5 ms·

I thought the main health problem with GMO crops (other than overzealous IP management and such) wasn’t even that they’re engineered - it’s that we engineer the

I thought the main health problem with GMO crops (other than overzealous IP management and such) wasn’t even that they’re engineered - it’s that we engineer them to deal with heavy pesticide usage, proceed do so in a way that it’s impossible to clean out, and then consume that food. (and the insect apocalypse, but that’s an indirect effect on human health)

tsjq 5y ago
Yes. That's the main point. Many GMO stuff are made by pesticide companies
toastal 5y ago
This said, using alternative pesticides like copper sulfate used by some of the "organic" food production can be as bad if not worse for the environment and humans.
- cmrdporcupine 5y ago
  Copper sulphate is not a pesticide for corn so not applicable here as a comparison. It's a fungicide for orchard crops usually.
tonmoy 5y ago
GMO can also be engineered to inherently be pest resistant and thus require significantly less pesticide
- primroot 5y ago
  "By 2018, farmers were spending an average of $23.58 per hectare on insecticide — 37% more than the pre-Bt levels." https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/the-twisted-trajectory-of-bt-cotton/article32566091.ece https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/the-twisted-trajector... Unfortunately the field isn't a lab, and making it look like a lab is very resource-intensive and environmentally damaging. "The cost of ignoring ‘desi’ varieties for decades has been high for India."
- amanaplanacanal 5y ago
  But how does that allow our company to sell more pesticides?
- mikro2nd 5y ago
  The resistance tends to last only a few generations before the pest population evolves past it. In areas where BT-Maize gets planted, Corn Ear Worm has been observed to evolve resistances in as few as 5 or 6 generations. You might think you've deployed a pest-free plant, but in reality all you've done is deploy an evolutionary pressure on the target population, and nature has had like 800-million years' practise out-evolving bad shit happening. Viewed in a systems light, the whole notion is little more than a grift; at best a temporary solution that takes longer to develop than ecosystems take to out-evolve.

tsjq 5y ago

Yes. That's the main point. Many GMO stuff are made by pesticide companies

toastal 5y ago

This said, using alternative pesticides like copper sulfate used by some of the "organic" food production can be as bad if not worse for the environment and humans.

cmrdporcupine 5y ago
Copper sulphate is not a pesticide for corn so not applicable here as a comparison. It's a fungicide for orchard crops usually.

tonmoy 5y ago

GMO can also be engineered to inherently be pest resistant and thus require significantly less pesticide

primroot 5y ago
"By 2018, farmers were spending an average of $23.58 per hectare on insecticide — 37% more than the pre-Bt levels." https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/the-twisted-trajectory-of-bt-cotton/article32566091.ece https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/the-twisted-trajector... Unfortunately the field isn't a lab, and making it look like a lab is very resource-intensive and environmentally damaging. "The cost of ignoring ‘desi’ varieties for decades has been high for India."
amanaplanacanal 5y ago
But how does that allow our company to sell more pesticides?
mikro2nd 5y ago
The resistance tends to last only a few generations before the pest population evolves past it. In areas where BT-Maize gets planted, Corn Ear Worm has been observed to evolve resistances in as few as 5 or 6 generations. You might think you've deployed a pest-free plant, but in reality all you've done is deploy an evolutionary pressure on the target population, and nature has had like 800-million years' practise out-evolving bad shit happening. Viewed in a systems light, the whole notion is little more than a grift; at best a temporary solution that takes longer to develop than ecosystems take to out-evolve.