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A record 16.7 million farmers grew GM crops in 2011, up from 15.4 million farmers in 2010.
Worldwide, 160 million hectares were planted with GM crops in 29 countries – an 87-fold increase since they were introduced in 1996. This is about the same size as the territories of Spain, Germany and France combined.
It’s been estimated that the carbon emission savings from introduction of genetically engineered crops that encourage no-till farming are equivalent to removing 19.4 bn kilogram of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere worldwide. This is equal to the carbon emissions savings from removing 8.6 million cars from the road for one year.
Cotton after heavy insect feeding pressure, GM cotton on the left, "organic" cotton on the right..... Hmmmmm
After reading this I now understand why there is such an abject fear and paranoia by some in this thread towards anything that is begat by technology.
Why Are Environmentalists Taking Anti-Science Positions?
An interesting observation (one of many) by the author:
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And yet, recently, the environment movement seems to have been turning up on the wrong side of the scientific argument. We have been making claims that simply do not stand up. We are accused of being anti-science — and not without reason. A few, even close friends, have begun to compare this casual contempt for science with the tactics of climate contrarians.
It used to be that herbicides were sprayed on the soil before the crop seeds were planted, so very little herbicide residue ended up in the food. Nowadays, GMO crops such as soy can tolerate repeated direct spraying of herbicide on the plan...t itself while it is growing. The soybean seed is genetically modified to not be affected by the poison. Because the plant itself is now sprayed, the herbicide becomes part of the tissue of the food and can't be washed off.
Other crops, such as GMO corn, which has been genetically-modified to make its own pesticide, contain a poison that also cannot be washed off. When bugs eat the corn, it kills them. Nearly all corn products (except certified organic) are from GMO corn. That includes the ubiquitous food ingredient know as corn syrup.
GMO corn syrup and GMO soy oil are in nearly all supermarket foods, but thanks to an FDA that is virtually owned by these chemical poison companies, these GMO ingredients are not labeled. Without the Certified Organic logo shown in our cover picture above, if the ingredient list on a label includes anything with the word "corn" or "soy," chances are nearly 100% that you are are consuming GMO ingredients.
Hilarious dude, a few trillion meals have been eaten containing these strains, where are all the deaths? the major heath issues reported? minor health issues? (other than from the anti-GMO FUD websites and organizations).......
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More and more very legitimate scientific studies are linking consumption of foods with GMO ingredients to cancer and other serious disease.
Where are these "very legitimate scientific studies"?
Like the rats that got tumors study? LMAO.....
You people come up with all the off-the-wall propaganda you want, worldwide plantings of GM crops will only be increasing, worldwide health statistics will be showing less people starving to death and still not reflect any increases in death or health issues because of GM foods....
Hey zthatz, looks like there are more and more who think the anti-GMO and anti-science crowds are.......
Greens on the Run in Debate Over Genetically Modified Food
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The question surfaced again in the fall, when California voters rejected a proposal to label foods that contained genetically modified ingredients. Around the same time, a French researcher and longtime GMO opponent published a peer-reviewed paper arguing that rats fed GM-corn developed cancerous tumors. The scientific community roundly assailed the study for faulty design and methodology. Today, the paper has no credibility, except within the feverish ranks of conspiracy-fearing activists, who are convinced that Monsanto -- and GM-crops -- represent a dangerous threat to agriculture and public health.
And now, Mark Lynas, the environmentalist and award-winning science author, has just publicly apologized “for having spent several years ripping up GM crops” and for his role in helping to spearhead the anti-GMO movement in the 1990s. Ten years ago, Lynas famously threw a pie in the face of Bjorn Lomborg at an Oxford bookstore, where the Danish economist was scheduled to talk about his controversial 2001 book, The Skeptical Environmentalist.
Accredited professionals from accredited organizations zthatz..... FACTS, not FUD......
Unbiased information and research activities zthatz, not biased and misleading studies and articles.....
Physicians Answer Questions About Food Biotechnology in IFIC Foundation Videos
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Earlier this month, the American Medical Association’s (AMA) House of Delegates reaffirmed its support for the continued use of biotechnology in the production of safe, nutritious food. The AMA recognized the continuing validity of the foundational principles of federal regulation that in all aspects, foods produced though biotechnology present no unique hazards or risks than foods produced by other methods. The AMA also stated that “there is no scientific justification for special labeling of bioengineered foods, as a class, and that voluntary labeling is without value unless it is accompanied by focused consumer education.” The AMA urged “government, industry, consumer advocacy groups, and the scientific and medical communities to educate the public and improve the availability of unbiased information and research activities on bioengineered foods.” These IFIC Foundation videos are consistent with that goal.
Over the past five years, the Swiss national research programme on “Benefits and Risks of the Deliberate Release of Genetically Modified Plants” (NRP 59) has investigated the environmental, economic and social impacts of GM crops. Today the final report was published. The main findings: Plant biotechnology does not pose risks to health or the environment. The economic benefits of GM crops for Swiss agriculture are currently small, but could increase in the future when new GM crops with combined traits, such as herbicide and disease resistance, become commercially available.
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New genetic methods are now available that leave only small traces, if any, of the intervention, or enable much more targeted modifications. Unintentional side-effects of the genetic intervention would therefore be far less likely to occur and safety tests would be easier. At the end of the day, the report concludes, one can now assume that many conventional breeding methods potentially pose a greater risk to health and the environment than the new genetic engineering methods. From a scientific perspective, the report claims, justification for special treatment or isolated assessment of GM plants is increasingly questionable.
Why does there seem to be such a take it or leave it attitude with some people here concerning GMO's?
Is manipulating nature a thing to take lightly?, not in my book. But to have the attitude that anything genetically modified by mankind is evil, dangerous to one's health and done for profit-only is beyond ludicrous...
To not recognize that there have been "learned men" and "subject matter experts" that have been totally wrong throughout mankind's history, to only research things that reinforce one's own beliefs without even once taking an open-minded approach using a different perspective is unfathomable IMHO.....
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