GM foods Page 5

Quote: Tim Walker @ September 14 2009, 12:57 PM BST

And in a moment of candour as Mr Cook put it...

Cancer

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Quote: SlagA @ September 13 2009, 9:46 PM BST

This is not really true - traditional selective breeding is not genetic modification in the sense of the modern debate. Selective breeding is the selecting of offspring for desired characteristics that occur naturally within the genetic material of the organism. Technological GM is rather different, in the sense that the farmer can now effectively (though not literally) cross a carrot with a mackerel.

Probably the closest real-world analogy with GM is viruses. They too insert alien genetic material into a host cell.

Many non-nutters feel uneasy about the technology.

And it's being described as negligibly tiny by its advocates. They're hardly going to say otherwise, are they?

The cigarette cancer debate was very similar in its early days. Both sides proclaiming they were right. The difference is that when cigarettes were proved to be dangerous people had a choice to continue or give up. With GM, if it does go tits up, there is no way we can go back.

This technology has to be 100% safe, and proven so, by those for and against. Because we aren't screwing around with smoking beagles and wired-up mice, we're placing our trust in a new technology of which even the advocates admit there is a potential risk. The difference is that once 'alien' genes (as in alien to the organism) are out of the lab and into the real world, where many unpredictable and unknown processes occur, we could face the unravelling of ecosystems. There will be no recall or cancellation. The changes will be irreversible.

Plus Science hardly has a track record that inspires confidence. We can't even accurately predict the effects of drugs until they're out of the labs. Many drugs declared safe in the labs have been recalled because of unforeseen circumstances in the real world.

The world is facing huge ecological change. And instead of trying to conserve the fragile balance, our answer (typical of mankind) is to throw even further chaos into an already creaking machine.

But the arrogance of man (and especially Science) is such that we will introduce GM and we will live with the consequences. Sadly, I suspect, every other species will have to live with our decision too.

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^All of this.

Most of the arguments in favour of GM food are bollocks.

Add to that the fact that most of it is being pushed by Monsanto who also genetically engineer their plants to be sterile - which they claim is to stop them spreading into the environment but is actually so farmers have to buty new seed from them every year.

But SlagA, you're from Wales, surely a cloned sheep can only be a good thing? You can get together with the rest of the Druid's Council and choose the prettiest one and then make thousands of her.

And what you didn't shag, you could eat / wear. It's the most winniest of win-win situations.

Quote: Renegade Carpark @ September 14 2009, 1:10 PM BST

But SlagA, you're from Wales, surely a cloned sheep can only be a good thing?

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Boned is better than cloned. Trust me.