The Deadly Opposition to GMO Food

[cwjerome]

Growing improved rice so people can be kept in poverty is probably the easiest route.

I am not being sarcastic.

I see GMO rice has keeping the wage slaves healthy. GOD forbid companies that setup sweat shops in low wage nations be required to pay a liveable wage.

Its not like the companies are growing the GMO rice in Texas to be exported, or even used here in poverty stricken areas of the U.S.

This is both stupid and nonsensical. GMO crops are developed to keep wage slaves healthy? lolwut?!? I know most anti-GMO people are against it mainly because of the economic and social aspects, despite the alarmist fearmongering over safety, but this is taking it to a new level.

 

[Texashiker]

This is both stupid and nonsensical. GMO crops are developed to keep wage slaves healthy? lolwut?!?

You are taking my comment out of context.

Instead of fixing the root cause of the problem, lets make a work around.

Having rice as a staple is causing vitamin A deficiency. Why aren't other foods available?

Are other foods available, and the people can not afford to buy them? If that is the case, then the underlying poverty needs to be addressed.

Instead of addressing those issues, lets just develop a GMO rice crop.

Society did not learn from the irish potato blight that we should not rely on a single food source?

By having access to a wide range of foods, we are protecting against future famines. By relying on a single food, we are setting ourselves up for a famine.

As with the irish potato blight, its just a matter of time before a monocrop fails. When that happens the people will be much worse off then they are now.

 

[cwjerome]

You are taking my comment out of context.

Instead of fixing the root cause of the problem, lets make a work around.

Having rice as a staple is causing vitamin A deficiency. Why aren't other foods available?

Are other foods available, and the people can not afford to buy them? If that is the case, then the underlying poverty needs to be addressed.

Instead of addressing those issues, lets just develop a GMO rice crop.

Society did not learn from the irish potato blight that we should not rely on a single food source?

By having access to a wide range of foods, we are protecting against future famines. By relying on a single food, we are setting ourselves up for a famine.

Yes, we know much of the 3rd world/developing world lives in poverty. Yes, we know poverty needs to be addressed. There is no magic bullet and pulling these populations up will take time. Strange, that you think the two things that are doing the most good and offering the most hope -globalization/low wage jobs and reliable, adequate food supply- are the two things you are against.

 

[Texashiker]

Strange, that you think the two things that are doing the most good and offering the most hope -globalization/low wage jobs and reliable, adequate food supply- are the two things you are against.

I am against companies like levi, reebok, nike,,, exploiting low wage workers.

If part of the food problem is caused by nike not wanting to pay a liveable wage in a 3rd world country, then something is seriously wrong with humanity.

We do not know the whole story on the food problem. Why dont people have access to something besides rice? Just a couple of sweet potatoes would provide enough vitamin A to prevent blindness. And its not like sweet potatoes are rare or difficult to grow.

I am not against GMO crops. But shouldn't society address the real cause of the food and health problems?

 

[airdata]

My main thing about GMOs is that they have no idea about long term side effects.

The fuckery w\ monsanto and the FDA is well documented. There's very strong evidence that they bribed & planted people from their corporation inside of the FDA to push put FDA approved on shit that they have no way to have thoroughly tested.


Or maybe it's just a coincidence that the rate of cancer skyrocketed after the introduction of GMOs into everything we eat.

 

[cwjerome]

I am against companies like levi, reebok, nike,,, exploiting low wage workers.

If part of the food problem is caused by nike not wanting to pay a liveable wage in a 3rd world country, then something is seriously wrong with humanity.

We do not know the whole story on the food problem. Why dont people have access to something besides rice? Just a couple of sweet potatoes would provide enough vitamin A to prevent blindness. And its not like sweet potatoes are rare or difficult to grow.

I am not against GMO crops. But shouldn't society address the real cause of the food and health problems?

It seems to me there are many people and organizations out there that are doing what they can do help in a variety of ways. There are a lot of complex issues and problems as well as solutions. This thread is about GMO crops with particular focus on rice in developing countries. It's one part of a multifaceted problem and I don't think anyone is saying there aren't other fixes involved or that GMO crops are the only answer. There's no reason to divert the topic.

 

[cwjerome]

My main thing about GMOs is that they have no idea about long term side effects.

The fuckery w\ monsanto and the FDA is well documented. There's very strong evidence that they bribed & planted people from their corporation inside of the FDA to push put FDA approved on shit that they have no way to have thoroughly tested.


Or maybe it's just a coincidence that the rate of cancer skyrocketed after the introduction of GMOs into everything we eat.

