberg Mar 2016 #12
Because fearful morons think that GMO=Round-Up Ready. Thor_MN Mar 2016 #9
Because you won't see any sort of labeling law that has anything remotely to do with pesticides Major Nikon Mar 2016 #23
There are 'organic' pesticides. To be certified as 'organic' So Far From Heaven Mar 2016 #65
Believe it or not, synthetic pesticides are allowed under organic certification rules Major Nikon Mar 2016 #78
Interesting.... So Far From Heaven Apr 2016 #87
It's OK for 100,000 children die each year, so long as "Monsatan" doesn't benefit Major Nikon Mar 2016 #13
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ sense Mar 2016 #52
Ugh! I feel for you. It must suck when everyone else is wrong all the time. nt revbones Mar 2016 #3
They are precisely like anti-vaxxers, climate change deniers, and those pro-lifers who... Humanist_Activist Mar 2016 #4
Except that anti-vaxxers are 7% of the population and GMO-labellers are 93% GreatGazoo Mar 2016 #6
Yeah, a state government passed a law based on bullshit. Archae Mar 2016 #10
80% Of Americans Support Mandatory Labels On Foods Containing DNA. DNA! HuckleB Mar 2016 #14
No conspiracy necessary, just general ignorance... Humanist_Activist Mar 2016 #16
You do realize the labeling bill failed in California and Washington, yes? Major Nikon Mar 2016 #18
The labeling law failed in California because the corrupted election officials in truedelphi Mar 2016 #28
Link? Major Nikon Mar 2016 #29
Do your own research. truedelphi Mar 2016 #56
I did and all I could find were batshit crazy sources Major Nikon Mar 2016 #57
Oh I am so sad for you. truedelphi Mar 2016 #84
So you can't back up one assertion and move on to 4 more? Major Nikon Mar 2016 #86
At the time this misconduct went down, reports came from more than a dozen different sources. truedelphi Apr 2016 #93
And yet you can't produce even one that's credible. Very telling that. Major Nikon Apr 2016 #94
GMO labeling initiatives also failed in Oregon and Colorado. HuckleB Mar 2016 #30
When asked what they want on food labels, only seven percent of people mentioned GMOs. HuckleB Mar 2016 #26
Feel the Bern - Bernie for GMO labeling! womanofthehills Apr 2016 #97
It's truly sad that pseudoscience infects even good people. HuckleB Apr 2016 #98
DEL MONTE goes full Monty !- Del Monte is going NO GMOs!!! womanofthehills Apr 2016 #99
Big Companies Are Going To Make Out In Places Like Vermont! HuckleB Apr 2016 #100
now you have done it SoLeftIAmRight Mar 2016 #80
You're here, anyway. HuckleB Mar 2016 #81
I enjoy the clowns SoLeftIAmRight Mar 2016 #85
Campbell Soup - Will label GMOs womanofthehills Apr 2016 #102
Let govenrment handle food wisechoice Mar 2016 #33
You're spam posting? HuckleB Mar 2016 #35
How would the labels punish Monsanto, and in addition, why should they be punished? Humanist_Activist Mar 2016 #40
Is HuckleB trying to force feed us again? Generic Other Mar 2016 #51
Monsanto is a seed company and agribusiness that is larger than GMOs, they even sell... Humanist_Activist Mar 2016 #55
HuckleB must be paid by Monsanto - who would be against organic food? womanofthehills Apr 2016 #113
Organic is a marketing label. It is no better for anyone. HuckleB Apr 2016 #116
You badmouth organic wisechoice Apr 2016 #160
Are you seriously suggesting that Monsanto owns the entire GMO industry? Humanist_Activist Apr 2016 #161
and there are many oil companies wisechoice Apr 2016 #168
How is Monsanto the "most evil"? n/t Humanist_Activist Apr 2016 #186
The organic industry is built on creating baseless fear of other food. HuckleB Apr 2016 #162
organic farming is about doing wisechoice Apr 2016 #165
That's the marketing shtick. It's not reality. HuckleB Apr 2016 #173
so poor indian farmer wisechoice Apr 2016 #182
So you have nothing but fictions to offer. HuckleB Apr 2016 #187
Nonsense wisechoice Apr 2016 #190
You're promoting that long-debunked anti-GMO lie? HuckleB Apr 2016 #192
for people who thinks gmo is the only science wisechoice Apr 2016 #170
Youtube is not science. And no one said GMO is the only way. HuckleB Apr 2016 #174
and you can demonize organic farming? wisechoice Apr 2016 #183
Its correcting errors, a lot of people make claims about organic farming that are outright false... Humanist_Activist Apr 2016 #185
I point out the lies organic marketers tell. HuckleB Apr 2016 #188
And people point out dangers of gmo wisechoice Apr 2016 #191
You speak for farmers? HuckleB Apr 2016 #193
And you speak for Monsonto? wisechoice Apr 2016 #194
Way to dig that hole. Monsanto is not science and consensus. HuckleB Apr 2016 #197
"Organic" isn't science either. It's not even organic Major Nikon Apr 2016 #184
Says who? We need a lab and a microscope to call it science? wisechoice Apr 2016 #195
The USDA calls it marketing Major Nikon Apr 2016 #196
Here we go wisechoice Apr 2016 #205
No, there you go Major Nikon Apr 2016 #212
None of what you just said is true, absolutely nothing.... Humanist_Activist Apr 2016 #117
Pesticides - conventional vs organic from Consumer Reports womanofthehills Apr 2016 #121
I find it distressing that Consumer Reports seems to have relied on organic lobbyists and marketing. Humanist_Activist Apr 2016 #128
CR went full bore with the anti-GMO silliness, indeed. HuckleB Apr 2016 #131
I find it distressing that you rely on Monsanto lobbyists womanofthehills Apr 2016 #151
This message was self-deleted by its author HuckleB Apr 2016 #156
The fact that you use a term like "frankenfoods" demonstrates to me that you don't know... Humanist_Activist Apr 2016 #164
They will punish them because companies like DelMonte who are going GMO free womanofthehills Apr 2016 #149
Monsanto sells conventional and organic seeds, too. HuckleB Apr 2016 #157
Maybe Turmeric will save the day - grows in tropics, lots of carotene Blues Heron Mar 2016 #8
Uhm, that article doesn't mention anything related to beta-carotene or Vitamin A... Humanist_Activist Mar 2016 #19
turmeric is loaded with carotene Blues Heron Mar 2016 #20
Actually, from what I read, its a trace amount at best... Humanist_Activist Mar 2016 #25
Tumeric research ongoing as a cancer treatment womanofthehills Apr 2016 #104
Campbells is labelling their GMO products voluntarily marions ghost Mar 2016 #11
You keep telling yourself that. HuckleB Mar 2016 #15
Excellent article marions ghost Mar 2016 #22
It's better if you read it, and comprehend it. HuckleB Mar 2016 #24
I read it and comprehend it marions ghost Mar 2016 #31
Ah, so more fictions are all you can offer. HuckleB Mar 2016 #38
So you would like children to die of vitamin deficiency? Humanist_Activist Mar 2016 #17
--- marions ghost Mar 2016 #21
OK, how about an honest assessment, do you think genetically engineering... Humanist_Activist Mar 2016 #27
No I don't think Uganda should eat food I wouldn't eat marions ghost Mar 2016 #32
How would you fortify the food without genetic engineering? Also, I'm not a paid shill... Humanist_Activist Mar 2016 #36
No need to be so rabid about this then marions ghost Mar 2016 #41
Generally fortification involves either physically or chemically fortifying a processed food... Humanist_Activist Mar 2016 #44
I believe that the American people are guinea pigs marions ghost Mar 2016 #47
But GMOs are safety tested, so I'm not sure what the issue is. Humanist_Activist Mar 2016 #49
Please provide links to these tests nationalize the fed Mar 2016 #61
Oh please, if they did safety tests on humans you would be complaining about that... Humanist_Activist Mar 2016 #76
The World Health Organization disagrees with you womanofthehills Apr 2016 #124
Are you still harping on about that, its already been debunked. And this has nothing to do with GMOs Humanist_Activist Apr 2016 #134
She has pushed that multiple times on this thread in the past few minutes, in fact. HuckleB Apr 2016 #143
She's Gish Galloping this thread with bullshit that has NOTHING to do with this fucking banana crop. Humanist_Activist Apr 2016 #145
It is amazing. HuckleB Apr 2016 #146
Wow! Eating too many GMOs - can't control your anger! womanofthehills Apr 2016 #202
Glyphosate throughout the plant womanofthehills Apr 2016 #200
GMO's are not safety tested womanofthehills Apr 2016 #126
Well that's just a straight up lie you just told, what cancer from GMOs? Humanist_Activist Apr 2016 #136
Baseless fear mongering is now leading to detrimental decision making. HuckleB Mar 2016 #37
Propaganda marions ghost Mar 2016 #42
Baseless propaganda is all the anti-GMO fear mongerers have to offer, indeed. HuckleB Mar 2016 #43
So what do you think of the World Health Organization saying GMO's possibly cause cancer? womanofthehills Apr 2016 #125
The WHO says no such thing. HuckleB Apr 2016 #130
Even Frankenfoodbabe knows this is not true. HuckleB Apr 2016 #219
Growing carrots in Uganda Blues Heron Mar 2016 #34
That seems very small scale, is there a way to scale it up? n/t Humanist_Activist Mar 2016 #39
The real problem is poverty itself Blues Heron Mar 2016 #45
Well, bananas are a staple crop, part of the reason they were selected... Humanist_Activist Mar 2016 #46
I'd go with the carrots - if possible Blues Heron Mar 2016 #48
It is largely a question of scale, and also whether the vegetable with get the market penetration... Humanist_Activist Mar 2016 #50
Do the people in third world nations even want the modified products? Generic Other Mar 2016 #53
That happened because of the misinformation campaign against GMOs spearheaded by Greenpeace... Humanist_Activist Mar 2016 #54
Link to above on Gates Foundation womanofthehills Apr 2016 #208
Agreed - they have many different varieties of bananas in Africa womanofthehills Apr 2016 #207
Some in Africa want the banana but many DO NOT want the banana! womanofthehills Apr 2016 #203
Might not be a good idea - banana not tested on humans yet womanofthehills Apr 2016 #204
I will not eat anything GMO womanofthehills Apr 2016 #122
thx for the list marions ghost Apr 2016 #123
In NM, I can only find organic corn womanofthehills Apr 2016 #129
I will be looking to do that marions ghost Apr 2016 #138
Consider the possibility So Far From Heaven Mar 2016 #58
So I should consider the possibility that science denial is the same as science acceptance Major Nikon Mar 2016 #59
Of course not. So Far From Heaven Mar 2016 #62
Global warming denial is about denying real science in favor of pseudoscience Major Nikon Mar 2016 #79
I think that is what I said using other terms. So Far From Heaven Apr 2016 #88
I think the reasons are multi-faceted Major Nikon Apr 2016 #89
Consider evolution versus creationism. So Far From Heaven Apr 2016 #91
By the way.... So Far From Heaven Apr 2016 #92
There is no GMO wheat. HuckleB Mar 2016 #64
I beg your pardon? Try again, and apologize after you get educated. So Far From Heaven Mar 2016 #66
Apologize for informing you of reality? HuckleB Mar 2016 #67
I repeat, Monsanto has produced and field tested GMO wheat in at least 400 trials. So Far From Heaven Mar 2016 #69
It has researched it, yes. (And you didn't repeat anything.) HuckleB Mar 2016 #70
No need. So Far From Heaven Mar 2016 #72
So you went from 400 trials to the small plot in Oregon. HuckleB Mar 2016 #73
Sounds like you are acknowledging the fact that GM wheat hasn't made it out of the testing stage Major Nikon Mar 2016 #82
Monsanto paranoid about their wheat seeds polluting the world of wheat womanofthehills Apr 2016 #106
So you're going to repeat what was already discussed here? HuckleB Apr 2016 #107
You repeat yourself post after post womanofthehills Apr 2016 #132
No, I just address misinformation with reality. HuckleB Apr 2016 #133
Give me a break womanofthehills Apr 2016 #139
Half the world doesn't do lots of things. HuckleB Apr 2016 #141
Try Monsanto MON71800 for starters. So Far From Heaven Mar 2016 #68
Try something that is in research, and has never been close to market? HuckleB Mar 2016 #71
What is it with you? So Far From Heaven Mar 2016 #74
What is it with you? HuckleB Mar 2016 #75
You love to belittle people when you make an argument womanofthehills Apr 2016 #135
No, I'm not. HuckleB Apr 2016 #137
Shouldn't that be MON72826? jmowreader Apr 2016 #209
This isn't like introducing Kudzu to a pristine environment, this is one man made/bred... Humanist_Activist Mar 2016 #77
As long as we have proper oversight and this isn't for corporate profiteering pediatricmedic Mar 2016 #60
As opposed to organic marketing... HuckleB Mar 2016 #63
I'll eat them PasadenaTrudy Mar 2016 #83
A GMO that'll make you healthier. Deadshot Apr 2016 #90
It's more like GMOs that will save millions of children from death and blindness... Major Nikon Apr 2016 #95
Ayup. Deadshot Apr 2016 #167
They don't even really create them directly Major Nikon Apr 2016 #171
WHO says it could cause cancer womanofthehills Apr 2016 #140
Why are you repeating something you have been shown is false? HuckleB Apr 2016 #142
World Health Organization Won’t Back Down From Study Linking Monsanto to Cancer womanofthehills Apr 2016 #148
Why are you doubling down on this untruth? HuckleB Apr 2016 #150
Uhm, she's a Food Babe fan, truth matters little to them. n/t Humanist_Activist Apr 2016 #159
True. I forgot about that. Ugh. HuckleB Apr 2016 #163
Food Babe looks healthier than the one you quote all the time - Cristie Wilcox who eats her gmos womanofthehills Apr 2016 #198
Aww. You think appearance makes one understand science. HuckleB Apr 2016 #199
I'd rather eat what Food Babe is eating womanofthehills Apr 2016 #215
Your confessions of pride in ignorance are appreciated. HuckleB Apr 2016 #217
“There is just no acceptable level of any chemical to ingest, ever” Major Nikon Apr 2016 #175
I bet your not as healthy as Food Babe womanofthehills Apr 2016 #216
At least that makes up for her being dummer than a bag of hammers Major Nikon Apr 2016 #220
Interesting paper from the EFSA detailing how the IARC focused on bullshit instead of science Major Nikon Apr 2016 #178
Good piece! Thanks for sharing! HuckleB Apr 2016 #179
Here's another interesting nugget of info you won't hear from the anti-science crowd Major Nikon Apr 2016 #180
Ah, I had not seen that. HuckleB Apr 2016 #189
. Deadshot Apr 2016 #169
You should ask yourself the same question Major Nikon Apr 2016 #181
Detection of Glyphosate Residues in Animals and Humans - Environmental Toxicology womanofthehills Apr 2016 #211
Why does it not surprise me a food babe fan would not be able to recognize junk science? Major Nikon Apr 2016 #213
Why should I believe you? Deadshot Apr 2016 #166
I don't get bullshit. The WHO did not say GMOs could cause cancer. Major Nikon Apr 2016 #172
That's cool. Except the only reason people are dying from starvation now is political killbotfactory Apr 2016 #96
Umm. HuckleB Apr 2016 #103
There is no money in feeding people who can't afford it. killbotfactory Apr 2016 #105
In other words, you're ignoring a lot of information to maintain your POV. HuckleB Apr 2016 #108
GMOs have the potential to do great things, yes. killbotfactory Apr 2016 #110
Your argument is strawman nonsense Major Nikon Apr 2016 #114
You seem to have failed to understand the article, its taking a local staple crop and modifying it.. Humanist_Activist Apr 2016 #118
The Need for Improved Food Production HuckleB Apr 2016 #101
Because of the Vermont Law, HockeyMom Apr 2016 #109
What is that difference exactly? Major Nikon Apr 2016 #115
What does that have to do with the price of tea in China? n/t Humanist_Activist Apr 2016 #119
Yea Vermont! womanofthehills Apr 2016 #147
They've done the same thing with golden rice alarimer Apr 2016 #111
It's astounding to see opposition to such work. HuckleB Apr 2016 #112
I saw arguments on this board against both golden rice and this banana that sums up to... Humanist_Activist Apr 2016 #120
What if they don't want your golden rice? womanofthehills Apr 2016 #152
Because of the immoral misinformation campaign? Humanist_Activist Apr 2016 #153
OH PLEASE a REGULAR banana is loaded with nutrients. Potassium being just one bkkyosemite Apr 2016 #127
First off, its the cooking banana, a slightly different cultivar to the one we eat... Humanist_Activist Apr 2016 #144
Do you mean a plantain? womanofthehills Apr 2016 #154
Cooking bananas - Plantains - have 1400 IU of vitamin A womanofthehills Apr 2016 #155
Probably because you failed to read the OP Major Nikon Apr 2016 #176
Well, you know, reading is hard work. HuckleB Apr 2016 #177
Do your research womanofthehills Apr 2016 #201
Gotta love it when someone tells you to "do your research" that obviously didn't do their own Major Nikon Apr 2016 #218
In Uganda people have about 10 different types of staple bananas womanofthehills Apr 2016 #214
Then why is vitamin A deficiency a problem in the poorer regions? Major Nikon Apr 2016 #221
GMO tech developing healthier limes and blood oranges, also with a sweet color? HuckleB Apr 2016 #158
Students can get $900 to test eat one of these bananas at Iowa State Univ womanofthehills Apr 2016 #206
So we can genitically modify genes to produce helthier organs but not better food? Jitter65 Apr 2016 #210
 

