Food Monsanto tested GMO wheat 8 years ago and destroyed it. Just found some in Oregon.

My point is that GMOs vastly increase crop density, meaning we can feed more people, cheaper, and in less space. That's important when we've got almost 7 billion people. Take that away and we need a lot more money and land to feed people. See the problem there?
I do, however the proven long term problems with consumption outweigh this philosophy.

Because of lack of crop rotation our soil is being depleted faster than fertilizers can keep up. Crop and pasture rotation prevents this.

Heavy usage of antibiotics and hormones in cafo operations have created "superbugs" and make children develop early. Disease is prevalent and animals are treated poorly.
 
My point is that GMOs vastly increase crop density, meaning we can feed more people, cheaper, and in less space. That's important when we've got almost 7 billion people. Take that away and we need a lot more money and land to feed people. See the problem there?
Bigger problem is that there's 7 billion of us.

Sometimes I wonder if the human race needs a plague, major food shortage, big meteorite or something to knock the number down a few billion. It'd be better for our species in the long term.
 
Bigger problem is that there's 7 billion of us.

Sometimes I wonder if the human race needs a plague, major food shortage, big meteorite or something to knock the number down a few billion. It'd be better for our species in the long term.

Tsrh
 
I do, however the proven long term problems with consumption outweigh this philosophy.

Because of lack of crop rotation our soil is being depleted faster than fertilizers can keep up. Crop and pasture rotation prevents this.

Heavy usage of antibiotics and hormones in cafo operations have created "superbugs" and make children develop early. Disease is prevalent and animals are treated poorly.

Crop rotation has nothing to do with GMOs. Neither does antibiotics and hormones. And last I saw, there is no peer reviewed study showing a link to an effect in children. You're hitting all the talking points from your hippie newsletter tho!
 
Bigger problem is that there's 7 billion of us.

Sometimes I wonder if the human race needs a plague, major food shortage, big meteorite or something to knock the number down a few billion. It'd be better for our species in the long term.

Of course there are too many of us. And it probably will happen. However, I don't think going organic and intentionally starving people is the way to do it.
 
Crop rotation has nothing to do with GMOs. Neither does antibiotics and hormones. And last I saw, there is no peer reviewed study showing a link to an effect in children. You're hitting all the talking points from your hippie newsletter tho!
Agreed, you said GMOs were required to generate the required amount of food. I pointed out that this is not always required. And as @gee pointed out, we could use a good population cull.
 
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Of course there are too many of us. And it probably will happen. However, I don't think going organic and intentionally starving people is the way to do it.
There's going to be a point when we run out of fertilizer - there's only so much potash on the planet, and most nitrogen fertilizer is made with the haber-bosch process from natural gas. I also believe that pesticides cause short-term harm to soil, and contaminate the environment long-term, so the use of them isn't sustainable. Organic farming is pretty much the only sustainable form of farming.

GM tech is probably going to be required to make that work. I don't mind GM plants that grow bigger, grow in better climates, etc. but produce the exact same food of the exact same composition as the old plant. But there's GM stuff the world doesn't need... plants that produce infertile seeds for financial reasons, "roundup ready" crops which justify indiscriminate spraying of crops, and a GM corn I was reading about that produces its own pesticide.
 
also, mankind has a surplus of food. GMO's excluded (1990-prior)

Its getting that food to people who need it that we suck at. Africa is shit for growing (GMOs make it slightly less shit), other parts of the world are amazing, and produce 100X what the people of that region need. Distribution, not food amount is the concern.
 
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Hey, @CletusJones and @gee
For my capstone course here we are looking at science in SciFi. My final assignment in the capstone course is to write a short scifi story about current science technologies/ideas and their possible applications. I am thinking of doing a "Science has run amok!" story about genetically engineered plants.
Can you guys (or anyone) give me some good solid problems with current genetic engineering of crops? Cletus, you mentioned some of the plants can pull in genetic material from other sources and incorporate it?
 
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The problem isn't with GMOs themselves, its with the company(ies) that produces them. For example, if you don't use Monsanto soybeans and recycle your beans - Monsanto will sue you saying that you are breaking a contract with them by reusing their seeds. It's then up to the small farmers and recyclers to prove in court that they aren't.

:waw:
 
The problem isn't with GMOs themselves, its with the company(ies) that produces them. For example, if you don't use Monsanto soybeans and recycle your beans - Monsanto will sue you saying that you are breaking a contract with them by reusing their seeds. It's then up to the small farmers and recyclers to prove in court that they aren't.

:waw:

That has nothing to do with what I am looking for...
 
goddamnit, ya'll lack imagination.

GMO seed modified to be unable to reproduce becomes the norm in the world, when all of the sudden, all crops slowly stop reproducing. Manufactured seed demand cant keep up, and the world slowly devolves into a famine. All fuel at this point is also corn based ethanol and fuel shortages are rampant. Looting and riots begin, and soon the world devolves into chaos and roving bands of renegades in search of what food remains while our hero's the righteous scientist attempt to GMO a breed of corn that will be resistant to the pollen of the non-breeding varieties, not realizing that their attempted solution relies on the same technology that has doomed the world.

A+ motherfucking story right there.

Think "The Road"
 
goddamnit, ya'll lack imagination.

GMO seed modified to be unable to reproduce becomes the norm in the world, when all of the sudden, all crops slowly stop reproducing. Manufactured seed demand cant keep up, and the world slowly devolves into a famine. All fuel at this point is also corn based ethanol and fuel shortages are rampant. Looting and riots begin, and soon the world devolves into chaos and roving bands of renegades in search of what food remains while our hero's the righteous scientist attempt to GMO a breed of corn that will be resistant to the pollen of the non-breeding varieties, not realizing that their attempted solution relies on the same technology that has doomed the world.

A+ motherfucking story right there.

Think "The Road"

I was more thinking human extinction via super-plants choking out all wildlife.