Thursday, December 5, 2013

Nancy Swanson - Seattle GMO Examiner - Policy & Issues | Questions For Next Meal Scientists

Nancy Swanson - Seattle GMO Examiner - Policy & Issues | Examiner.com:

1. Is it misleading to present the Flavr Savr tomato, golden rice, more readily digestible sorghum and drought-tolerant plants as examples of genetic engineering when non of them are currently marketed and in fact, with only a few exceptions, the genetically engineered crops are engineered for herbicide tolerance and insecticide resistance?
2. Is it misleading to say that genetic engineering is equivalent to conventional cross-breeding when in fact, genetic engineering usually entails injecting genes into plants that aren't even in the same taxonomical kingdom, six levels removed from species, where most cross-breeding occurs?
3. Can you say with certainty that there is no danger of horizontal gene transfer even though the virus typically used as a vector (CaMV) is chosen precisely because of its ability to replicate and mutate?
4. How do you know what will happen 3, 4 or twenty generations later in the GE plant itself?
5. Can you say with certainty that the antibiotic resistant gene marker used in genetic engineering will not add to the growing problem of antibiotic-resistant bacteria?
6. Can you say with certainty that the herbicides and Bt toxin associated with nearly all of the GE crops are not harmful to the planet and everything on it from microbes to humans?
7. After honestly answering the above, can you state unequivocally that the film: Next Meal is a fair and unbiased presentation of genetically engineered crops?

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