Tweeted by @mkonnikova


"Problems Too Disgusting to Solve"
http://www.newyorker.com/science/maria-konnikova/recycled-water-problems-disgusting-solve

QuoteFeelings of disgust are often immune to rationality. And with good reason: evolutionarily, disgust is an incredibly adaptive, life-saving reaction.

QuoteSometimes disgust is purely physical. But, often—as in the case of G.M.O.s—it acquires a moral dimension.

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A related thread ...

Risk Literacy

Tweeted by @bittman

"Revolutionizing American agribusiness from the ground up, one seed at a time."
http://www.vqronline.org/reporting-articles/2014/05/linux-lettuce?utm_content=buffer78546&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer

QuoteMorton is considerably less reserved. "It rubs me the wrong way that works of nature can be claimed as the works of individuals," he said, his voice growing louder and louder. "To me, it's like getting a patent on an eighteen-wheeler when all you did was add a chrome lug nut."

Myers contends that, when applied to plants, patents are stifling. They discourage sharing, and sharing is the foundation of successful breeding.

Quote from: rebekahc on June 20, 2014, 03:12:49 PM
The only time I've ever heard where GMO was directly linked to allergy was the Starlink corn incident several years ago, but that was eventually disproven.  I can see where modifying plants to make them hardier, drought tolerant, insect resistant, etc. could also affect how allergenic they might be.

http://ccr.ucdavis.edu/biot/new/StarLinkCorn_new.html

Conventional agricultural practices, however, can ALSO result in changes in allergenicity and allergenic gene products.  The difference is that there is almost zero oversight of the conventional breeding/hybridization developments, and LOADS of it for the ones derived from molecular biology tools.  Which is particularly surreal to me since molecular biology tools are surgically precise relative to how crude hybridization efforts are. 

So you're MORE likely (IMO) to get unexpected allergenic results from the one than the other, all right-- but it's not what most people think, I'll wager. 

Anyone that has ever done extensive plant or animal breeding in an attempt to develop a new strain, enhance a behavioral quality, or add in a color/feature; or been around such a program, understands that part of things intuitively, I'm sure. 

Those color genes, for example, are often hard-linked with other traits (some of them inintended/undesirable)-- it takes MANY generations and some luck to "break" the linkage. 

Quote from: Macabre on June 20, 2014, 02:23:51 PM
I don't understand why GMO food is evil. Haven't farmers been genetically modifying food for years with hybrid seeds?

Well, I don't really understand the kerfuffle over it either-- because GMO is what I would say is more properly termed "agriculture."

LOL.

I do think that the notion that there can be unintended consequences for the introduction of particular gene variants/organisms into an ecosystem (artificial or natural) is a real concern-- and Bt is a concerning thing, for that matter-- but whether it's more concerning when organic farming practices are using it as an add-on spray.... versus seed stocks that contain the genetic information to EXPRESS the product... well, I don't really see much of a difference, myself.

I have larger concerns re: treatment of naturally occurring gene sequences as proprietary, and that goes WAY beyond GMO foodstuffs.

The only time I've ever heard where GMO was directly linked to allergy was the Starlink corn incident several years ago, but that was eventually disproven.  I can see where modifying plants to make them hardier, drought tolerant, insect resistant, etc. could also affect how allergenic they might be.

http://ccr.ucdavis.edu/biot/new/StarLinkCorn_new.html

Since joining twitter and following a lot of food safety focused people/orgs, the subject of GMO comes up a lot ...which reminded me of some of CM's interesting posts on this ... which is why I started this clearinghouse thread.   


I didn't think I would like twitter as much as I do ... will have to cut back my time there.   

ETA - I think that I should never say that I'm going to cut back my online time because I always then seem to do the opposite ... I should learn from some others and just do it.

I don't understand why GMO food is evil. Haven't farmers been genetically modifying food for years with hybrid seeds?