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Breeding over time is slow. When you select crops over generations to improve a seed stock you are not making radical changes quickly, and you are not introduc

Breeding over time is slow. When you select crops over generations to improve a seed stock you are not making radical changes quickly, and you are not introducing genes from other species. It is the pace of change and the scope of change that makes GMO crops more dangerous than those we have modified over 1000s of years of selective breeding. And BTW, even in natural selection, there can be instances where a naturally occurring mutation causes a change in a species which has drastic and rapid implications for the environment in which it reproduces and spreads. For example the evolution of oxygen-creating organisms created a toxic environment which killed 99% of life that existed in the oxygen-free environment before those organisms came into existence.

SquareWheel 8y ago
>When you select crops over generations to improve a seed stock you are not making radical changes quickly, and you are not introducing genes from other species. Non-GMO breeding methods can also mutate rapidly. One example is mutation breeding, where a plant is exposed to high levels of radiation to encourage rapid mutation. This does not require any labelling. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mutation_breeding https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mutation_breeding As for genes from other species, this is known as horizontal gene transfer and it actually does happen in nature. It's even occurred in humans. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horizontal_gene_transfer https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horizontal_gene_transfer It's worth bearing in mind that there is no such thing as a "fish gene", or "strawberry gene". They're just genes. All forms of life have considerable overlap between them.
pdkl95 8y ago
> more dangerous That kind of unqualified/unjustified claim is misinformation designed to generate an emotional reaction, not rational analysis. Nature often produces very dangerous on it's own. It doesn't always take that long. For example, Tifton 85, a hybrid of bermudagrass created using traditional cross pollination methods, has the unfortunate property of producing cyanide in some soils[1]. Testing is important regardless of the techniques used to create a new species. Focusing on species created using modern techniques improperly ignores the numerous older methods that are just as dangerous (and often harder to predict). [1] https://www.wired.com/2012/06/cyanide-and-poisoned-cows/ https://www.wired.com/2012/06/cyanide-and-poisoned-cows/
dragonwriter 8y ago
> When you select crops over generations to improve a seed stock you are not making radical changes quickly You are with modern non-GMO, mutagen-accelerated breeding methods.

SquareWheel 8y ago

>When you select crops over generations to improve a seed stock you are not making radical changes quickly, and you are not introducing genes from other species. Non-GMO breeding methods can also mutate rapidly. One example is mutation breeding, where a plant is exposed to high levels of radiation to encourage rapid mutation. This does not require any labelling. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mutation_breeding https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mutation_breeding As for genes from other species, this is known as horizontal gene transfer and it actually does happen in nature. It's even occurred in humans. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horizontal_gene_transfer https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horizontal_gene_transfer It's worth bearing in mind that there is no such thing as a "fish gene", or "strawberry gene". They're just genes. All forms of life have considerable overlap between them.

pdkl95 8y ago

> more dangerous That kind of unqualified/unjustified claim is misinformation designed to generate an emotional reaction, not rational analysis. Nature often produces very dangerous on it's own. It doesn't always take that long. For example, Tifton 85, a hybrid of bermudagrass created using traditional cross pollination methods, has the unfortunate property of producing cyanide in some soils[1]. Testing is important regardless of the techniques used to create a new species. Focusing on species created using modern techniques improperly ignores the numerous older methods that are just as dangerous (and often harder to predict). [1] https://www.wired.com/2012/06/cyanide-and-poisoned-cows/ https://www.wired.com/2012/06/cyanide-and-poisoned-cows/

dragonwriter 8y ago

> When you select crops over generations to improve a seed stock you are not making radical changes quickly You are with modern non-GMO, mutagen-accelerated breeding methods.