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I don’t for a moment believe GMOs are in anyway harmful. I do wonder though if they have had the effect of fueling population growth, without necessarily helpin
by tosser0004 9y ago
I don’t for a moment believe GMOs are in anyway harmful. I do wonder though if they have had the effect of fueling population growth, without necessarily helping the hungry.
It’s often stated that GMOs are needed to feed the growing population, but I get the sense that the most of the benefits go to just increasing population and not lowering the raw number of people who are actually undernourished.
In a world without GMOs would there be fewer total people and would that be better than the alternative?
- sandov 9y agoAlso. It's disheartening to see that no one wants to discuss if population growth is actually something desirable in the long run. Everyone cares only about the immediate economic necessities.
- thaumaturgy 9y agoAll available evidence indicates that as a society stabilizes and the long-term health and viability of children improves, then population growth slows down. If you want fewer people in the world, help them live longer.
- sampo 9y agoThey actually had this same discussion in the 1960s when the original "green revolution" used plant breeding and fertilization to increased crop yields dramatically. If they had done then as you propose, half of the people today in Third World, or having Third World grandparents, would not exist today. How many of your friends and family would not exist? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_Revolution#Malthusian_criticism https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_Revolution#Malthusian_cr...
- AstralStorm 9y agoWe are paying for this now though. Soil depletion is a thing, as is the increase in pesticide use. GMO are currently being deployed to fix the pesticide problem without breaking the economics...