Quote Originally Posted by stinkyattic
I don't like the concept of GM. But it is for a VERY specific reason.

It is NOT because I think it is like 'playing God'.
It is also not because I have reason to believe that GM food inherently has health effects on humans- there is no doubt in my mind that food crops CAN be safely modified for human consumption.

It IS because I do not believe it is anyone's right to patent a food crop and exercise the patent rights in such a way that food producers are hurt.
It is also because I don't like the idea of GM pollen getting into the environment, where it can fuck up nearby farming operations. Let's take for example a dude growing a nice plot of yummy heirloom tomatoes. Because I feel like being dramatic like Fox news, let's say that these are the tomatoes from seeds his ancestors stashed in their pockets when they escaped from behind the Iron Curtain. No need to dramatize it, because people ARE very attached to the vegetable varieties that their great great great grandparents handed down. So anyway this farmer has been happily growing these veggies for years and selling them at his roadside stand and canning them for the winter. Now, one year, the farmer upwind from him buys a couple pounds of GM tomato seed and plants an acre of it. June comes, the flowers open, and the pollen spreads over not only his field, but over the field of the heirloom grower (yes, I am aware that tomatoes are insect pollinated). He harvests his uglier tomatoes for seed and soaks the rotting flesh like you're supposed to, strains and dries the seeds, gets his garden turned over, and turns in for the winter.
Next spring he goes to plant his seeds.
His germination rate is HORRIBLE. He wonders if he fucked up, shrugs, and puts out the plants that he's got. He notes some oddball looking plants that give poor fruit, too, but thinks it was his own error.
Another summer goes by and the farmer upwind, delighted with his bumper crop of cardboard supermarket food, puts in an order for anotehr round of seed.
Meanwhile the GM pollen again invades the other guy's garden and once again... he ends up with low germ rates. And weak plants.
WTF! he asks himself, not realizing that he's on the receiving end of a real shit deal whereby his heirloom tomatoes are being pollinated not only by other heirlooms, but also by the GM ones upwind, and any seeds that aren't sterile are either still herilooms or some hybrid with the GM crop. Eventually the %heirloom drops and he's got some crappy plant that just doesn't suit his style or his taste.
Also remember that adding these GM genes to a population does not necessarily give those traits to the population. They may be recessive. They may have some combination of genes that are detrimental to plant health when combined with other genes in wild or heirloom crops. This is all shit that we should probably get ourselves VERY familiar with before we hand over the right to grow healthy food crops solely to anyone who chooses to sell his soul to Monsanto.

Take greed and carelessness out of the equation and GM food might be an option. But IMVHO the plants should be bred to be STERILE and COMPLETELY unable to produce viable seed or pollen, thus interfering with other strains.
great post.

there is a gene called the terminator gene that is co owned by the usa government. its already being experimented with in open plots throughout america. the scarry thing is will it cross pollinate with the landrace/local farmers.

one of the biggest cases is against percy sch..... up in canada. in 2002 i believe the canada supreme court ruled that percy was in violation of monsantos patent of gm corn and he owed them because monsantos gm crops invaded/corrupted his land.