Genetically Modified Plants

cave_2

What do you think about GM plants?

Would you grow them, are you happy to eat them?
Do you think there are any advantages?
Do you have any objections to them?

I'm just interested in the general consensus from people who know the ins and outs of gardening and crops...

C

a11waysindebt

mmmmmmm I wouldn't have a problem really.Considering all the feed and extra light some of the plants receive anyway ain't we slowly going that way.

We seem to be forcing plants to grow either by placing them on heater mats or starting them off indoors.

JoolzS

cave wrote: »

What do you think about GM plants?

Would you grow them, are you happy to eat them?

No and No.

Do you think there are any advantages?

No.

Do you have any objections to them?

Yes. I don't believe in any sort of mythical higher being but I do have some belief in "mother nature" (for want of a better term). Nature can work things out all by itself but when we start mucking about with it then there is a very good chance that nature, and life, will lose out. We don't yet know enough about DNA to have any chance of really predicting how a GM crop will react with the rest of the natural environment. Humanity has made far too many mistakes with this planet already and although I'm not an out and out greeny, I'm still on the side of the planet.

However, after saying that, I'm also not too bothered about humans and I know the planet will happily carry on without us so I've given up overly worrying about stuff like GM food, global warming, etc.

Julie

ceridwen

JoolzS wrote: »

No and No.
No.
Yes. I don't believe in any sort of mythical higher being but I do have some belief in "mother nature" (for want of a better term). Nature can work things out all by itself but when we start mucking about with it then there is a very good chance that nature, and life, will lose out. We don't yet know enough about DNA to have any chance of really predicting how a GM crop will react with the rest of the natural environment. Humanity has made far too many mistakes with this planet already and although I'm not an out and out greeny, I'm still on the side of the planet.

Julie

Wot she said....

Lotus-eater

Agree with him ^

tryingtobegreen

Also agree with whats been said already.
In addition tho, MAYBE just MAYBE if the government were to GIVE everyone (who wants one), compost bins, allotment space, wormery, water butts and possibly electricity making gadgets, whether they be solar panels on roofs, gardens or turbines on roofs there might not be much cause for gm foods.
Again im not very 'green' but i do no that even if 1 person on every street gave an iota of concern for their childrens future or their grandchildrens then not only would the person save money, the goverment would eventually, the nhs would benefit as pensioners could use their free electric to waqrm there homes and eat better, i could go on and on buit think u get the gist
An my final thought would be, when one person on the street shows how easy things are, how nice things can look/taste, how much extra money they save on gracery shopping then others on the street would follow suit

cave_2

What about things like the golden rice project?

Vitamin A deficiency is a massive cause of blindness in the 3rd world. Rice usually makes vitA, but only in the roots. Genetic modification tells the plant to make it in the rice, as well as the roots.

Would you be happy with that, as no genes are imported from outside sources?

cave_2

tryingtobegreen wrote: »

Also agree with whats been said already.
In addition tho, MAYBE just MAYBE if the government were to GIVE everyone (who wants one), compost bins, allotment space, wormery, water butts and possibly electricity making gadgets, whether they be solar panels on roofs, gardens or turbines on roofs there might not be much cause for gm foods.
Again im not very 'green' but i do no that even if 1 person on every street gave an iota of concern for their childrens future or their grandchildrens then not only would the person save money, the goverment would eventually, the nhs would benefit as pensioners could use their free electric to waqrm there homes and eat better, i could go on and on buit think u get the gist
An my final thought would be, when one person on the street shows how easy things are, how nice things can look/taste, how much extra money they save on gracery shopping then others on the street would follow suit

I'm not sure that solving one problem solves the other - even if we solved the energy crisis, we still would be in the same position regarding crops and food in general?

daisy_bumbleroot

cave wrote: »

What about things like the golden rice project?

Vitamin A deficiency is a massive cause of blindness in the 3rd world. Rice usually makes vitA, but only in the roots. Genetic modification tells the plant to make it in the rice, as well as the roots.

Would you be happy with that, as no genes are imported from outside sources?

it sounds great but i read a book about gM - albeit about 7 years ago.

Basically my understanding is, is that DNA is such a massive thing and we only know the tip of the iceberg of what it is and by switching off certain genes and switching on others we dont know what affect that will have on other parts of the plant, or how it will compensate for the alterations.

This book relayed an experiment where scientists cleverly managed to make these white flowers produce red flowers by manipulating genes. But when the plants flowered the following year, they unexpectedly went back to white flowers - as if the genes knew what was happening.

I wish I could remember the name of it or i wish i was at home right now (who wants to be at work on a friday afternoon anyway) to find out.

Debt_Free_Chick

What do you mean by "genetically modified"?

Would this include F1 hybrids?

Or plants that were artificially pollinated?

RAS

cave wrote: »

What about things like the golden rice project?

Vitamin A deficiency is a massive cause of blindness in the 3rd world. Rice usually makes vitA, but only in the roots. Genetic modification tells the plant to make it in the rice, as well as the roots.

I recall all the woohaa and then reading there are plenty of alternative, infinitely cheaper sources of vitamin A or pro-vitamin A, such as green vegetables and unpolished rice, which would be rich in other essential vitamins and minerals besides.

Those who are interested in less commercial responses comment that " Vitamin A deficiency is accompanied by deficiencies in iron, iodine and a host of micronutrients, all of which comes from the substitution of a traditionally varied diet with one based on monoculture crops. The real cure is to re-introduce agricultural biodiversity in the many forms of sustainable agriculture already being practiced successfully by tens of millions of farmers all over the world."

So I would rather teach desparately poor families how to bag garden or key-hole garden and grow greens than rely on external technologies.

Most of the magic high yield solutions to world hunger have proved to be high input- solutions that fail as soon as the families can no longer afford the in-puts (leading to huge numbers of suicides in countries like India). I favour low input solutions.