Trajan

(19,089 posts)
1. O cruel, needless misunderstanding!
Wed Mar 30, 2016, 06:32 PM
Mar 2016
O stubborn, self-willed exile from the loving breast! Two gin-scented tears trickled down the sides of his nose. But it was all right, everything was all right, the struggle was finished. He had won the victory over himself. He loved Monsanto."
 

Humanist_Activist

(7,670 posts)
2. Not sure of the point of your post, also, and this is important, it has nothing to do with Monsanto.
Wed Mar 30, 2016, 06:34 PM
Mar 2016

Why the fuck do people keep bringing them up?

Nailzberg

(4,610 posts)
5. Because they're in cahoots with the lizard people and the illuminati to control the population
Wed Mar 30, 2016, 06:58 PM
Mar 2016

Or something like that. I could have heard wrong.

 

Humanist_Activist

(7,670 posts)
7. They are literally brought up in every thread involving biotech, even when they had...
Wed Mar 30, 2016, 07:08 PM
Mar 2016

no connection to it, at all. Makes no sense.

Also, while there are plenty of valid criticisms of the actions of Monsanto as a corporation over the past century or so, but a lot of it is so goddamned over the top as to be comical. Apparently they are the most evil of evil corporations, even above death squad Coca-Cola or Dole.

Nailzberg

(4,610 posts)
12. Yeah, it bugs me immensily. And I'll just get called a Monsanto shill for saying it.
Wed Mar 30, 2016, 07:26 PM
Mar 2016

But there is no way to have an honest discussion, to craft effective policy, when there is this dishonest boogeyman argument out that always gets thrown in as the first card out of one side's hand.

And its not just biotech that we see this in, this tactic stifles debate in many areas. And as a progressive, I want to make progress on things. I'm smart, I want smart people to sit around and talk about things, not tell ghost stories.

 

Thor_MN

(11,843 posts)
9. Because fearful morons think that GMO=Round-Up Ready.
Wed Mar 30, 2016, 07:19 PM
Mar 2016

They have no knowledge of sciency stuff and just want to fear everything with genes.

Labeling "GMO"s means slapping that label on just about every food product that exists.

Labeling "Round-Up Ready" crops seems to be what people want, so why not create legislation to do that, rather than slap a meaningless "GMO" label on everything?

The best analogy I can think of is requiring every house with a dog to have a warning label that one could be licked to death, when it is only Golden Retrievers that could actually do it.

Major Nikon

(36,827 posts)
23. Because you won't see any sort of labeling law that has anything remotely to do with pesticides
Wed Mar 30, 2016, 08:04 PM
Mar 2016

Doing so would have the effect of educating the otherwise ignorant consumers that "Organic" doesn't mean 'no-pesticides'.

So Far From Heaven

(354 posts)
65. There are 'organic' pesticides. To be certified as 'organic'
Thu Mar 31, 2016, 06:38 PM
Mar 2016

the producer cannot use commercial chemical based herbicides or insecticides.

I just really wonder, 'what's the difference?'

Major Nikon

(36,827 posts)
78. Believe it or not, synthetic pesticides are allowed under organic certification rules
Thu Mar 31, 2016, 07:27 PM
Mar 2016
§205.601 Synthetic substances allowed for use in organic crop production.

§205.603 Synthetic substances allowed for use in organic livestock production.