The shady dealings represent the actions of a company, not necessarily the worth of GMO crops.

We can take a look at any two large trends over time and make shaky comparisons and imply all kinds of spurious causation. The fact that people are living longer, lifestyle changes, dietary changes, etc probably all play a role. Besides, cancer rates have fallen over the last 10+ years, just as GMO foods have become very prevalent.

 

[Texashiker]

It's one part of a multifaceted problem and I don't think anyone is saying there aren't other fixes involved or that GMO crops are the only answer. There's no reason to divert the topic.

I am not diverting the topic. That article at the Slate is tilted towards pro-GMO while ignoring obvious facts.

The article talks about handing out vitamins, but not a single mention of crop diversification.

Golden rice can probably save a lot of lives, but so would farmers growing something besides rice.

Why spend the time, energy and money to fix something we already have a solution for?

 

[nehalem256]

My main thing about GMOs is that they have no idea about long term side effects.

Every time we breed a new crop we have no idea of its long term side effects. Should we ban all new crops?

We have no idea of the long-term side effects of using smart phones should we ban them too?

 

[sm625]

For the amount of money they wasted on this and other GMO boondoggles, they could have just bought every person on the planet a lifetime supply of vitamin supplements. GMO has absolutely nothing to do with providing nutritional benefit. It is about mass extermination of populations, ie genocide. What governments do best. Governments run by corporations who seek only to extract all profit and wealth from the citizens and then... exterminate them.

 

[nehalem256]

The shady dealings represent the actions of a company, not necessarily the worth of GMO crops.

We can take a look at any two large trends over time and make shaky comparisons and imply all kinds of spurious causation. The fact that people are living longer, lifestyle changes, dietary changes, etc probably all play a role. Besides, cancer rates have fallen over the last 10+ years, just as GMO foods have become very prevalent.

Clearly GMO foods prevent cancer :thumbsup:

Obviously environmentalists oppose GMO foods because they want to decrease the world population and preventing cancer deaths gets in the way of this :awe:

 

[nehalem256]

GMO has absolutely nothing to do with providing nutritional benefit. It is about mass extermination of populations, ie genocide.

😵

Wow. And I thought it was conservatives who legislated through fear...

 

[cwjerome]

I am not diverting the topic. That article at the Slate is tilted towards pro-GMO while ignoring obvious facts.

The article talks about handing out vitamins, but not a single mention of crop diversification.

Golden rice can probably save a lot of lives, but so would farmers growing something besides rice.

Why spend the time, energy and money to fix something we already have a solution for?

Rice is the staple crop in these areas, has been since people lived there. It's the primary food source for billions of people. Why is it so wrong to start using a rice variant that has additional health benefits that will prevent millions from dying or going blind? Sure, try to get some other crops growing... but that's a long, slow process, and probably more expensive. Meanwhile, Golden Rice has been held up for sketchy reasons when there could be immediate, widespread benefits of its use.

 

[Texashiker]

Rice is the staple crop in these areas, has been since people lived there. It's the primary food source for billions of people. Why is it so wrong to start using a rice variant that has additional health benefits that will prevent millions from dying or going blind?

The article at the slate said golden rice has been held up for around 12 years. And during that time X number (I do not remember the exact number) of children have died.

You know what is wrong with that picture? The article is trying to blame the anti-gmo people for the deaths of those children.

During that 12 years other foods such as corn could not be introduced?

Instead of just handing out rice to the poor, hand out a few sweet potatoes with those bags of rice.

 

[airdata]

there is a very well established correlation between abnormally high levels of circulating IGF-1 and the development and growth of human cancers.[

Regarding Rbst another monsanto product likely squirreled past the FDA w\ bribes & such without having any idea to it's long term implications.

It's believed to contribute to things such as prostate cancer.

 

[airdata]

Every time we breed a new crop we have no idea of its long term side effects. Should we ban all new crops?

We have no idea of the long-term side effects of using smart phones should we ban them too?

Well, you shouldn't let a gigantic corporation bribe and infiltrate a government regulatory body and simply put stamps of approval on whatever shit they're shoveling.

Run and tell that.

 

[cwjerome]

The article at the slate said golden rice has been held up for around 12 years. And during that time X number (I do not remember the exact number) of children have died.

You know what is wrong with that picture? The article is trying to blame the anti-gmo people for the deaths of those children.

During that 12 years other foods such as corn could not be introduced?

Instead of just handing out rice to the poor, hand out a few sweet potatoes with those bags of rice.

