Hungary can fuck itself
Hope the EU fucking finds a way of getting rid of them.
I also don’t support GM crops. And the chemicals that these crops come with. I’ve seen some documentaries on the Monsanto shady practices…so thanks, but no thanks.
Monsanto is one of the most fucked companies on this planet there I agree
But that has very little to do with GMOs overall. You have to prepare a solid legal framework. But then GMOs have fantastic potential.
The website of the Ministry of Agriculture advocating GMO-free agriculture recalls that two genetically modified plants have so far been approved for cultivation in the EU: the genetically modified maize MON810 and the genetically modified potato Amflora
They mention MON810, with a quick search I found that that belongs to Monsanto.
My personal opinion is that these GMO varieties becoming the majority on the market at some point, will just make food production be in the hands of few big companies. And that will reduce the variety of products grown, lack of heirloom seeds that are adapted to the local conditions, that will probably require more fertiliser and pesticides/herbicides, and probably less nutritional value.
Just take modern wheat, it does not have to be GMO, but the hybridisation that was done was to get a variety that is cheaper(produces more per hectare, removes the step of getting rid of the outer shell, it grows shorter, so it is more sturdy and does not get knocked down by wind), and for better baking properties, i.e. more gluten. But all this with the disadvantages compared to ancient wheat varieties like einkorn, emmer, khorasan, etc. Those do not need extra input, they can grow in poor soils and conditions, they have more minerals, vitamins and protein, they are easier to digest, they taste better.
Yes, you don’t get the puffed up bread to impress your followers on instagram, but is it what we need? I bake often with ancient grains and they satiate you more than modern wheat. So you can eat less of it.
The same goes with tomatoes, I rather eat the heirloom varieties, that eat the cardboard tomato that look pretty and it lasts a month in transport.
And all these patents do not come free to use for everyone. So you are excluding small growers from using plants that were patented by some big corporation. I found and article here where they talk about the problems about patenting:
However, in many cases, the scope of NGT patents is not limited to the genetically engineered plants. For example, a patent (EP3560330) was granted to Kleinwanzlebener Saatzucht (KWS) for maize with higher digestibility. The trait was identified in naturally existing plants and then ‚re-invented‘ with CRISPR/Cas.
The patent covers both the plants obtained from targeted mutagenesis (NGT) and from random mutagenesis (conventional breeding).7 Patents covering plants obtained from random mutagenesis, which frequently also include claims on the selection of traits by using natural gene variants, give the patent holder comprehensive, exclusive rights to control biological resources needed for conventional breeding.
I rather not have the food production in the hands of a few corporations. Especially these days where oligarchy is at its peak.
will just make food production be in the hands of few big companies.
The patent covers both the plants obtained from targeted mutagenesis (NGT) and from random mutagenesis (conventional breeding).
This is exactly what I meant by you need a strong legal framework.
This is the absolutly fucked part about monsanto. Them sueing people about seed blowing over fields and sprouting somewhere else. Or patenting seeds of plants found in the wild. How can that be legal :D
But again, this is a political problem not a GMO problem
compared to ancient wheat varieties like einkorn, emmer, khorasan, etc. Those do not need extra input, they can grow in poor soils and conditions, they have more minerals, vitamins and protein, they are easier to digest, they taste better.
But GMOs are the solution here, not the problem
We don’t have to breed desirable traits through decades. We can produce them in a couple of years in a lab. And way more specific compared to selective breeding.