Actually it's not that hard to believe once you understand "organic" doesn't really mean organic and is actually only a marketing term that's managed under the USDA's Agriculture Marketing Service. Ironically this is the same branch of the USDA that manages plant intellectual property rights the anti-GMO crowd would have you believe is evil.

"What's the difference" is actually a pretty good question. As demonstrated above, often there is no difference. What differences there are usually entail appeal to nature fallacies that favor "natural" remedies that are often untested for health or environmental impacts, vs conventionally approved products that must undergo strict guidelines for approval and application under federal and state oversight.

So Far From Heaven

(354 posts)
87. Interesting....
Fri Apr 1, 2016, 01:54 AM
Apr 2016

This may be why the bees being studied in Oregon got croaked. The pesticide being used on the corn was so strong that it systemically entered the plan and was passed through to the pollen.

Makes sense.

Thanks

Major Nikon

(36,827 posts)
13. It's OK for 100,000 children die each year, so long as "Monsatan" doesn't benefit
Wed Mar 30, 2016, 07:27 PM
Mar 2016

Even though Monsanto has nothing to do with this or Golden Rice.

Just like it's OK for 1.7 million kids to die of vaccine preventable diseases because of some kind of "big Pharma" horseshit.

 

Humanist_Activist

(7,670 posts)
4. They are precisely like anti-vaxxers, climate change deniers, and those pro-lifers who...
Wed Mar 30, 2016, 06:37 PM
Mar 2016

push the lies that breast cancer is caused by abortions.

There is no real difference between these groups for an argument standpoint, they are either gullible, willfully ignorant due to bias, or straight up lying to support their positions.

GreatGazoo

(3,937 posts)
6. Except that anti-vaxxers are 7% of the population and GMO-labellers are 93%
Wed Mar 30, 2016, 07:03 PM
Mar 2016

who won in court to allow VT's labeling law to proceed.

From Germany to California to the WHO, is it all one big conspiracy? Unlikely.

Archae

(46,337 posts)
10. Yeah, a state government passed a law based on bullshit.
Wed Mar 30, 2016, 07:19 PM
Mar 2016

So did Indiana, with their "funerals for fetuses" law.

"Oh that's different!"

No it isn't.

Both laws are based on bullshit pretending to be "science" and bullshitters pretending to speak for "everyone." Or at least the "majority."

Maybe I am in the minority, I have this distinct aversion to demagogues and hacks who "teach" at "universities" that teach how to fly.

Most of those at Monsanto who pulled the "agent orange" crap in the 60's are dead.

New management is at Monsanto, they are open enough to let in media people to show how GMO research is *ACTUALLY* done, not the "mad scientist poking needles into fruit" picture the anti-GMO activists paint.

Besides, Monsanto is just ONE company that produces GMO's.

 

Humanist_Activist

(7,670 posts)
16. No conspiracy necessary, just general ignorance...
Wed Mar 30, 2016, 07:49 PM
Mar 2016

Its rather easy to do, a lie will travel around the world before the truth can even be noticed, a butchering of a Mark Twain quote if I ever attempted to make one.

Not to mention the gap mentioned here is interesting:

http://www.pewinternet.org/2015/01/29/public-and-scientists-views-on-science-and-society/

Largest disparity between the public's opinion and that of scientists from the AAAS is on GMOs.

Major Nikon

(36,827 posts)
18. You do realize the labeling bill failed in California and Washington, yes?
Wed Mar 30, 2016, 07:52 PM
Mar 2016

So perhaps something less than 93% in those areas and also probably fair so say something less than 93% everywhere else as well.

This is what your "93%" looks like...

truedelphi

(32,324 posts)
28. The labeling law failed in California because the corrupted election officials in
Wed Mar 30, 2016, 08:30 PM
Mar 2016

This state did not bother to count close to one million ballots.

A "big ol' election integrity" OOPS! if ever there was one!

Major Nikon

(36,827 posts)
57. I did and all I could find were batshit crazy sources
Thu Mar 31, 2016, 05:09 PM
Mar 2016

I thought you might have something else remotely credible, but your non-response tells me all I needed to know.

truedelphi

(32,324 posts)
84. Oh I am so sad for you.
Thu Mar 31, 2016, 09:04 PM
Mar 2016

TO think of someone who is so mesmerized by Big Industry and the irrelevance of much of what they say, and how you are brainwashed and how it must hurt your brain to come up with independent thinking that reveals the truth.

Poor you! And I think of how my brain hurts when I read an over the top piece like this OP, which cleverly avoids several key elements of Gm farming:

One: that the farmers are enticed to go into the Gm end of things, not realizing they won't be able to save seeds and go back into organic farming. This means a net loss of farmers, and those who attempt to stay into the Gm end of things usually suffer great financial hardship. (Unless they are from the one percent of the equation of their society. (Note how even over a decade ago, more than 6,000 farmers in India who had believed in and then invested in the Big Gm model of crop sustainability ended up committing suicide.

The article says nothing about whether this business model will be avoided - and of course, you know and I know that it is all about huge profits for the big Gm industry.

Two: continuing on the Gm riff of profitability for Monsanto and the other big Ag firms, will farmers who resist the urge to go ahead and plant Gm bananas, will their land be seized as has happened to numerous farmers here in the USA and Canada when the seed contamination occurs and their property is found to contain the Gm crops?

Again, probably so.

Three: The article mentions nothing of th4 dangers of RoundUp, which as far as I know is what is necessary for this crop to grow. And as time goes on, it is inevitable that something stronger will have to be used. Currently in places in both the USA and Canada where the farmers have overutilized Gm seeds and over utilized RoundUp, there is a plethora of weeds that have become immune to Roundup and so the farmers now have to use things related to 2,4 d. Really wonderful - some of the mroe toxic substances out there are now being sprayed to contain the weeds that overuse of RoundUp has allowed to flourish.

Four: continuing on the RoundUp effects' riff, eventually there is a lack of nutrition in the crops grown on soil contaminated by RoundUp. This contamination of fusarium and of vomitoxin, various other fungal matters and molds, has been well documented and has been one of the main concerns of Don Huber. The contamination comes about due to the loss of important soil minerals and what not. (Overuse of RoundUp basically sterilizes the soil.) It is very hard for Monsanto to counter the things Huber says, as for decades Huber was their go to guy and their expert.

So in the end, what happens is whatever good thing was supposed to come about doesn''t even happen as the lower middle class of farmers is destitute, the crops themselves prove to have no extra nutritional value (although in the lab they continue to) and beyond that the crops are mold and fungal contaminated!



Major Nikon

(36,827 posts)
86. So you can't back up one assertion and move on to 4 more?
Thu Mar 31, 2016, 09:27 PM
Mar 2016

Talk about being mesmerized. It's as if when one turd fails to stick to the wall you just sling 4 more (actually more than that because some of your bullets contain more than one turd).

Here's your source for the Prop 37 stolen election nonsense. It comes from an anti-vax creme-de-la-nutbag. The rest just don't get any better.

truedelphi

(32,324 posts)
93. At the time this misconduct went down, reports came from more than a dozen different sources.
Fri Apr 1, 2016, 05:12 AM
Apr 2016

And at the time it happened, I think it was even discussed in SF Chronicle, or maybe their online edition Sfgate.com

Anyway, I know how Erin Brockavich felt when she went up against PG & E.

Or Dr Omalu felt going up against the NFL.

it is always the same thing - a rebuke for our side for supposedly never providing enough, enough, enough, while all your side provides is the usual horse shit of "cigarette smoking is healthy for you and improves yr lung capacity."

Defending industry is so Twentieth Century - will you never get with the progressives and learn about real health and real science?



Major Nikon

(36,827 posts)
94. And yet you can't produce even one that's credible. Very telling that.
Fri Apr 1, 2016, 10:25 AM
Apr 2016

You are simply defending a different industry and using sources that employ duplicity and dubious health claims. Pseudoscience and demagoguery doesn't become progressive just because someone with a liberal mindset employs those tactics. Personally I'll leave those methods to the far right wing. YMMV.

HuckleB

(35,773 posts)
26. When asked what they want on food labels, only seven percent of people mentioned GMOs.
Wed Mar 30, 2016, 08:16 PM
Mar 2016

"Before introducing the idea of GM foods, the survey participants were asked simply “What information would you like to see on food labels that is not already on there?” In response, only 7 percent raised GM food labeling on their own. A similar number (6 percent) said they wanted more information about where the food product was grown or processed. In contrast, when asked directly whether GM foods should be required to be labeled, 73 percent said yes."

http://news.rutgers.edu/research-news/most-americans-pay-little-attention-genetically-modified-foods-survey-says/20131101#.Vvxr1OIrIdU

In other words, the reality of that 93 percent number is rather less than meets the eye.

womanofthehills

(8,718 posts)
99. DEL MONTE goes full Monty !- Del Monte is going NO GMOs!!!
Fri Apr 1, 2016, 12:12 PM
Apr 2016
Del monte also announced that it would move away from GMO, or genetically modified crops. The company also announced Tuesday that not only would vegetables, fruit cups and most tomato products be non-GMO, so will added ingredients used as sweeteners and soybeans.








http://fortune.com/2016/03/29/del-monte-natural-products/

HuckleB

(35,773 posts)
100. Big Companies Are Going To Make Out In Places Like Vermont!
Fri Apr 1, 2016, 12:14 PM
Apr 2016

Way to go, Vermont! You helped the big corporations out! And you're food will be no better, or safer. Yeah, pseudoscience!

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/julie-kelly/vermonts-gmo-labels-a-boo_b_9548826.html

wisechoice

(180 posts)
33. Let govenrment handle food
Wed Mar 30, 2016, 08:55 PM
Mar 2016

If we need GMO science, let government handle the food science just like important public services such as police. Can't trust corporations with our food safety. Until then label the GMOs so that we can punish Monsonto

 

Humanist_Activist

(7,670 posts)
40. How would the labels punish Monsanto, and in addition, why should they be punished?
Wed Mar 30, 2016, 09:05 PM
Mar 2016

This seems completely irrational. In addition, much of this research is done in both public and private universities.

Generic Other

(28,979 posts)
51. Is HuckleB trying to force feed us again?
Wed Mar 30, 2016, 11:24 PM
Mar 2016

I don't know why a consumer would be against labeling. Or a company. Bottom line, people have a right to be informed about what's in their food. Some may not agree with the reasoning, but it seems very authoritarian to insist on controlling the information. When companies such as Monsanto fear transparency, it makes consumers question their integrity. Your question as to why Monsanto acts the victim in this matter is a critical one.

