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You can buy and use Roundup w/o using their GMO seeds. Using Roundup isn't a sign of malfeasance. I can go by Roundup at Walmart, http://www.walmart.com/ip/Roundup-Weed-Grass-Killer-Concentr... doesn't mean I committed contract fraud with Monsanto.

1) Their seeds spread contaminating other farmer's fields. Once GMO is out in the wild, nothing can be pristine anymore. I wouldn't be surprised to find Monsanto genetics having made its way into humans in 20 years.

2) By "bombing their fields" with herbicide (biocide, you can't make something that only poisons one class of organism like this) AND genetically modifying the crops to be resistent to the biocide you are creating a perfect storm to quickly develop resistent parasites. Now everyone has to use your system, because there is no other way to have a crop survive due to super-bugs.

This is a direct parallel of the SUV insanity. Vast numbers of people drive SUVs because they don't want to be in a car hit by an SUV.



> I wouldn't be surprised to find Monsanto genetics having made its way into humans in 20 years.

I don't know if you were joking, but I couldn't take you seriously after that.


> wouldn't be surprised.

There is much we don't know. There are many processes of ongoing genetic transfer.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horizontal_gene_transfer

Next time ask for clarification.


I'm well aware of horizontal gene transfer, but thanks for linking it anyways for the people who don't know.

Edit: My response was lacking, apologies. AFAIK, there's never been a horizontal gene transfer from a prokaryote/eukaryote/any other kingdom to a mammal or animal. The last time may be when we got mitocondria.


bacteria to jellyfish (not proven) http://www.nature.com/news/2008/080928/full/news.2008.1134.h...

Now I have some prions to go BBQ.


> AFAIK, there's never been a horizontal gene transfer from a prokaryote/eukaryote/any other kingdom to a mammal or animal.

contradicts

> The last time may be when we got mitocondria.

Also, we seem to have quite a bit of bacterial and virus DNA that somehow got incorporated.

Oh, and it's mitochondria.


When we got mitochondria, we weren't mammals yet. ;) Apologies for spelling.


Isn't that because it's sometimes useful to kill everything? How does that apply to a farm field, where you need the ability to kill specific plants?


Isn't that because it's sometimes useful to kill everything?

I'm no expert, but my understanding of the problem is that if you attempt to kill everything, you'll end up with a few super-resistant [things] (organisms, bacteria etc.) who'll only increase the problem:

http://evoled.dbs.umt.edu/lessons/background.htm

Going off on a slight tangent, my personal worry is where we'll be after another 10 years of antibac hand wash use. I'm open to being corrected, but my current understanding is that we should be very, very worried.


I was being pretty imprecise there; the point is that Roundup is (again, imprecisely) potent and broad-spectrum. You couldn't just spray it over a normal crop; it would kill the crop along with the weeds.




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