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> Water Loss, seed destruction - Saving the World’s Seeds - Dr. Vandana Shiva

25 April 2005, 17:30

In response to the pro-GMO message above, a few questions come to mind. The person said, "All it takes is knowledge about how they are made to understand why." Answer some of these questions, because I HAVE knowledge about GMOs!

Why are GE foods not required to be safety-tested?

Why won’t any company insure biotechnology industry?

Why has a five-point Emergency Response Plan has been formulated by the European Commission, designed to cope when GMO plants result in widespread illness or the death of wildlife if it’s so safe?

There is no precision with gene transfer, so how do we know it’s safe?
The common method to “splice a gene” is to blast them into the DNA with a gene gun. Scientists first coat thousands of tiny shards of gold or tungsten with the foreign gene. Then they point it at a dish containing thousands of cells. Then they fire, hoping that at least some of the foreign genes will end up in the right place in at least some of the DNA. This is what the biotech industry refers to as their highly precise method of gene transfer.

"Junk DNA” refers to the 97% of the genetic material whose role in living organisms is not yet understood. How can scientists say for sure they know what will happen, particularly in successive gnerations? They can’t even control where a trait will land on the DNA.

Transgenic crops increase the use of pesticides and accelerate the evolution of "super weeds" and resistant insect pests strains — therefore how do they help the environment or humanity?

According to the United Nations, the fundamental cause of world hunger is not a shortage of food in the world – in fact there have been huge surpluses – but rather people are too poor to produce or buy the food they need. Today we produce more food per inhabitant than at any other time in human history. The real causes of hunger – are poverty and a lack of access to food. How does creating more food via genetic engineering help address that?

Additionally, GE seeds cost more and lock farmers into tough contracts to lease the technology. The technology takes away farmers’ rights to grow their own food and help their community become more sustainable. How does that help the world’s poor?