 

Humanist_Activist

(7,670 posts)
55. Monsanto is a seed company and agribusiness that is larger than GMOs, they even sell...
Thu Mar 31, 2016, 12:31 AM
Mar 2016

seeds to organic farms(non-GMO). There bottom line, I expect, won't take much of a hit from any labeling. I'm neutral on the labeling myself if its similar to the labeling for soy/peanut and other products, on the back of the label, along with other ingredients. If its some warning label, like a surgeon general's warning, that I oppose uncategorically as misinformation.

womanofthehills

(8,718 posts)
113. HuckleB must be paid by Monsanto - who would be against organic food?
Fri Apr 1, 2016, 01:44 PM
Apr 2016

Organic is good for the air we breathe, the waterways, the planet....

wisechoice

(180 posts)
160. You badmouth organic
Fri Apr 1, 2016, 07:37 PM
Apr 2016

Every turn you badmouth organic industry and then say in the same breath 'look monsonto is such a noble company that they sell organic too'. Whether Monsonto sells organic seeds or not is irrelevant. It is like BP and other big oil playing those ads about how they care about environment.
Ofcourse organic industry need more science to get optimal production. We should encourage organic industry to adopt more scientific methods than bashing them.
Monsonto owns the GMO seeds. Eventually they will control the food source. It is too important to just accept in the name of "Science". Big corporations cannot be trusted with such an important item such as food. They have a tendency to sc**w up in the name of profit.
However you slice or dice it, it doesn't make sense to support GMO industry at the current form

 

Humanist_Activist

(7,670 posts)
161. Are you seriously suggesting that Monsanto owns the entire GMO industry?
Fri Apr 1, 2016, 07:43 PM
Apr 2016

They are a player, even a big player, but they aren't the only one, there are several companies competing and several research institutions involved in the development of transgenic crops. Hell, the one I'm talking about here doesn't involve Monsanto at all, yet they are still mentioned. Its getting ridiculous.

wisechoice

(180 posts)
168. and there are many oil companies
Sat Apr 2, 2016, 01:38 AM
Apr 2016

But we just name the big guys who are polluting the atmosphere.
Monsanto is the most evil and a representation of corporations which can potentially scr*w food if unchecked due to their greed. No one should own seeds.

HuckleB

(35,773 posts)
162. The organic industry is built on creating baseless fear of other food.
Fri Apr 1, 2016, 07:46 PM
Apr 2016

It is about making money. Nothing more, nothing less. It has it's own corporate malfeasance built in.

Some organic methods can be helpful for farming, but step one is no longer utilizing a random marketing label instead of looking at best practices for everyone. Good luck getting organic companies to do that.

https://thepeopleschemist.com/number-1-reason-organic-food-might-be-a-scam/

Do you know anything about the GMO papaya? The GMO apple? Hmm.

Also, why are so many of the anti-GMO posters at DU new?

Just curious.

wisechoice

(180 posts)
165. organic farming is about doing
Sat Apr 2, 2016, 01:35 AM
Apr 2016

Cultivation that is least harmful to consumption. Of course it is not perfect, but it is the right direction. And are u suggesting GMO food industry is about not money? GMO food companies are honest and organic farming is a scam? Nice try

wisechoice

(180 posts)
182. so poor indian farmer
Sat Apr 2, 2016, 12:02 PM
Apr 2016

Is marketing shtick. You want them to spray chemicals and get sick so that you can rave how good GMOs are? How come everyone has to support GMO to support science. Organic farming is not science? Science is not just in the labs.
Let governments own the seeds and then let us talk about GMOs then. Until then GMOs are nothing but way for corporations to make money with no proper testing.

HuckleB

(35,773 posts)
187. So you have nothing but fictions to offer.
Sat Apr 2, 2016, 04:07 PM
Apr 2016

Anecdotes are not science. India benefitted from GMO cotton. Pesticide use did not increase because of it. You are parroting bad propaganda.

HuckleB

(35,773 posts)
192. You're promoting that long-debunked anti-GMO lie?
Sat Apr 2, 2016, 05:25 PM
Apr 2016

Last edited Sat Apr 2, 2016, 06:39 PM - Edit history (1)



Do you just buy every line the anti-GMO goofballs offer up, without questioning?

wisechoice

(180 posts)
170. for people who thinks gmo is the only science
Sat Apr 2, 2016, 08:09 AM
Apr 2016

Watch this video



Science need open minds. Not narrow definition of what science is.

HuckleB

(35,773 posts)
174. Youtube is not science. And no one said GMO is the only way.
Sat Apr 2, 2016, 10:44 AM
Apr 2016

The only thing anyone has said is that it is a valuable tool, and the demonization of it is ludicrous.

 

Humanist_Activist

(7,670 posts)
185. Its correcting errors, a lot of people make claims about organic farming that are outright false...
Sat Apr 2, 2016, 01:17 PM
Apr 2016

for example, that it is pesticide free or better for your health or the environment, neither of which are true.

wisechoice

(180 posts)
191. And people point out dangers of gmo
Sat Apr 2, 2016, 04:40 PM
Apr 2016

The farmers don't want gmo. Unless you want to get into field and grow gmo with pesticide, you are free to do so. Don't ask farmers to do the same. They are getting sick of this corporate science

HuckleB

(35,773 posts)
193. You speak for farmers?
Sat Apr 2, 2016, 05:26 PM
Apr 2016

Last edited Sat Apr 2, 2016, 06:41 PM - Edit history (1)

And you think they buy GMO seeds with a gun to their heads? And what danger do GMOs pose that is not also posed by other types of seeds?

Oh brother.

wisechoice

(180 posts)
194. And you speak for Monsonto?
Sat Apr 2, 2016, 07:36 PM
Apr 2016

If people want labeling give it to them. Just don't preach that gmo is the holy grail of science. You sound like religious fanatic. I am sure gmo will survive with labeling. And so will Monsonto. Give it rest.

HuckleB

(35,773 posts)
197. Way to dig that hole. Monsanto is not science and consensus.
Sat Apr 2, 2016, 07:52 PM
Apr 2016

Your desire for a label that has no basis in science equates to making labels for Kosher and Halal mandatory. It's not ok.

wisechoice

(180 posts)
195. Says who? We need a lab and a microscope to call it science?
Sat Apr 2, 2016, 07:40 PM
Apr 2016

Christian, Muslim religious fantics fight that their God is the only God. Other gods are inferior. Stop being a fanatic

wisechoice

(180 posts)
205. Here we go
Sat Apr 2, 2016, 09:10 PM
Apr 2016

My god is the big God
GMO is corporate nonsense. You can call it science or whatever you want.

 

Humanist_Activist

(7,670 posts)
117. None of what you just said is true, absolutely nothing....
Fri Apr 1, 2016, 03:01 PM
Apr 2016

Organic farming still involves tilling soil, which contributes to topsoil degradation and loss, still uses mechanized farming equipment that pollutes, still uses herbicides and pesticides, just different ones, and those can contaminate waterways. Not to mention that because of lower yields per acre, on average, they have to farm a lot more land, which is very destructive to the environment in general.

Also, on top of this, Monsanto sells (non-transgenic) seeds to organic farms, so chances are that you are actually giving Monsanto money by buying organic.

womanofthehills

(8,718 posts)
121. Pesticides - conventional vs organic from Consumer Reports
Fri Apr 1, 2016, 03:14 PM
Apr 2016

Natural pesticides less toxic than Synthetic -- Buy Organic!


There are two groups of agricultural pesticides: synthetic and natural. Synthetics are created in labs, and natural ones are substances that occur in nature. The majority of synthetic pesticides (and all of the most toxic ones) used in conventional farming are banned in organic farming, but pesticide drift can mean chemicals sprayed on conventional crops may find their way to nearby organic farms. Still, all of the organic produce in our analysis fell into the very low-risk or low-risk categories.

USDA organic standards allow for the use of certain natural pesticides and very few synthetic ones. “But you can’t compare conventional and organic farming in an oranges-to-oranges kind of way,” says Michael Sligh, a farmer, founding chairman of the National Organic Standards Board, and Just Foods Program director at Rural Advancement Foundation International.

Natural pesticides are usually less toxic than synthetic ones. “ ‘Pesticide’ is a broad term used to refer to a range of substances from the very, very limited low-toxic ones allowed in organic farming to the highly toxic chemicals that can be used in conventional farming,” he says. “They are very different. Before a pesticide is even approved for use in organic farming, it must be evaluated for potential adverse effects on humans, animals, and the environment, and prove it’s compatible with a system of sustainable agriculture. And farmers must follow integrated `pest-management plans that require that they use any approved organic pesticide as a last resort and develop strategies to avoid repeated use.” Those differences have implications for personal health but also for the health of farmworkers and the planet. “Folks need to understand the multiple benefits they are getting when they choose organic,” he says, “and the multiple choices they are making when they don’t.”
 

Humanist_Activist

(7,670 posts)
128. I find it distressing that Consumer Reports seems to have relied on organic lobbyists and marketing.
Fri Apr 1, 2016, 03:40 PM
Apr 2016

firms as sources for their expert opinions. Particularly in making unproven assertions such as "Experts at Consumer Reports believe that organic is always the best choice because it is better for your health, the environment, and the people who grow our food."

In addition, they seem to limit the term "pesticide" to only the synthetic ones, and also reached a conclusion that natural pesticides are well tested. Neither of which are true.

They also are not necessarily better for the environment, at best, you can say its a tie between conventional farming and organic farming when it comes to environmental impact.

Response to womanofthehills (Reply #151)

 

Humanist_Activist

(7,670 posts)
164. The fact that you use a term like "frankenfoods" demonstrates to me that you don't know...
Fri Apr 1, 2016, 08:16 PM
Apr 2016

what you are talking about when it comes to biology or nutrition.

womanofthehills

(8,718 posts)
149. They will punish them because companies like DelMonte who are going GMO free
Fri Apr 1, 2016, 04:20 PM
Apr 2016

will not longer use their frankenfoods.

HuckleB

(35,773 posts)
157. Monsanto sells conventional and organic seeds, too.
Fri Apr 1, 2016, 05:52 PM
Apr 2016

It is not going to be punished. On the other hand, the planet will be punished with the more toxic pesticides used on non-GMO crops.

Way to pollute the world, Vermont!
http://weedcontrolfreaks.com/2015/05/what-does-chipotles-switch-to-non-gmo-ingredients-mean-for-pesticide-use/

 

Humanist_Activist

(7,670 posts)
19. Uhm, that article doesn't mention anything related to beta-carotene or Vitamin A...
Wed Mar 30, 2016, 07:53 PM
Mar 2016

what relevance does it have to this subject?

womanofthehills

(8,718 posts)
104. Tumeric research ongoing as a cancer treatment
Fri Apr 1, 2016, 12:29 PM
Apr 2016
Curcumin is thought to have antioxidant properties, which means it may decrease swelling and inflammation. It's being explored as a cancer treatment in part because inflammation appears to play a role in cancer.

