Occasional reminder: GMOs are good for you.

[NeuroTypical]

I'm amazed at the ability of marketing campaigns to implant notions in our heads.  Case in point: The billion-dollar mega-corporations in the organic food industry, implanting false notions that GMO food is "bad" and organic food is "better" (healthier, better for the environment, more sustainable, etc).  They're so good at it, organizations like Greenpeace have been assimilated into the collective. 

So, just as a friendly reminder from someone who doesn't really care what you eat, but does care about people not believing lies:  Foods that have been genetically modified in one or more of a wide range of ways, are not bad for you.  They do not destroy the environment.  They do not cause cancer.  They are a large part of the reason this planet can feed 7+ billion humans. 

Forbes Magazine: Nobel Laureate Sir Richard Roberts To Ask Religious And Government Leaders To Support GMOs

Quote

 

This summer, over a hundred Nobel laureates sent a clear message to Greenpeace:  abandon the campaign against GMOs. A letter published on thesupportprecisionagriculture.org site asked the environmental NGO to stop efforts to hinder the adoption of Golden rice, a genetically engineered variety developed to mitigate Vitamin-A deficiencyin the developing world, a scourge leading to blindness and death in millions. The rice gets its golden color from beta-carotene, a precursor to Vitamin-A and the same stuff that pigments carrots and other colorful fruits and vegetables.

Sir Richard Roberts, who was awarded the 1993 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his discovery of split-genes, spearheaded the letter and organized the laureates to sign on.

 

 

Edited September 21, 2016 by NeuroTypical

[anatess2]

I think we need to qualify this statement:

" Foods that have been genetically modified in one or more of a wide range of ways, are not bad for you.  They do not destroy the environment.  They do not cause cancer."

They are generally safe... not all safe.  Make sense?

[Guest MormonGator]

It's interesting that people think that the right is "anti-science" (and sometimes they are, for sure) but in reality it's the left and their hatred of GMO food that is anti-science. 

[unixknight]

I once saw an episode of Penn & Teller's B.S. (a show where they expose things like false information and corporate shenanigans like these) where they were talking to a supporter of Organic Food who said if he had his way, all food, everywhere, would be grown organically.

To which Penn Gilette responded with words to the effect:  Great idea, genius.  So no more pesticides means crops yield only a small fraction of their current output, which would condemn millions to starvation because organic farms just can't keep up with the output of modern farming.

I also read an article not long ago that showed how DDT was not the horror it was made out to be in the media, and the ban on its use was irrational. 

I suppose this sort of thing is to be expected from a culture that loves to outsource its thinking.

[Guest MormonGator]

4 minutes ago, unixknight said:

I once saw an episode of Penn & Teller's B.S. (a show where they expose things like false information and corporate shenanigans like these) where they were talking to a supporter of Organic Food who said if he had his way, all food, everywhere, would be grown organically.

 

That is the greatest show in the history of television. Their take on bottled water was classic. They tricked the patrons at an exclusive restaurant in San Fransisco to think that hose water was fancy high class bottled water!  

[unixknight]

4 minutes ago, MormonGator said:

That is the greatest show in the history of television. Their take on bottled water was classic. They tricked the patrons at an exclusive restaurant in San Fransisco to think that hose water was fancy high class bottled water!  

Oh definitely, and the bottled water episode was one of my favorites.  I don't always agree with them and occasionally I'd avoid a topic but for the most part they were spot on.

[zil]

Quote

Chapter 5

Jacob quotes Zenos relative to the allegory of the (genetic modification of) tame and wild olive trees—....

 

[anatess2]

As we speak, er type, I have brown eggs from vegetarian-fed chickens in my fridge... no, I didn't buy them.  Some folks left them at my house.  I still don't understand how you can keep a chicken healthy by feeding it only veggies and why you would want such a thing.  But then, I just saw some guy on youtube swearing up and down that his vegetarian dog is of optimum health.  So what do I know?

Edited September 21, 2016 by anatess2

[Guest MormonGator]

4 minutes ago, anatess2 said:

 But then, I just saw some guy on youtube swearing up and down that his vegetarian dog is of optimum health.  

That's a good way to raise an unhappy dog, and some of us are vegetarians personally . 

[Guest MormonGator]

7 minutes ago, unixknight said:

Oh definitely, and the bottled water episode was one of my favorites.  I don't always agree with them and occasionally I'd avoid a topic but for the most part they were spot on.

 I don't always agree with them either, for sure. I always find Penn respectful though. I try to emulate that about him. 

[anatess2]

9 minutes ago, MormonGator said:

That's a good way to raise an unhappy dog, and some of us are vegetarians personally . 

So, I'm just curious, MG... so vegetarians don't eat eggs right?  But, if it's egg from a vegetarian chicken, it can pass for vegetarian-friendly?

Edited September 21, 2016 by anatess2

[Guest MormonGator]

4 minutes ago, anatess2 said:

So, I'm just curious, MG... so vegetarians don't eat eggs right?  But, if it's egg from a vegetarian chicken, it can pass for vegetarian-friendly?

don't ask me questions better left to advanced sages who sit on mountain tops Anatess. 

[NightSG]

Proof that vegetarianism causes brain damage:  http://fortune.com/2016/09/21/in-n-out-veggie-burger/  Don't know if it's the GMO crops or just the lack of proper human food, but something ain't firing on all cylinders with these people.

For those who haven't made the pilgrimage to one, In-N-Out is famous for being a place to get a truly great greaseburger and some fries that I'm fairly certain are cooked in at least a mix containing lard.  This is roughly like a bunch of self-proclaimed "Marlboro fans" who don't smoke petitioning Phillip Morris to make a non-burning nicotine free cigarette because they just love the company so much even though they despise everything it stands for.

