Of the 6 points mentioned at the beginning of this thread, the first two are personal opinions so I will not attempt to refute them with facts. To do so would be like boasting that my god can beat up your god. I will only briefly comment on these first two points, but the last four points plead for rebuttal.
...
1) The systematic approach to squash... opposition to GMO.
2) ...public relations firms and bloggers to cast doubt on anything ...seen as denigrating to GMO.
3) The increase use of chemicals (bad for bees), and lower productivity of GMO crops.
4) The quiet... spread of GMO crops without farmer knowing it.... tell that to the small farmers being sued.
5) The governments involvement in ...biotech products without testing.
6) The ...control of the food industry... while most are sleeping...
(1) If there are any "systematic" approaches about squashing anything, it is on the part of the anti GMO crowd who wish to squash GMO. Besides there is not ONE and I repeat not ONE piece of creditable SCIENTIFIC evidence that GMOs have ever harmed any organism on the face of the Earth other than the insects or other pests organisms that they were originally designed to harm. Even the monarch butterfly is doing quire well today even in the face of Bt corn pollen thank you.
(2) If this part of this post is not an attempt to cast doubt on or to denigrate GMOs especially GMOs by using the WWW then what the heck is it?
(3) The exact opposite is the case. Insecticide use has dropped overall since the emergence of many GMO technologies like Bt corn, cotton, and others. Please include scientific evidence of any GMO crop that did not improve yields, provide a higher return on the farmer’s investment or benefit the environment.
By (A) reducing the amounts of pesticides dumped on food, forage, and fiber crops each and every year.
By (B) reducing the trips a farmer makes across his fields while burning expensive Diesel fuel.
By (C) lessening the tonnage of top soil washed or blown into our rivers and streams year after year from plowing or from the physical cultivation of the soil for weed control.
By (D) reducing the number of and or the severity of fish kills each and every year caused by chemical pesticide runoff.
By (E) reducing the exposure of consumers as well as the exposure of farm workers and their family’s to dangerous chemical pesticides. The list goes on and on.
It is not always a greedy CEO out for more filthy lucre with which to buy a second vacation home in Aspen who provides the impetus for GMOs. Sometimes it is people looking to solve problems. On the other hand no one can point to anyone or to any thing that was ever harmed or point to anyone who can point to anyone who can point to any person or thing that was killed or harmed by exposure to or from eating GMOs, isn’t that right?
(4) If you are referring to the Canadian farmer that Monsanto sued because he saved and planted PURE Round Up ready canola seeds, I suggest that you or anyone else interested in this case research the facts as presented in a court of law.
Below is the short version.
(A) The canola in question tested 95-98% pure for the Round Up Ready gene. This rate of purity is as good as it gets even if the seeds were GMO canola seeds purchased directly from a company selling Monsanto licensed Round Up Ready canola seeds. This BTW occurred the second year after the farmer in question a Mr. Schmeiser, claimed that he found Round Up Ready canola growing by accident on his property. University research shows that the gene drift between GMO canola and non GMO canola is on the order of .01% per year or in other words one seed out of every thousand seeds, unless the two canola varieties are intermingled at planting time. Regardless if you believe Schmeiser or not, Schmeiser’s own farm workers testified under oath that Schmeiser ordered them to spray Round Up on the field were he found Round Up tolerant canola growing. He did this to burn down all the non GMO canola that Schmeiser ‘found’ growing on one small part of his farm. Then Schmeiser ordered his farm workers to harvest and save the canola seed from the canola plants that survived the Round Up burn down. Then Schmeiser ordered his farm workers to plant the following year’s canola crop using these very same Round Up tolerant canola seeds that Smeiser had taken several extraordinary steps to identify, isolate, and purify. Millions of dollars were raised to help Schmeiser with his legal bills, most of which were provided pro-bono. Schmeiser however did received between 300 and 500 thousand Canadian dollars to help him pay a court judgment in favor of Monsanto that amounted to less than 15 grand Canadian. Pretty good work if you can get it.
(5) Good try. The government requires that all GMOs be extensively tested for years and years either by the EPA, the USDA, the FDA or by all three looking for all the possible side or negative effects on the environment and on consumers. I won’t commit further on this. I will let others do my talking for me. Check out the three links below. I am sorry if you find these links a little long. Together they total 30 minutes. However, if you wish to cut straight to the chase, watch only video number 3. A.K.A. the short version
Penn & Teller BS: Eat This! pt 1/3Penn & Teller BS: Eat This! pt 2/3Norman Borlaug on Penn and Teller: BS(6) Do you feel like we have been on a circular reasoning tour. I don’t because every point I made can stand alone. Furthermore….
(A) Monsanto has never sold a single seed of any type, to anyone, anywhere, at anytime, for any reason or for any purpose. Monsanto is in the business of selling or licensing its patented GMO technology to other seed companies who grow, produce, bag, ship, distribute, warehouse, license and sell GMO seeds to farmers. Fortunately for these seed producers but unfortunately for Monsanto, it is hard to raise very much cane or even to raise very much cash by running around the country side screaming about Funks G Hybrids, Pioneer Seeds, Agrigold or which ever other seed company that urban hippies have never heard about.
(B) In closing, if Monsanto’s goal was to control the food supply, why on Earth did Monsanto give up their paten on Round Up herbicide and especially why on Earth is Monsanto not trying to extend their paten or Round Up Ready soybeans. When this GMO paten expires in 2014 Round Up Ready soybeans will be in the public domain and starting with the 2015 crop year every Tom, Dick, and Harry can keep, save, sell, plant, or grow all the Round Up Ready soybeans or Round Up Ready soybean seeds that his or her little old heart desires. This ‘news’ is 3 years old, but I bet you didn’t know it because the anti GMO crowd only wants to beat the dead GMO horse. Starting in 2015 there will be free GMO Round Up Ready soybean seeds for the masses, Hallelujah, thank you Monsanto!!!
That last line is called sarcasm, Y’all
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/18/business/18seed.html