Laboratory and animal research suggests that curcumin may prevent cancer, slow the spread of cancer, make chemotherapy more effective and protect healthy cells from damage by radiation therapy. Curcumin is being studied for use in many types of cancer.

Studies of curcumin in people are still in the early stages. Clinical trials are underway to investigate curcumin as a way to prevent cancer in people with precancerous conditions, as a cancer treatment, and as a remedy for signs and symptoms caused by cancer treatments.

marions ghost

(19,841 posts)
11. Campbells is labelling their GMO products voluntarily
Wed Mar 30, 2016, 07:26 PM
Mar 2016

They heard us! (That's the only reason they would do it)

I won't be buying whatever is labeled GMO. No matter how much the industry pushes them. I know too many scientists (biologists/medical) who won't either.

 

Humanist_Activist

(7,670 posts)
17. So you would like children to die of vitamin deficiency?
Wed Mar 30, 2016, 07:51 PM
Mar 2016

Hey, your side engages in over the top hyperbole, I might was well do so too.

 

Humanist_Activist

(7,670 posts)
27. OK, how about an honest assessment, do you think genetically engineering...
Wed Mar 30, 2016, 08:23 PM
Mar 2016

Bananas to produce Vitamin A will be an effective way to combat vitamin deficiencies in Uganda or not?

Nothing to do with whether you would buy them, you get plenty of Vitamin A through your own diet, as does everyone in the United States. This is about Uganda.

marions ghost

(19,841 posts)
32. No I don't think Uganda should eat food I wouldn't eat
Wed Mar 30, 2016, 08:55 PM
Mar 2016

I think Nigerian farmers are right to push back against it.

You can put vitamin A in food that is not genetically engineered. This is a common propaganda ploy--to stress the inclusion of extra vitamins in GMO food.

Maybe you're a food scientist, maybe you're a Big Agra PR guy--whatever, you have a vested interest. My thing is biomedical--and I say you're on the wrong side of this issue.

So this won't go well. Cya later

 

Humanist_Activist

(7,670 posts)
36. How would you fortify the food without genetic engineering? Also, I'm not a paid shill...
Wed Mar 30, 2016, 09:00 PM
Mar 2016

why the fuck do anti-science people ALWAYS fall back to that?

Of course this isn't going to end well, you are ignorant of biology. Oh, and an FYI, I work customer service for a PBM, you figure out what that is.

marions ghost

(19,841 posts)
41. No need to be so rabid about this then
Wed Mar 30, 2016, 09:18 PM
Mar 2016

if you're not a paid shill.

Let's just say I'm well versed in the biomedical & biostat field. Not ignorant about biology.

There is fortified food all over the place that is not GMO. Doesn't take a bios degree to see that.

I'm against it. You're for it. Let's leave it at that.

 

Humanist_Activist

(7,670 posts)
44. Generally fortification involves either physically or chemically fortifying a processed food...
Wed Mar 30, 2016, 09:24 PM
Mar 2016

for example, adding iodine to salt or iron to cornflakes, or it can involve genetic engineering. There's other methods, Vitamin A fortified sugar, etc. But these are processed or refined foods, not raw food, such as bananas.

The issue is that these types of fortification wouldn't be practical in Uganda, so other methods should be tried. In addition, you have yet to give a reason as to why you wouldn't eat these bananas, or any other food that has been genetically engineered. Is there a reason, or is it just personal preference?

marions ghost

(19,841 posts)
47. I believe that the American people are guinea pigs
Wed Mar 30, 2016, 09:46 PM
Mar 2016

--comparing the US population with countries such as China that do not allow GMOs should give some data after awhile.

You can push GMOs all you want but let people decide if they want to be guinea pigs or not. Americans never have had a choice about this.

GMOs have been rammed down our throats without consent--literally.

 

Humanist_Activist

(7,670 posts)
49. But GMOs are safety tested, so I'm not sure what the issue is.
Wed Mar 30, 2016, 09:53 PM
Mar 2016

You claim we are guinea pigs, I don't think that's true.

And if you want to claim that the data should be in please bear in mind that both cancer rates and cancer deaths have decreased remarkably since 1960 or so, and we are overall healthier though we do have an obesity problem, which is an issue with too many processed foods having too much sugar and fat, nothing to do with GMOs directly.

nationalize the fed

(2,169 posts)
61. Please provide links to these tests
Thu Mar 31, 2016, 06:20 PM
Mar 2016

On Humans. TIA

The resounding claim of GMO proponents is that GMOs have been proven safe. Some scientists are quite emphatic about this, such as Dr. Pamela Ronald from UC Davis, who says:

“Genetically engineered crops currently on the market are as safe to eat and safe for the environment as organic or conventional foods.”

Dr. Roger Clemens, from the USC Department of Pharmacology, also weighs in, saying:

“They’re tested and evaluated in voluminous documentation that would fill this backyard. We don’t know of any health risk at this particular time.”

Dr. Clemens also defends food additives, sugar, and processed foods, but I digress...

The problem with concluding that GMOs are safe is that the argument for their safety rests solely on animal studies. These studies are offered as evidence that the debate over GMOs is over. Nothing could be farther from the truth...
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/carole-bartolotto/have-genetically-modified_b_5597751.html
 

Humanist_Activist

(7,670 posts)
76. Oh please, if they did safety tests on humans you would be complaining about that...
Thu Mar 31, 2016, 07:12 PM
Mar 2016

you know, like in this case:

http://www.gmwatch.org/news/archive/2014/15565-another-unethical-gmo-human-trial-planned

Note, their argument is extremely stupid because the differences in the banana is the fact that it produces beta-carotene, which we already know is safe to consume for humans. The tests are to determine Vitamin A intake, not for safety.

The fact is that there is no substantial differences between conventional crops and transgenic crops, as explained by this article:

https://www.geneticliteracyproject.org/2016/01/13/no-long-term-gmo-studies-humans/

If there is a crop introduced that produces a novel protein or substance that does have a pharmacological effect on the human body, then I agree that the typical food testing is inadequate, but that isn't happening here.

womanofthehills

(8,718 posts)
124. The World Health Organization disagrees with you
Fri Apr 1, 2016, 03:34 PM
Apr 2016

Roundup - probably carcinogenic says WHO (I sure don't want to take a change eating this stuff)


An ingredient in Monsanto MON -0.14%’s Roundup weed-killer – glyphosate – is “probably carcinogenic,” according to a new decision by the World Health Organization yesterday. The decision was laid out in a new analysis in The Lancet Oncology, and published on the WHO’s International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) website. The analysis is based on the existing research on the chemical exposure in people and lab animals. Though it’s sure to raise consumer concerns, some – like Monsanto – say it’s unwarranted since no new data are included in the research, and previous studies have all deemed glyphosate relatively safe in the doses humans take it in. Consumers’ ears are certainly pricked at this new decision – but how convincing is it?

The report determines that there is “limited evidence” that the chemical can cause non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and lung cancer in humans. It says there is, however, “convincing evidence” that it can cause cancer in laboratory animals. Among people who work with the herbicide, who generally have traces of the compound in their blood and urine, there appears to be a slightly increased risk of non-Hodgkin lymphoma, according to the report: “Case-control studies of occupational exposure in the USA, Canada, and Sweden reported increased risks for non-Hodgkin lymphoma that persisted after adjustment for other pesticides.”
 

Humanist_Activist

(7,670 posts)
134. Are you still harping on about that, its already been debunked. And this has nothing to do with GMOs
Fri Apr 1, 2016, 03:53 PM
Apr 2016

but glyphosate.

HuckleB

(35,773 posts)
143. She has pushed that multiple times on this thread in the past few minutes, in fact.
Fri Apr 1, 2016, 04:00 PM
Apr 2016


Of course, it's about glyphosate, but, even then, as you know, the WHO is not in agreement with other agencies, nevermind the reality that other herbicides, including organic ones, are more toxic.

http://www.foodsafetynews.com/2015/11/efsa-finds-glyphosate-unlikely-to-cause-cancer-in-humans/#.Vv7UHOIrIdU

http://www.hoajonline.com/toxicology/2056-3779/2/1
 

Humanist_Activist

(7,670 posts)
145. She's Gish Galloping this thread with bullshit that has NOTHING to do with this fucking banana crop.
Fri Apr 1, 2016, 04:06 PM
Apr 2016

I would like to talk about.

The FIRST FUCKING POST in response to my thread slams Monsanto, a company that has fucking NOTHING to do with what I posted. These people are being dishonest pieces of shit criticizing what could be an effective method of combating real world malnutrition.

womanofthehills

(8,718 posts)
202. Wow! Eating too many GMOs - can't control your anger!
Sat Apr 2, 2016, 08:40 PM
Apr 2016

so anyone who disagrees with you is "a piece of shit". Personality Disorder Alert!!

 

Humanist_Activist

(7,670 posts)
136. Well that's just a straight up lie you just told, what cancer from GMOs?
Fri Apr 1, 2016, 03:54 PM
Apr 2016

They are tested just like any other food product.

HuckleB

(35,773 posts)
37. Baseless fear mongering is now leading to detrimental decision making.
Wed Mar 30, 2016, 09:00 PM
Mar 2016
http://www.marklynas.org/2013/04/time-to-call-out-the-anti-gmo-conspiracy-theory/

And you are happy about that. I find that to be truly disturbing. Your fellow humans deserve better from you.

HuckleB

(35,773 posts)
43. Baseless propaganda is all the anti-GMO fear mongerers have to offer, indeed.
Wed Mar 30, 2016, 09:23 PM
Mar 2016
http://www.michaeleisen.org/blog/?p=1082

Anti-GMOers have already done damage to the world and its inhabitants. They seem proud of that fact. It's absolutely abhorrent.

womanofthehills

(8,718 posts)
125. So what do you think of the World Health Organization saying GMO's possibly cause cancer?
Fri Apr 1, 2016, 03:38 PM
Apr 2016

Do you dismiss them?

