(I know this is about Rifftrax, but we don’t have a Rifftrax community.)
This is what these non GMO types always seem to forget: we’ve been modifying the crap out of everything for the past thousands of years. We’re now justuch more efficient and smart about it.
They always picture someone in a lab with syringes and special machines to “modify DNA”. Most of the time it’s just a couple of potted plants under a lamp and a cotton swab. For fruit trees, you’re pretty much just replacing a branch with another branch. Tape and staples might be involved.
Genetically modified plants is very different from selective breeding. Selective breeding mimics the natural evolution process, removing natural selection and replacing it with human decisions.
Using a separate root stock from your fruiting trees isn’t genetic modification or breeding. It’s just taking desirable size features from a root stock and growing your desired fruit from that. It still remains two different plant, with two different DNAs. The fruit would produce a child of the fruit tree, the same as if it was grown from seed. If the root tree was allowed to flower it would create a seed the same as if it were never grafted.
GMO are an extremely useful technology. When well regulated and tested will help produce food for the growing world population. The big problems with it are the consequences of it. Plant have been modified to tolerate high doses of weed killer, pesticides and fertilisers. These all help increase the productivity of the land, but the impacts are terrible on the local environment. Residual weed killer and pesticide may pose a risk to human as well.
Thanks. Comments above yours are a bit disingenuous, trying to bunch up intrusive lab techniques with selective breeding. While the definition of GMO is pretty vague, let’s not pretend what Monsanto does is exactly the same as what Native Americans did.
When well regulated and tested will help produce food for the growing world population.
No. It won’t.
The Bill Gates/Monsanto Bootlicker Brigade wants to pretend that it’s (somehow) the actual foodcrops we have at our disposal that is (somehow) “flawed” and therefore requires unnecessary and (thoroughly patentable) meddling to “fix” - but, like all capitalist “solutions” to the problems caused by capitalism, it is merely a disasterous (but profitable) distraction.
And, of course, this is quite apart from the fact that the right-wing histrionics about “population growth” has turned out like all other right-wing histrionics - false. In a few decades’ time, you’ll see these same capitalist bootlickers peddling the dubious wonders of GMOs now whining about population shrinkage.
This is what these non GMO types always seem to forget
This is what these nauseating pro-GMO types always seem to forget - developing a food crop for thousands of years to become useful to humanity is not the same thing as destroying food security through capitalist monocropping with the aid of a few dodgy genes injected into something that never needed it in the first place.
destroying food security through capitalist monocropping
This has very little to do with GMOs.
You want to claim that capitalists are (somehow) not the only people that stands to benefit from GMOs?
Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.
Yeah, all scientists are evil, all corporations are evil, all people working there are evil, it’s all evil.
Yes, while monocultures aren’t great, GMO crops just speed up the process you mentioned first. Developing a food crop over thousands of years. If we can speed up that process and generate better crops, why wouldn’t anyone want that?
The whole politics around GMOs and greedy companies is something I wish didn’t exist, but GMOs is the way to go.
GMO crops just speed up the process you mentioned first.
No. It doesn’t. It shits all over the process I mentioned first and then it gets called “progress” by techbros like you.
If we can speed up that process and generate better crops, why wouldn’t anyone want that?
Why would we want that when our food crops have already been developed for us over thousands of years before our food supply was hijacked by a class of profiteering parasites?
Are you listening to yourself?
but GMOs is the way to go.
No. It isn’t. Unless you’re a fan of everybody but the ultra-rich suffering famine - then it’s pretty much a ready-made recipe for you.
Do you think the Native Americans hundreds of years ago were wearing lab coats in clean rooms, CRISPRing fucking maize? Selective breeding is different than genetic modification. If you don’t even know what it is or what you’re talking about about AT ALL, to the point where you’re conflating two completely dissimilar terms, maybe you should keep your opinions to yourself.
Selective breeding is different than genetic modification.
Nope. Both are genetic modifications.
CRISPRing fucking maize?
Also not true. CRISPR is bacteria mechanism and is not used in plants.
