Want to read Slashdot from your mobile device? Point it at m.slashdot.org and keep reading!

 



Forgot your password?
typodupeerror
×

Comment Re:This is a rare breed of human. (Score 1) 758

This isn't a question of unsubstantiated beliefs. Well over 80% of Americans surveyed, across the political spectrum, want labeling. If a customer wants to know if food contains a particular ingredient, he only has to look at the label. If he wants to know if food contains GMO, he has to hunt the information down.

The introduction of GMOs into the food supply was authorized not by law, but by a regulatory agency, probably one captured by the industry it serves.

As to the court challenges on this topic (no creationism as your indirect put-down might imply), there seems to be a fairly evident bias in the courts to favor commercial interests over public interests.

My main concern is this: If I make a mistake manufacturing a thing, I can stop production and change the design. GMOs don't have an off switch. You can't just stop their reproduction. I'm also concerned that GMO promoters think it's okay to turn millions of people into unwitting lab rats. But that's okay as long as a few patent holders get their money, right?

Comment Re:This is a rare breed of human. (Score 1) 758

GMOs aren't just a little thing. There is an enormous profit incentive that has shown up in our legislatures as "lobbying". It's no secret that this business is highly profitable and there is an element of risk involved. In the Farm Bill under consideration of Congress now, there is a rider purporting to provide Monsanto with immunity from suite in the event that there is damage from their crops.

Why would that be if this is just a little thing? http://truth-out.org/news/item/10210-the-monsanto-rider-are-biotech-companies-about-to-gain-immunity-from-federal-law

Comment Re:This is a rare breed of human. (Score 1) 758

Then why put labels on the food at all? Why identify the contents? Your argument doesn't hold water when it comes to what the customer wants. Shouldn't consumers have a choice in the matter?

Oh, wait. You simply know better because you're "more informed" and you'll simply make it happen by fiat. Even if the scientific evidence is entirely in favor of GMOs, people still deserve to know if the food they eat contains it.

If there weren't so much money behind the promotion of GMOs, I might think differently. But the greed behind the private monopolies of companies like Monsanto suggest that safety is not the reason why GMOs aren't labeled.

Comment Re:This is a rare breed of human. (Score 3, Insightful) 758

The forces at work to put GMO crops into the market is every bit as political as the movement to have the food produced from the same crops labeled. Your suggestion that the desire to have GMO labeling on food is merely a political movement makes it no less important.

Look, remove the incentive with patents and we'll see how important it really is to the companies that want to "feed the world.

You're right, I could educate myself and I do. But most people would like a guide. Here's a sample: "His survey found that 91 percent of people want GMOs labeled, while 81 percent "strongly favor" such labeling." http://www.rodale.com/gmo-labeling

But then again, the will of the people doesn't matter, does it? Corporate profits are more important, aren't they?

Comment Re:This is a rare breed of human. (Score 1) 758

The idea that GMOs are going to help feed millions of people is a canard. Stop growing cows and you'll have the grain you need to feed everyone.

You are making an assumption that GMOs are not harmful. Take the new leaf potato. Has a protein that disables the digestive systems of insects that eat the leaves on the potato plant. Harmless, right?

How long will we have to wait to find out the damage it does to the environment? 10 years? 20 years? 30 years? And if it were found to damage the environment who will pay for the damage?

This isn't just about human safety. Jefferson said that we should not be tyrants of the land. GMOs are an example of the ultimate tyranny of the land.

Slashdot Top Deals

<<<<< EVACUATION ROUTE <<<<<

Working...