HuckleB

(35,773 posts)
130. The WHO says no such thing.
Fri Apr 1, 2016, 03:46 PM
Apr 2016
http://www.psmag.com/health-and-behavior/scientific-debate-gm-foods-theyre-safe-66711

American Association for the Advancement of Science: ”The science is quite clear: crop improvement by the modern molecular techniques of biotechnology is safe.” (http://bit.ly/11cR4sB)

American Medical Association: ”There is no scientific justification for special labeling of genetically modified foods. Bioengineered foods have been consumed for close to 20 years, and during that time, no overt consequences on human health have been reported and/or substantiated in the peer-reviewed literature.” (http://bit.ly/166OUdM)

World Health Organization: ”No effects on human health have been shown as a result of the consumption of GM foods by the general population in the countries where they have been approved.” (http://bit.ly/18yzzVI)

National Academy of Sciences: ”To date more than 98 million acres of genetically modified crops have been grown worldwide. No evidence of human health problems associated with the ingestion of these crops or resulting food products have been identified.” (http://bit.ly/13Cib0Y)

The Royal Society of Medicine: ”Foods derived from GM crops have been consumed by hundreds of millions of people across the world for more than 15 years, with no reported ill effects (or legal cases related to human health), despite many of the consumers coming from that most litigious of countries, the USA.” (http://1.usa.gov/12huL7Z)

The European Commission: ”The main conclusion to be drawn from the efforts of more than 130 research projects, covering a period of more than 25 years of research, and involving more than 500 independent research groups, is that biotechnology, and in particular GMOs, are no more risky than e.g. conventional plant breeding technologies.” (http://bit.ly/133BoZW)

American Council on Science and Health: ”[W]ith the continuing accumulation of evidence of safety and efficiency, and the complete absence of any evidence of harm to the public or the environment, more and more consumers are becoming as comfortable with agricultural biotechnology as they are with medical biotechnology.” (http://bit.ly/12hvoyg)

American Dietetic Association: ”It is the position of the American Dietetic Association that agricultural and food biotechnology techniques can enhance the quality, safety, nutritional value, and variety of food available for human consumption and increase the efficiency of food production, food processing, food distribution, and environmental and waste management.” (http://1.usa.gov/12hvWnE)

American Phytopathological Society: ”The American Phytopathological Society (APS), which represents approximately 5,000 scientists who work with plant pathogens, the diseases they cause, and ways of controlling them, supports biotechnology as a means for improving plant health, food safety, and sustainable growth in plant productivity.” (http://bit.ly/14Ft4RL)

American Society for Cell Biology: ”Far from presenting a threat to the public health, GM crops in many cases improve it. The ASCB vigorously supports research and development in the area of genetically engineered organisms, including the development of genetically modified (GM) crop plants.” (http://bit.ly/163sWdL)

American Society for Microbiology: ”The ASM is not aware of any acceptable evidence that food produced with biotechnology and subject to FDA oversight constitutes high risk or is unsafe. We are sufficiently convinced to assure the public that plant varieties and products created with biotechnology have the potential of improved nutrition, better taste and longer shelf-life.” (http://bit.ly/13Cl2ak)

American Society of Plant Biologists: ”The risks of unintended consequences of this type of gene transfer are comparable to the random mixing of genes that occurs during classical breeding… The ASPB believes strongly that, with continued responsible regulation and oversight, GE will bring many significant health and environmental benefits to the world and its people.” (http://bit.ly/13bLJiR)

International Seed Federation: ”The development of GM crops has benefited farmers, consumers and the environment… Today, data shows that GM crops and foods are as safe as their conventional counterparts: millions of hectares worldwide have been cultivated with GM crops and billions of people have eaten GM foods without any documented harmful effect on human health or the environment.” (http://bit.ly/138rZLW)

Council for Agricultural Science and Technology: ”Over the last decade, 8.5 million farmers have grown transgenic varieties of crops on more than 1 billion acres of farmland in 17 countries. These crops have been consumed by humans and animals in most countries. Transgenic crops on the market today are as safe to eat as their conventional counterparts, and likely more so given the greater regulatory scrutiny to which they are exposed.” (http://bit.ly/11cTKq9)

Crop Science Society of America: ”The Crop Science Society of America supports education and research in all aspects of crop production, including the judicious application of biotechnology.” (http://bit.ly/138sQMB)

International Society of African Scientists: ”Africa and the Caribbean cannot afford to be left further behind in acquiring the uses and benefits of this new agricultural revolution.” (http://bit.ly/14Fp1oK)

Federation of Animal Science Societies: ”Meat, milk and eggs from livestock and poultry consuming biotech feeds are safe for human consumption.” (http://bit.ly/133F79K)

Society for In Vitro Biology: ”The SIVB supports the current science-based approach for the evaluation and regulation of genetically engineered crops. The SIVB supports the need for easy public access to available information on the safety of genetically modified crop products. In addition, the SIVB feels that foods from genetically modified crops, which are determined to be substantially equivalent to those made from crops, do not require mandatory labeling.” (http://bit.ly/18yFDxo)

Consensus document on GMOs Safety (14 Italian scientific societies): ”GMOs on the market today, having successfully passed all the tests and procedures necessary to authorization, are to be considered, on the basis of current knowledge, safe to use for human and animal consumption.” (http://bit.ly/166WHYZ)

Society of Toxicology: ”Scientific analysis indicates that the process of GM food production is unlikely to lead to hazards of a different nature than those already familiar to toxicologists. The level of safety of current GM foods to consumers appears to be equivalent to that of traditional foods.” (http://bit.ly/13bOaSt)

“Transgenic Plants and World Agriculture” - Prepared by the Royal Society of London, the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, the Brazilian Academy of Sciences, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the Indian National Science Academy, the Mexican Academy of Sciences, and the Third World Academy of Sciences:“Foods can be produced through the use of GM technology that are more nutritious, stable in storage, and in principle health promoting – bringing benefits to consumers in both industrialized and developing nations.” (http://bit.ly/17Cliq5)

French Academy of Science: ”All criticisms against GMOs can be largely rejected on strictly scientific criteria.” (http://bit.ly/15Hm3wO)

Union of German Academies of Sciences and Humanities: ”Food derived from GM plants approved in the EU and the US poses no risks greater than those from the corresponding conventional food. On the contrary, in some cases food from GM plants appears to be superior with respect to health.” (http://bit.ly/17ClMMF)

International Council for Science: ”Currently available genetically modified crops – and foods derived from them – have been judged safe to eat, and the methods used to test them have been deemed appropriate.” (http://bit.ly/15Hn487)


 

Humanist_Activist

(7,670 posts)
46. Well, bananas are a staple crop, part of the reason they were selected...
Wed Mar 30, 2016, 09:35 PM
Mar 2016

the idea is to give them the cultivar in question and allow it to proliferate to supplement and then replace the cultivar already present. That way they will be cheap and plentiful. Seems reasonable.

Now, if they can make carrots able to grow with equal proliferation, I would say go for that, but, on a practical level, that may also require genetic engineering to make them more warm weather adapted.

 

Humanist_Activist

(7,670 posts)
50. It is largely a question of scale, and also whether the vegetable with get the market penetration...
Wed Mar 30, 2016, 09:56 PM
Mar 2016

necessary to make a difference.

Like I said, bananas, in particularly, cooking bananas, are a staple crop in Uganda, similar to rice, corn or wheat in other countries, so its in almost everything on some level. Carrots are not nearly as widely consumed.

Generic Other

(28,979 posts)
53. Do the people in third world nations even want the modified products?
Wed Mar 30, 2016, 11:37 PM
Mar 2016

In India, the Philippines, Indonesia and other places, farmers don't want to give up their indigenous crops for fortified versions. They value the diversity of their own strains. We on the other hand always seem to promote western cultural supremacy everywhere we go.

 

Humanist_Activist

(7,670 posts)
54. That happened because of the misinformation campaign against GMOs spearheaded by Greenpeace...
Thu Mar 31, 2016, 12:27 AM
Mar 2016

and other groups.

Also, this is as much "Western cultural supremacy" as the distribution of the smallpox or polio vaccines.

Also, in the case of the bananas, they are being developed with cooperation from the Ugandan government.

womanofthehills

(8,718 posts)
207. Agreed - they have many different varieties of bananas in Africa
Sat Apr 2, 2016, 09:56 PM
Apr 2016
The Gates Foundation has sunk $15 million into developing GMO 'super bananas' with high levels of pre-Vitamin A, writes Adam Breasley. But the project is using 'stolen' genes from a Micronesian banana cultivar. And what exactly is the point, when delicious, popular, nutritious 'red bananas' rich in caroteinoids are already grown around the tropics?




Funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to the tune of $15 million, and currently in Iowa undergoing human feeding studies, the GMO banana human feeding trials appears have been designed for marketing purposes. Certainly Scientific American calls them simply "market trials".

They are certainly not trials for establishing the safety of GM bananas for human consumption, nor are they the thorough clinical studies that would be expected for a novel GMO food intended for daily consumption for vulnerable malnourished African infants.

Dr Dale himself has said he sees the GMO bananas are a door-opener to help facilitate the uptake of many more GMO crops in Africa and globally.

womanofthehills

(8,718 posts)
203. Some in Africa want the banana but many DO NOT want the banana!
Sat Apr 2, 2016, 08:56 PM
Apr 2016
"It's a neo-colonial conspiracy to make the developing world more dependent on food and seeds from rich governments and corporations," said Edie Mukiibi, 28, who grows 12 different varieties of banana on his farm in Mukono, in central Uganda.

Opponents of GMOs argue that they threaten the sustainability of farming in Africa with accompanying restrictions that remove farmers' right to choose their own crops and seeds.

"Real nutrition is when you have diversity of crops in your garden to choose from, not having only one crop everywhere," said Mukiibi, who is also a vice-president of the Ugandan branch of the global organisation Slow Food International, which rejects GMOs and advocates "good, clean and fair food."


https://www.yahoo.com/news/heated-debate-uganda-over-super-bananas-143614925.html

womanofthehills

(8,718 posts)
204. Might not be a good idea - banana not tested on humans yet
Sat Apr 2, 2016, 09:02 PM
Apr 2016
A molecular biologist with the Salk Institute in La Jolla, California, Dr. David Schubert, who added his name to the petition protesting the feeding trials, has concerns about the study’s safety. The FDA does not require the same level of safety testing of genetically modified food as it does for food additives and dyes because the technology is categorized as “Generally Recognized As Safe.”

“The fact that you can put basically anything into these plants and then get it through the FDA with no testing is ludicrous,” Schubert says.

Schubert says beta-carotene, the organic compound that’s been lab engineered into the GM banana, poses a particular problem because it’s both synthesized and broken down into a much smaller molecule called retinoic acid, required for development of the nervous system.

“It works in incredibly small amounts and in higher amounts, or any modification of this molecule, it causes birth defects,” says Schubert.


http://fsrn.org/2016/02/new-gm-banana-bound-for-uganda-set-for-human-testing-at-iowa-state/

marions ghost

(19,841 posts)
123. thx for the list
Fri Apr 1, 2016, 03:34 PM
Apr 2016

The hardest thing to find is organic corn. Not impossible.

