Vegans Complain about Yeast in Hot Dog Buns

[maatTheViking]

I don't understand why people have so much against GMO technology. To me it is FANTASTIC - it is way of changing the plant modifications from decades to years.

yes - if big corporations use it to sell seeds that can't naturally re-plant themselves next year, that is bad, but the tech has so many possibilities.

I find it so sad organic food can't have GMO, since I really think that is the way to produce food on a big scale without pesticides.

In summer, we get our food from a local CSA (community supported agriculture), and it is organic, but they are not certified. As rjblue said, so many of the regulations does not actually make sense for a small farm. Part of doing this is not only the organic/local aspect, but the community aspect. You go there and pick up your veggies, they have a u-pick garden with chard and herbs, and a children's veggie patch where you can pick squash and carrots with your kid. I think it is important for kids to know where the food comes from, and we don't have a garden where we can grow veggies.

so there, now I wandered completely around and off topic in a few short sentences....

[kwanfan1818]

I don't understand why people have so much against GMO technology. To me it is FANTASTIC - it is way of changing the plant modifications from decades to years.

Apart from whether the concept makes sense, GMO foods are largely controlled by large multinationals, the most well-know of which is Monsanto, which has been litigating against seed re-use as a license violation. (And I don't mean the suits against farmers who were determined to have had more Monsanto seed in their crops than can be explained through wind migration.)

[maatTheViking]

Which is probably bad, but I think we should look at the concept when trying to figure out how to grow enough crops, without destroying the world with pesticides, for all of us.

[Jenny]

For people interested in farming as a big business/Monsanto/effects of modern farming practices on the environment/US farm policy/organic vs not etc I highly recommend The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan. Very thorough but also very readable, and

[rjblue]

Well, as I've said earlier, I work in the industry, and my co-workers and I talk about Monsanto quite often.

Be afraid. Very afraid.

[Japanfan]

Be afraid. Very afraid.

For example: a pesticide has been built into corn.

http://www.naturalnews.com/032407_Bt...cide_GMOs.html

[rjblue]

For example: a pesticide has been built into corn.

http://www.naturalnews.com/032407_Bt...cide_GMOs.html

That's not a good example. The pesticide in question is the protein from Bacillus thuringiensis- a protein that binds and plugs the digestive system of insect larvae so they starve to death (killing baby animals technically). BT is one insecticide that is allowed to be sprayed on organic produce. So you can eat a lot of it anyway, if you eat an organic diet.

I'm afraid of Monsanto because they control much too large a percentage of the global food supply, and their business practices can often be very damaging to local agriculture. And while farmers in the developed world have some means of coping, it is much worse in developing nations, in my opinion.