Genetically "Kraft"ed

[chanota]

http://www.krafty.org/flash/

genetic engineering... pisses me off.

 

[Monolith]

Uhh... what?

You do realize that farmers have been genetically engineering food for thousands of years, right?

Crossing cows that produce the most milk... crossing strains of corn to withstand drought and flood conditions....

The current hysteria over genetically modified food is stupid. I could understand it if this was the idea everyone had 300 years ago... it would fit with people thinking tomato's were poison and witches flew around when the moon and mars aligned. Give me a break.

 

[MeanCuts]

Originally posted by chanota
http://www.krafty.org/flash/

genetic engineering... pisses me off.

Are you aware that some rice is engineered to have vitamin A in it and that saves children's eye sight in third world countries?Bet you wouldn't be pissed at this GMO if it saved your childs eyesight.

 

[chanota]

Originally posted by Monolith
Uhh... what?

You do realize that farmers have been genetically engineering food for thousands of years, right?

Crossing cows that produce the most milk... crossing strains of corn to withstand drought and flood conditions....

The current hysteria over genetically modified food is stupid. I could understand it if this was the idea everyone had 300 years ago... it would fit with people thinking tomato's were poison and witches flew around when the moon and mars aligned. Give me a break.

WHAT?!! You mean witches don't fly??? OMG...O-M-G!, and all this time i thought they did.

We are not talking about crossing genetics within a species, of course that has been going on from the begining of time-- duh! We are talking about adding all sorts of shit to plants and animals to make a "superior" product, without considering or knowing what the consequences will be. Not only that, but once this is done it may be irreversible. It's impossible to keep these GE plants and animals from crossing with the "natural" species and changing there genetics.

Already genetic engineered salmon that are farm raised have escaped into the wild.

genetically engineered salmon: q&a



Comparison of gene-altered and natural salmon at the same age.


Q: Are genetically engineered (GE) salmon different from wild salmon?

A: Yes. They are fundamentally different from wild, or natural species. Genetically engineered salmon include a growth hormone at levels higher than that would occur in natural fish. These fish, are capable of growing 2 to 3 times faster than even farmed salmon grown under the same conditions.

Q: Are there GE fish on the market now?

A: No, but some companies -- in particular one called A/F Protein -- are planning to bring GE salmon to dinner tables as soon as possible. Other types of GE fish are also being experimented upon for commercial development including tilapia, trout, and carp.

Q. Are GE fish safe to eat?

A: Genetic engineering of fish is an experiment so right now no one knows for certain whether or not these fish are safe too eat. The salmon has been genetically engineered so that it's producing growth hormone from another fish, and so much of it over the year that it grows two to three times as fast. What this means in terms of the safety of the meat has not been investigated.

What we do know is that the fish's health could be compromised. Studies have shown that the excessive growth rates make growth deformities common, including in the head. Poor health of the fish might have downstream impacts on those who eat the fish. This needs further investigation.

Right now The US FDA is currently examining the first commercial application for GE fish. They are looking at it as a "New Animal Drug" rather than as a food product.

Q: Do GE salmon threaten wild salmon populations?

A: Yes. Scientists at Purdue University (in the US) have conducted a study demonstrating how GE fish could lead to the extinction of wild populations if released into open waters. The scientists found that certain GE fish had a mating advantage over wild species due to their unnaturally large size. In addition, their study showed that some GE fish did not produce as many viable offspring as their natural counterparts. This combination forces the population into decline. Using computer modeling, the Purdue scientists showed that it would take only 60 GE fish in a population of 60,000 wild fish to cause species extinction within 40 generations.

Q: But aren't GE fish raised in enclosed ponds?

A: Escapes from fish farms are routine. The majority of farmed Atlantic salmon are raised in shallow waters, or ocean net pens. Escapes from net pens are frequent and virtually impossible to prevent. Approximately 300,000 fish escaped from a single Washington State fish farm in the summer of 1999. Between 1991 and 1999 over 280,000 fish escaped from fish farms in British Columbia. Even indoor ponds typically recirculate water into the environment, an escape route for fish or eggs.