Yes we just have to reject it. That is the only thing they understand.

We did not agree to being the first test generation.

womanofthehills

(8,718 posts)
129. In NM, I can only find organic corn
Fri Apr 1, 2016, 03:45 PM
Apr 2016

at Vitamin Cottage and the farmers markets so I grow my own in the summer and freeze it. You can grow a lot of corn in a really small space.

marions ghost

(19,841 posts)
138. I will be looking to do that
Fri Apr 1, 2016, 03:55 PM
Apr 2016

it is good to talk to others that get this problem with GMOs. So hard to resist the propaganda that is out there. Consumers have to be able to say no to it.

So Far From Heaven

(354 posts)
58. Consider the possibility
Thu Mar 31, 2016, 05:13 PM
Mar 2016

that this thread shows just about everything having to do with global warming denial.

People tend to trust those that think like they do or tell them what they want to believe.

The only question I have is whether or not gene splicing will develop organisms that over-run traditional non-spliced species, causing a complete loss in diversity.

That spells doom. That's why some countries outlawed GMO wheat.

So Far From Heaven

(354 posts)
62. Of course not.
Thu Mar 31, 2016, 06:31 PM
Mar 2016

One is based solely on trust, the other verifiable fact.

My post was about adherence to belief being stronger than scientific evidence that is contrary to those beliefs, and listening to those that share your beliefs versus those that base their conclusions on verifiable evidence.

This phenomenon has been studied quite a bit, most recently that I know of in the context of global warming denial.

Major Nikon

(36,827 posts)
79. Global warming denial is about denying real science in favor of pseudoscience
Thu Mar 31, 2016, 07:51 PM
Mar 2016

Which do you think a plethora of references to Seralini falls under?

So Far From Heaven

(354 posts)
88. I think that is what I said using other terms.
Fri Apr 1, 2016, 02:00 AM
Apr 2016

Study after study has concluded that what you say is true, what I'm pointing out is some, not all, of the reason for favoring pseudoscience is trust in the source of the information. We tend to trust those that think like we do, or hold similar beliefs that we hold.

The paper concluded that even being confronted with irrefutable evidence to the contrary will not override these tendencies.

That's why we have never cracked the seventy percent acceptance level for global warming, and may never actually get that high.

Major Nikon

(36,827 posts)
89. I think the reasons are multi-faceted
Fri Apr 1, 2016, 02:24 AM
Apr 2016

While it's true that some people have a propensity to seek out bubbles and stay within them, I don't believe that fully explains why bullshit can proliferate for so long. I think some of it has to do with the sheer number of sources. Most people just aren't going to take the effort to sort out the background noise from good information when on the face both can be made to look the same. Another problem is that internet search engines don't return results based on the value or credibility of information. So a given search on a particular subject within the arena of climate change or biotech might not provide anything but bullshit until you get to the 3rd page or so.

I do think that most myths eventually drown under their own weight. Nobody really gives a shit what 9/11 truthers or Obama birthers have to say anymore and the anti-vaxxers' shit is starting to get pretty weak.

So Far From Heaven

(354 posts)
91. Consider evolution versus creationism.
Fri Apr 1, 2016, 02:31 AM
Apr 2016

Stands the test of time.

It doesn't help when there is a concerted effort to demonize the science in the name of either 'rugged individualism' or 'freedom' either.

HuckleB

(35,773 posts)
67. Apologize for informing you of reality?
Thu Mar 31, 2016, 06:42 PM
Mar 2016


When no such thing has come to market, no country can reject it. Your ignorance of genetics shown in that post is so astounding I didn't address it.

It's time for you to stop.

HuckleB

(35,773 posts)
70. It has researched it, yes. (And you didn't repeat anything.)
Thu Mar 31, 2016, 06:46 PM
Mar 2016

None has even been considered for market.

Nice Googling, btw.

List the locations of those 400 trials, and get back to us. Thanks.

So Far From Heaven

(354 posts)
72. No need.
Thu Mar 31, 2016, 06:50 PM
Mar 2016

Don't need google, either.

Oregon case of transfer of GMO wheat to neighboring farm a few years back.

Your apology seems lacking, and your social skills need improving. When you're wrong, just admit it.

HuckleB

(35,773 posts)
73. So you went from 400 trials to the small plot in Oregon.
Thu Mar 31, 2016, 06:54 PM
Mar 2016

And failed to acknowledge that said plot's seeds were from a long given up research project.

You seem to think that others should apologize for your ignorance.

That's very odd.

Major Nikon

(36,827 posts)
82. Sounds like you are acknowledging the fact that GM wheat hasn't made it out of the testing stage
Thu Mar 31, 2016, 08:54 PM
Mar 2016

Wouldn't one or two (whichever it is) fields of a GM product that has not come to market and may never make any fear of a global wheat armageddon seem at least a little premature?

womanofthehills

(8,718 posts)
106. Monsanto paranoid about their wheat seeds polluting the world of wheat
Fri Apr 1, 2016, 12:39 PM
Apr 2016
http://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2014/09/26/351785294/gmo-wheat-investigation-closed-but-another-one-opens

Monsanto's chief technology officer, Robert Fraley, floated his own hypothesis in a teleconference with reporters last year. "The fact pattern indicates the strong possibility that someone intentionally introduced wheat seed containing [Monsanto's new gene] into his field," he said at the time. He speculated that this could have been an act of sabotage carried out by anti-biotech activists who somehow had acquired genetically engineered seed.

HuckleB

(35,773 posts)
141. Half the world doesn't do lots of things.
Fri Apr 1, 2016, 03:57 PM
Apr 2016

Like allow LBGTQ people to live with equal rights, for example.

There is no science-based justification for opposing GMOs. You know this.

http://www.skepticalraptor.com/skepticalraptorblog.php/review-10-years-gmo-research-no-significant-dangers/

HuckleB

(35,773 posts)
71. Try something that is in research, and has never been close to market?
Thu Mar 31, 2016, 06:49 PM
Mar 2016

Again, nice Google work. You and I both know the reality. You parroted bad propaganda and got caught. The rest of your lack of understanding of genetics is still there for everyone to see. You might want to consider being honest.

So Far From Heaven

(354 posts)
74. What is it with you?
Thu Mar 31, 2016, 06:57 PM
Mar 2016

What about the common English word 'produced' do you fail to grasp?

They made it.

They planted it.

It moved to a neighboring farm.

It stoked fears across two continents because it moved.

It dropped it, WHILE IN PRODUCTION to customers in the far East because of the blowback.

QED

HuckleB

(35,773 posts)
75. What is it with you?
Thu Mar 31, 2016, 07:02 PM
Mar 2016

You make a claim that never could have occurred to a product that has never been introduced to market. You make ludicrously silly rants about genetics that show an amazing lack of understanding about the topic. Then you make more claims, and all you have is the Oregon story for support, which we both know you just learned about, and are continuing to learn about, as your posts clearly show.

Be An adult, and cut the crap. You can't fake it.

Btw, you do know that we know that anything else you offer here is fresh from Google, right?

 

Humanist_Activist

(7,670 posts)
77. This isn't like introducing Kudzu to a pristine environment, this is one man made/bred...
Thu Mar 31, 2016, 07:25 PM
Mar 2016

plant supplementing or replacing another. It may replace more than one variety or not, but that's the people's choice. We bred and engineered these plants to practically require us to grow them and cultivate them, many can't even reproduce on their own anymore. I also don't see how it causes loss of diversity when large scale farming does that without GMOs being necessary.

There is nothing magical about genetically engineered plants that allow them to overrun other crops without human intervention, because that doesn't happen. They may outcompete non-transgenic crops, but that's a different argument.

If you are that worried about biodiversity in crops, then lobby farmers and big agricorps to use a large variety of species as food sources.

pediatricmedic

(397 posts)
60. As long as we have proper oversight and this isn't for corporate profiteering
Thu Mar 31, 2016, 06:09 PM
Mar 2016

I don't see a problem with this at all.

Major Nikon

(36,827 posts)
95. It's more like GMOs that will save millions of children from death and blindness...
Fri Apr 1, 2016, 11:02 AM
Apr 2016

and people still protest it, because "Monsatan" is evil. The irony is completely lost on them.

Deadshot

(384 posts)
167. Ayup.
Sat Apr 2, 2016, 01:37 AM
Apr 2016

It's one thing to hate Monsanto. I hate them too. But it's another thing to hate GMOs because Monsanto happens to create them, even though they don't own them (except the ones they create).

Major Nikon

(36,827 posts)
171. They don't even really create them directly
Sat Apr 2, 2016, 09:51 AM
Apr 2016

The vast majority of the work is done by universities working on grants paid for by Monsanto, other corporations, and/or the government. Golden Rice was developed purely by government and non-profit sponsorship. They only partnered with Syngenta for the production technology and infrastructure and even then Syngenta is providing it to them at cost, yet somehow this is still "evil" even though it will clearly save the lives of millions of children.

What's even more interesting is when you ask people why they hate Monsanto, you usually get answers like they are causing suicides of poor Indian farmers, even though cotton production has skyrocketed and suicides are down, which were epidemic before Bt cotton was even introduced. Or you get answers like Agent Orange, produced on license from the government by Monsanto and other companies with Monsanto being the only one that warned the government about it's use.

That's not to say there aren't other reasons to hate Monsanto, but if one wants to hate them they ought to come up with reasons that aren't based on fiction. The peril to using lies to further one's agenda is eventually those lies are going to be found out, and when that happens the credibility for their movement with the public collapses. That's why I always say that which can be debunked, should be. It doesn't serve anyone's interests to allow it to flourish, other than the opportunists which are making bank on misinformation campaigns.

Major Nikon

(36,827 posts)
175. “There is just no acceptable level of any chemical to ingest, ever”
Sat Apr 2, 2016, 10:50 AM
Apr 2016

-- Vani Hari, a.k.a. The Food Babe

You can actually feel yourself getting dumber as you listen to her.

Major Nikon

(36,827 posts)
220. At least that makes up for her being dummer than a bag of hammers
Sun Apr 3, 2016, 12:10 AM
Apr 2016

It's kind of a shame than in about 10 years the "babe" part just isn't going to apply anymore and she'll still be an idiot.

And you would probably lose that bet, not to mention that I've got quite a few years on her. I've been eating well and working out longer than she's been on this earth.