And, of course, it's a double standard too; they wouldn't stand for any of the vegetarian places contaminating their kitchens with a meat option.

[Guest MormonGator]

6 minutes ago, NightSG said:

Proof that vegetarianism causes brain damage:  http://fortune.com/2016/09/21/in-n-out-veggie-burger/  Don't know if it's the GMO crops or just the lack of proper human food, but something ain't firing on all cylinders with these people.

 

lol. That explains me graduating only in the top third of my college class and not in the top ten. Doh! 

[NightSG]

5 minutes ago, MormonGator said:

lol. That explains me graduating only in the top third of my college class and not in the top ten. Doh! 

That's because when you're not looking, we replace your "vegetables" with the meat that turned green in the fridge.

Considering the state of evolution some of it was at, it's possible you're actually more of a hive mind by now.

[Guest]

I remember the dust up about Taco Bell using the GMO corn in their tortillas and chips.  This was long before anyone even heard the initialism "GMO", and it was long before I was as libertarian as I am today.  I asked a simple question. "So what's bad about this corn?"

"The FDA has rated it as only fit for animal consumption."

"So, what's wrong with it?"

"It's for animals, not humans."

"I'm an animal.  You're an animal.  What's bad for us that's ok for animals?  Is there some protein we can't metabolize?  Is there some chemical that humans are more sensitive to that other mammals can handle?  What's wrong with it?"

"It's just meant for animals."

Hmmm.  Helpful.

Edited September 21, 2016 by Guest

[unixknight]

@Carborendum  Critical thinking is a dying art.  No doubt they were completely confused by your question because it never occurred to them to ask it for themselves.  They just take their spoonfed talking points and off they go.

[Guest MormonGator]

4 minutes ago, unixknight said:

@Carborendum  Critical thinking is a dying art.  No doubt they were completely confused by your question because it never occurred to them to ask it for themselves.  They just take their spoonfed talking points and off they go.

So true. People feel more than think. 

[NightSG]

17 minutes ago, unixknight said:

@Carborendum  Critical thinking is a dying art.  No doubt they were completely confused by your question because it never occurred to them to ask it for themselves.  They just take their spoonfed talking points and off they go.

Dying?  Do we need to watch the "Trump's son kills a triceratops" video to prove it died long ago?

[NeuroTypical]

1 hour ago, anatess2 said:

I think we need to qualify this statement:

" Foods that have been genetically modified in one or more of a wide range of ways, are not bad for you.  They do not destroy the environment.  They do not cause cancer."

They are generally safe... not all safe.  Make sense?

I understand what you're saying, but I would like an example of what you're talking about.  

Can you name a genetically modified food that is not safe?

 

[anatess2]

54 minutes ago, NeuroTypical said:

I understand what you're saying, but I would like an example of what you're talking about.  

Can you name a genetically modified food that is not safe?

 

Basically, the guy that says that ALL GMOs are good is about as fanatical as the guy that says ALL GMOs are bad.

If we're going to use critical thinking and science then we will have to acknowledge that 2015 Pew Research survey that came up with the number that 9 out of 10 scientists from the Association for the Advancement of Science stated that GMOs are generally safe not all safe.

Now, there are, of course, very common sense ways to tell if a GMO food is bad for you - for example, a person who is allergic to nuts may not realize that some soybeans are enhanced through transgenesis with proteins from nuts making these GMO soybeans as harmful to him as nuts are.  Now, in the US, there's some FDA requirement that any food mixed with nuts have to declare it on the packaging.  Well and good for the nut-allergic people or those people living in the USA.  Not so good for those whose medical conditions are triggered by some other thing not on the FDA required labeling... or for anybody living outside of FDA regulations.

That's just one problem... and I haven't even touched vegetarian chickens.

 

 

Edited September 21, 2016 by anatess2

[NeuroTypical]

Ok, your example makes sense.  Yes, for people with peanut allergies, they need to watch out for peanuts, whether it's been modified or not.  And yeah, a logical extension might be that a "new food" created by science, might cause an allergic reaction in a segment of a population who are not allergic to other similar foods.  Although this article finds lots and lots of people who claim that isn't happening.  

Quote

These tests kept the only documented case of a GM soybean that was potentially allergenic off the market. Researchers who tried to improve the nutritional quality of soybeans using a Brazil nut protein realized that they were working with an allergen and immediately stopped the work. This is strong evidence that scientific methods to prevent allergy-causing GMOs from reaching consumers are robust and work.

Regardless, I see your point. 

Huh - I wonder if science can take a peanut, and modify it so it won't trigger someone's serious allergies?  That would be cool.  

Edited September 21, 2016 by NeuroTypical

[anatess2]

15 minutes ago, NeuroTypical said:

 

Huh - I wonder if science can take a peanut, and modify it so it won't trigger someone's serious allergies?  That would be cool.  

Of course they can... they simply have to take out the protein.  Which kinda makes a peanut useless. 

Edited September 21, 2016 by anatess2

[NeuroTypical]

Market them as "allergen-free, diet peanuts"  Then just ship people packing peanuts.  It's foolproof!

[Guest Godless]

3 hours ago, MormonGator said:

It's interesting that people think that the right is "anti-science" (and sometimes they are, for sure) but in reality it's the left and their hatred of GMO food that is anti-science. 

Interestingly, pseudo-science camps like the anti-GMO movement and anti-vax movement seem to be pretty bipartisan. I know people all over the political spectrum who have fallen into those misguided causes. It's also worth noting that some of the more vocal (and very liberal) "celebrity" scientists like Bill Nye and Neil Degrasse Tyson have made their thoughts against GMO pretty clear.