Q: The company say that the fish will be sterile and so won't be able to breed with natural fish so where is the danger?

A: There is no such thing as a 100% guarantee of sterility. Sterility of genetically engineered fish is inherently uncertain given the possibility for human error and natural variation. A/F Protein is talking about already having orders for 15 million eggs, yet all it needs is a handful of those to be fertile to potentially destroy natural populations of wild fish.

Q: How do regulations protect the environment from the risks of GE fish?

A: They don't. Currently neither any national nor international regulations adequately protect the environment from the risks associated with GE fish. The first application for approval of GE fish anywhere in the world is being considered by the FDA (Food & Drug Administration) in America. This is completely inappropriate since the FDA has no relevant environmental experience and is not an appropriate body to deal with an international issue that affects the worlds oceans.

Q: If GE Fish are approved in the US how does it affect other countries?

A: Once released into ocean ponds fish will escape. As fish do not obey national boundaries so any release of GE fish will be international. The company involved also plans to sell the GE fish eggs around the world. The release of GE fish is an international concern in which we all have a stake and on which every government should have an opportunity to say no.

Q: Don't we need more food from GE fish to feed the growing population?

A: It takes 3-5 pounds of fish meal and fish oil to produce one pound of farmed salmon. So GE salmon farming will actually reduce the amount of fish protein available in the world not increase it.

http://www.greenpeaceusa.org/ge/fishtext.htm

Animal genes and even human genes, along with viruses, antibiotics, chemicals and who knows what are
randomly inserted into the chromosomes of plants, fish and animals.

In 1999, front-page headline stories in the British press revealed Rowett
Institute scientist Dr. Arpad Pusztai's explosive research findings that GE
potatoes, spliced with DNA from the snowdrop plant and a commonly used
viral promoter, the Cauliflower Mosaic Virus (CaMv), are poisonous to
mammals. GE-snowdrop potatoes, found to be significantly different in
chemical composition from regular potatoes, damaged the vital organs and
immune systems of lab rats fed the GE potatoes. Most alarming of all,
damage to the rats' stomach linings--apparently a severe viral
infection--most likely was caused by the CaMv viral promoter, a promoter
spliced into nearly all GE foods and crops.

"Genetic pollution" and collateral damage from GE field crops already have
begun to wreak environmental havoc. Wind, rain, birds, bees, and insect
pollinators have begun carrying genetically-altered pollen into adjoining
fields, polluting the DNA of crops of organic and non-GE farmers. An
organic farm in Texas has been contaminated with genetic drift from GE
crops on a nearby farm and EU regulators are considering setting an
"allowable limit" for gentic contamination of non-GE foods, because they
don't believe genetic pollution can be controlled. Because they are alive,
gene-altered crops are inherently more unpredictable than chemical
pollutants--they can reproduce, migrate, and mutate. Once released, it is
virtually impossible to recall genetically engineered organisms back to the
laboratory or the field.

I don't know about everyone else but I'd like to know what i'm putting into my body. I think it should be manditory that they label all foods that have been Genetically Engineered. I'm against genetic enginering. Yes, they could use it for good, as in the vitamin A issue, but greed is a powerfully distructive outcome with all of the possiblities that can be accomplished with genetic engineering, its inevitable that man will choose money over life.

 

[Arnold]

all produce has been genetically engineered.

 

[Monolith]

I see... so the genetic engineering thats been going on for eternity is ok... but when science finds a shortcut, its cause for hysteria?

No one is growing a goat head in your corn. They're IMPROVING the food. Just because something is "genetically engineered" doesn't mean it's bad. And if you think you're getting unbiased information from somewhere like Greenpeace... well... i think that speaks for itself.

 

[Mudge]

If you dont buy totally natural food at an $$$ natural food store, your eating polyploidy tomatoes and etc, everything is genetically engineered to more filling, less taste.