Major Nikon

(36,827 posts)
180. Here's another interesting nugget of info you won't hear from the anti-science crowd
Sat Apr 2, 2016, 11:52 AM
Apr 2016

When the IARC released it's full report on the junk science they used for their glyphosate classification, even they rejected the Seralini rat study as shit.

The Working Group concluded that this study conducted on a glyphosate-based formulation was inadequate for evaluation because the number of animals per group was small, the histopathological description of tumours was poor, and incidences of tumours for individual animals were not provided.

Page 35
http://monographs.iarc.fr/ENG/Monographs/vol112/mono112-09.pdf

womanofthehills

(8,718 posts)
211. Detection of Glyphosate Residues in Animals and Humans - Environmental Toxicology
Sat Apr 2, 2016, 10:13 PM
Apr 2016
Conclusions
Glyphosate residue could reach humans and animals through feed and excreted in urine. Presence of glyphosate in urine and its accumulation in animal tissues is alarming even at low concentrations. Unknown impacts of glyphosate on human and animal health warrants further investigations of glyphosate residues in vertebrates and other non-target organisms.

Also glyphosate was significantly higher (P<0.0002) in humans feed conventional feed compared with predominately organic feed humans.

Major Nikon

(36,827 posts)
172. I don't get bullshit. The WHO did not say GMOs could cause cancer.
Sat Apr 2, 2016, 10:33 AM
Apr 2016

I suspect the other nonsense you are actually peddling was the IARC, which is a non-regulatory branch of the WHO, claimed glyphosate could cause cancer. The part of that story you must have missed was that the EFSA, which actually does regulate pesticides, called out the IARC for peddling complete bullshit.


[font color="color" size=5 face="face"]Conclusion on the peer review of the pesticide risk assessment of the active substance glyphosate[/font]

Following a second mandate from the European Commission to consider the findings from the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) regarding the potential carcinogenicity of glyphosate or glyphosate-containing plant protection products in the on-going peer review of the active substance, EFSA concluded that glyphosate is unlikely to pose a carcinogenic hazard to humans and the evidence does not support classification with regard to its carcinogenic potential according to Regulation (EC) No 1272/2008.

killbotfactory

(13,566 posts)
96. That's cool. Except the only reason people are dying from starvation now is political
Fri Apr 1, 2016, 11:34 AM
Apr 2016

There's no money to be made selling food to people who can't afford food, so fuck em.

HuckleB

(35,773 posts)
103. Umm.
Fri Apr 1, 2016, 12:21 PM
Apr 2016
http://theness.com/neurologicablog/index.php/the-need-for-improved-food-production/

"...

This brings us to the other anti-science ideology, the pro-organic, anti-GMO movement. This movement is almost entirely based on the appeal-to-nature fallacy, and scaremongering about new technology. Daniel Engber wrote in a recent commentary that the movement is more akin to a religion, and is simply not about facts.

One of the talking points in the anti-GMO movement is that we do not need to increase our food production. We produce more than enough food today to feed the world’s population, the real problem is distribution. While this is true, it entirely misses the point – the point that Kromdijk and Long now make explicit. It actually misses two points.

The first is that agriculture has a huge footprint on the planet. According to a National Geographic study in 2005, 40% of the Earth’s land mass is used for agriculture. All of the best land for agriculture is already being used. The same study indicates that we could potentially double the land mass used for agriculture, but we will be spreading into less desirable land, and devastating natural ecosystems in the process (mostly in Africa and South America).

Remember, we will need to produce 87% more food by 2050, and we cannot simply increase land use 87%. We need to use our land more efficiently.

..."

killbotfactory

(13,566 posts)
105. There is no money in feeding people who can't afford it.
Fri Apr 1, 2016, 12:36 PM
Apr 2016

Like all agriculture in this country and most of the world over, GMOs will be used based on how effective they are in making money.

The promise of GMOs are nice and all, but things like golden rice and better papayas represent an insignificant portion of the market.

We need genetic diversity among the crops we cultivate, because the world is diverse and some things grow better than others due to regional differences. You can't just take a crop that grow well in iowa, insert a gene to do whatever, and then sell it to farmers in a completely different region of the world promising miracles. It will never live up to the hype. We cannot monocrop the world.

Until we use GMOs to tailor individual strains that are suited to their environment, and not patent them and give control of people's livelyhoods to the whims of corporations, who are legally required to not give a fuck about anything but money, there will not be widespread adoption of GMOs.

HuckleB

(35,773 posts)
108. In other words, you're ignoring a lot of information to maintain your POV.
Fri Apr 1, 2016, 12:43 PM
Apr 2016

That's not going to help anyone.

killbotfactory

(13,566 posts)
110. GMOs have the potential to do great things, yes.
Fri Apr 1, 2016, 12:52 PM
Apr 2016

Or they can do bad things, like take over a foreign market with a product that promises a lot and doesn't deliver. Becuase cotton grown in the southeast, modified for BT, may not grow very well in foreign markets like west Africa in which native species are more suited.

https://www.geneticliteracyproject.org/2016/02/09/burkina-fasos-bt-cotton-not-meeting-expectations/

Major Nikon

(36,827 posts)
114. Your argument is strawman nonsense
Fri Apr 1, 2016, 02:00 PM
Apr 2016

We aren't talking about taking a crop, inserting a gene, and selling it in a place where it is foreign. We are talking about take a crop that's already being grown locally and inserting a gene that will make it save lives. There's no miracle involved, just biotechnology. The people at the micro level don't have to do anything, unlike the miracle you are promoting, which has always been the basic problem.

 

Humanist_Activist

(7,670 posts)
118. You seem to have failed to understand the article, its taking a local staple crop and modifying it..
Fri Apr 1, 2016, 03:03 PM
Apr 2016

so that the people who already eat it will get the required amount of Vitamin A in their bodies. This helps prevent blindness and death. They aren't starving to death, but are nutrient deficient, which is a different, sometimes related issue.

 

HockeyMom

(14,337 posts)
109. Because of the Vermont Law,
Fri Apr 1, 2016, 12:48 PM
Apr 2016

many of the major food suppilers, General Mills for one, said they will just put labels on all their products shipped across the country, not just those sold in Vermont. More cost effective to label nationally than in only one state.

See how just ONE State can make a difference?

alarimer

(16,245 posts)
111. They've done the same thing with golden rice
Fri Apr 1, 2016, 01:02 PM
Apr 2016

A product that for areas of the world that subsist on rice, will reduce incidents of blindness and needless deaths due to vitamin deficiencies.

At opposition to some of these crops is just plain cruel.

 

Humanist_Activist

(7,670 posts)
120. I saw arguments on this board against both golden rice and this banana that sums up to...
Fri Apr 1, 2016, 03:11 PM
Apr 2016

"give them carrots to grow" in an environment carrots can't grow well, or that this food won't do them any good because they need to consume fat with it. Which is stupid because fat happens to be largely in abundance, and you don't require a lot(about 2-3% daily intake) of it, to allow for Vitamin A absorption.

 

Humanist_Activist

(7,670 posts)
153. Because of the immoral misinformation campaign?
Fri Apr 1, 2016, 05:16 PM
Apr 2016

Continue with supplements and I guess accept that 30% of people will suffer from vitamin A deficiancy.

How many people being blinded or will die is acceptable to you?

 

Humanist_Activist

(7,670 posts)
144. First off, its the cooking banana, a slightly different cultivar to the one we eat...
Fri Apr 1, 2016, 04:03 PM
Apr 2016

which is the Cavendish. But that's not the point, yes the banana is loaded with other nutrients, but not the one the population is deficient in, so scientists are trying to find a way to distribute that nutrient(Vitamin A) in the most cost effective and widely distributed way possible.

womanofthehills

(8,718 posts)
154. Do you mean a plantain?
Fri Apr 1, 2016, 05:27 PM
Apr 2016

Cooking bananas (plantains) already have vit A - so it makes no sense. Plantains are high in vit c and have generous amts of vit A.
Unlike the cavendish, plantains have lots of vit A.

Plantain bananas are high in potassium, magnesium, fiber, vit C and vit A.

check out any site on google.




womanofthehills

(8,718 posts)
155. Cooking bananas - Plantains - have 1400 IU of vitamin A
Fri Apr 1, 2016, 05:38 PM
Apr 2016

What you say makes no sense, as cooking bananas are extremely high in Vit A.

Plantains are higher in calories than bananas, but plantains are far richer in potassium, containing 716 mg per cup
of sliced plantain versus 134 mg for bananas, according to the USDA. And they contain a whopping 1400 IU vitamiin A per cup vs. 122 IU for bananas.



http://preventcancer.aicr.org/site/News2?page=NewsArticle&id=9399&news_iv_ctrl=0&abbr=pr_hf_

Major Nikon

(36,827 posts)
176. Probably because you failed to read the OP
Sat Apr 2, 2016, 11:05 AM
Apr 2016
Aren’t bananas already perfectly nutritious?

Some are, but not the ones that people eat as a staple in Uganda and other areas. Wilberforce Tushemereirwe, the Ugandan leader of the banana project, explained in an email that the cooking banana that serves as their staple food has few carotenes. They found they could rev up its nutrient production by importing a gene from a carotene-rich Micronesian banana.

womanofthehills

(8,718 posts)
201. Do your research
Sat Apr 2, 2016, 08:34 PM
Apr 2016

Plantains are the banana of Uganda. They are a staple crop in Africa and already have lots of vit a.

Major Nikon

(36,827 posts)
218. Gotta love it when someone tells you to "do your research" that obviously didn't do their own
Sat Apr 2, 2016, 11:55 PM
Apr 2016

Believe it or not there's more than one subspecies of plantains. If you are quoting the vitamin A levels of anything other than the East African Highland cultivar, all you are doing is providing completely useless information.

http://gcgh.grandchallenges.org/sites/default/files/DaleandTushemereirwe.pdf#page=3

womanofthehills

(8,718 posts)
214. In Uganda people have about 10 different types of staple bananas
Sat Apr 2, 2016, 11:31 PM
Apr 2016

the cooking ones are loaded with vit a, the ones like ours just have a little - they also have a red super vitamin a banana.

Major Nikon

(36,827 posts)
221. Then why is vitamin A deficiency a problem in the poorer regions?
Sun Apr 3, 2016, 12:14 AM
Apr 2016

Do you even realize the nonsense you are spewing is self defeating?

East African Highland bananas are one of the most important staple food crops in the African Great Lakes region, particularly for Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi. and Rwanda.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_African_Highland_bananas
 

Jitter65

(3,089 posts)
210. So we can genitically modify genes to produce helthier organs but not better food?
Sat Apr 2, 2016, 10:10 PM
Apr 2016

Fear mongering delays progress in everything.

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