That's great and wonderful, I guess a whole bunch of things could have and should have happened... that doesn't change the fact that a seed that could have helped tens of millions of people was not used. It doesn't change the fact that millions could have lived or not be blinded. Nothing you say changes the fact that a solution was there and ready, and wasn't used. I call that a tragedy. I suppose there should have been more people vainly attempting to grow a foreign crop like corn in their terrain and climate, or mass sweet potato handouts throughout the regions, or who knows how many other "what-ifs" you can come up with. Or you can just agree that using a better strain of rice was a simple, practical solution that would have had immediate, widespread effects... but wasn't used due to fear-mongering dupes.

 

[Londo_Jowo]

Regarding Rbst another monsanto product likely squirreled past the FDA w\ bribes & such without having any idea to it's long term implications.

It's believed to contribute to things such as prostate cancer.

Really? Not according to the American Cancer Society

http://www.cancer.org/cancer/cancercauses/othercarcinogens/athome/recombinant-bovine-growth-hormone

Summary
The available evidence shows that the use of rBGH can cause adverse health effects in cows. The evidence for potential harm to humans is inconclusive. It is not clear that drinking milk produced using rBGH significantly increases IGF-1 levels in humans or adds to the risk of developing cancer. More research is needed to help better address these concerns.

The increased use of antibiotics to treat rBGH-induced mastitis does promote the development of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, but the extent to which these are transmitted to humans is unclear.

The American Cancer Society (ACS) has no formal position regarding rBGH. Together with its advocacy affiliate, the ACS Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN), the Society supports open, fair and transparent regulatory oversight of products containing rBGH. The ACS also encourages continued and expanded scientific research and independent, credible assessment of potential relationships between the use of this substance in cows and human cancer risk. We support regulatory standards based on rigorous scientific evidence to minimize exposure to carcinogens, and we encourage the FDA to give the public information regarding known and suspected causes of cancer in the food system. The need for an effective FDA in ensuring the safety of our food supply, medicines, and consumer products has never been greater.

 

[nehalem256]

Well, you shouldn't let a gigantic corporation bribe and infiltrate a government regulatory body and simply put stamps of approval on whatever shit they're shoveling.

Run and tell that.

So if what you are claiming is true why was Golden Rice delayed for 12 years? 😕

 

[Texashiker]

Nothing you say changes the fact that a solution was there and ready, and wasn't used.

That statement goes both ways.

Carrots, turnips, sweet potatoes have been eaten by humans for thousands of years.

Did you read that article on the BBC I posted a link to? It took 2 years for a nation in africa to go from famine to exporting food.

In the nations most affected by vitamin A deficiency, is there some kind of cultural dislike for root crops? Is it that difficult to hand out carrot seeds, some fertilizer and tell the people to grow some carrots?

 

[soulcougher73]

Ah, so you like your bread unable to rise, your almonds highly poisonous, your corn tiny and hard as a rock and your strawberries the size of your finger nail?

It was a joke.

<--Athiest, so my god line was for fun.

 

[soulcougher73]

Or maybe it's just a coincidence that the rate of cancer skyrocketed after the introduction of GMOs into everything we eat.

Shhh. Dont let them behind the curtain. The sheeple like their illusions.

 

[Harabec]

\
In the nations most affected by vitamin A deficiency, is there some kind of cultural dislike for root crops? Is it that difficult to hand out carrot seeds, some fertilizer and tell the people to grow some carrots?

?!
????!!!!

It is never that easy. Growing stuff efficiently (if anything even grows) is a HUGE topic that cannot be covered by blanket statements.

 

[thraashman]

What kind of bizarro world did I step into that I agree with everything I've seen nehalem post in this thread. I think the opposition to GMO foods is irrational at best, murderous at worst. Even if GMO isn't perfect, I bet the millions who die each year would be willing to eschew the risks to not starve to death.

 

[bononos]

The article at the slate said golden rice has been held up for around 12 years. And during that time X number (I do not remember the exact number) of children have died.

You know what is wrong with that picture? The article is trying to blame the anti-gmo people for the deaths of those children.

During that 12 years other foods such as corn could not be introduced?

Instead of just handing out rice to the poor, hand out a few sweet potatoes with those bags of rice.

You got that right. Instead of examining why people in certain places go blind from lack of Vit A due to eating only rice without supplementing their diet with enough green vegetables, sweet potatoes, organ meats, GMO proponents push forward the golden rice solution by saying eat rice only rice and more rice.