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I'd like to point out that it's also a false dichotomy that we have to switch back to "archaic" modes "when 9 out of 10 working persons were employed on a farm"

I'd like to point out that it's also a false dichotomy that we have to switch back to "archaic" modes "when 9 out of 10 working persons were employed on a farm" or embrace GMO. We can still use modern machinery, we can still use our knowledge of alternative pesticides (such as introducing a natural predator of a certain pest), we can still use proper irrigation and crop rotation, we can still use proper greenhouses. Even without modern "industrial" methods, farming has come a long way in the past 150 years compared to it's multi-thousand year history. edit: I'd also like to point out that cross-breeding seeds with desirable properties (as farmers have done for thousands of years) is also "genetic modification" in some sense, but at a slower and controlled pace, with a large timeframe to observe potential unwanted side effects.

jff 15y ago
Yes, artificially introducing predators has worked so well in the past (see: Hawaii, Guam, etc.). I'll take my Roundup, thanks. GMO will feed the world and I welcome them with open arms.
- makmanalp 15y ago
  That's as much a straw man as Monsanto is to GMO. Just because some attempts failed doesn't mean it doesn't work. And besides, that's not even the only way to control pests. Neither do we have to not use pesticides, anyway. That is just one example of how farming tech has improved.
- gouranga 15y ago
  Idiot. Roundup is a herbicide. There some problems with it: 1. Some plant life has developed natural resistance to it so it's not going to last forever. At that point, the non-roundup supported ecosystem will be dead so there will suddenly be a fallout from using it. 2. The surfactant it's mixed with is toxic to humans and wildlife so you're going to kill everything with the run off and poison the water supplies all over the place. It's a shitty solution to the problem. GMO will feed idiots for a profit for a few years and kill the rest of us.

jff 15y ago

Yes, artificially introducing predators has worked so well in the past (see: Hawaii, Guam, etc.). I'll take my Roundup, thanks. GMO will feed the world and I welcome them with open arms.

makmanalp 15y ago
That's as much a straw man as Monsanto is to GMO. Just because some attempts failed doesn't mean it doesn't work. And besides, that's not even the only way to control pests. Neither do we have to not use pesticides, anyway. That is just one example of how farming tech has improved.
gouranga 15y ago
Idiot. Roundup is a herbicide. There some problems with it: 1. Some plant life has developed natural resistance to it so it's not going to last forever. At that point, the non-roundup supported ecosystem will be dead so there will suddenly be a fallout from using it. 2. The surfactant it's mixed with is toxic to humans and wildlife so you're going to kill everything with the run off and poison the water supplies all over the place. It's a shitty solution to the problem. GMO will feed idiots for a profit for a few years and kill the rest of us.