So...what would you consider the dividing line between acceptable GMO's and unacceptable GMO's when trying to keep chickens naturally. Every single chicken any one of us has is a genetically modified organism.
I'm not trying to be controversial, just looking for some opinions/conversation regarding GMO and backyard flocks. I also am against the Monsanto monster that has come to be, but I feel that the term "genetically modified organism" has received a critically bad wrap.
For instance, would all beef and chicken meat have to be labeled GMO if that becomes a stipulation by the FDA or the USDA?
I have a feeling all this talk about GMO'S is going to come back to bite us in the butt...not all GMOs are created equally. I believe we need to find a way to separate selective breeding and other more natural ways of genetic modification such as splicing plants from the alien laboratory monstrosities.
Sorry if this doesn't come out right, it's hard to follow a thought when you can't see your whole text box
I totally understand what you're saying. If you think of the actual definitions of each word "genetically modified organism," of course you're right that all domestic animals and crop plants have been modified over the centuries by selective breeding to slowly change them into having more desirable traits for our use.
But the way the phrase "Genetically Modified Organism" is used in today's lingo, it means just what Leahs Mom says - it means laboratory modification using recombinant DNA technology to insert genes into an organism that has no business having them. With selective breeding, we just kind of speed up the natural selection process, but with recombinant DNA technology we can give organisms traits they would never have developed in a million years. Maybe we should have called them "Genetically Engineered Organisms" instead. But that probably would have scared the public, and we can't have that!!
It's kind of like how the word "organic" has come to mean "without the use of man-made chemicals." Really, it started out just meaning anything that contains carbon atoms in its molecules. In that sense, ALL living things are organic, whether they have been sprayed with pesticides, genetically engineered, or whatever. But we all know what we mean when we say something is organic.
I know you said you're against the Monsanto Monster, but just for the fun of it, let me say some things about that *cough* company, in case anybody reading this isn't familiar with the story. What they've done (besides creating Agent Orange and DDT) is create GM crops that are very resistant to the herbicide Roundup (glyphosate), meaning that farmers can spray tons and tons of Roundup (sold by guess who?) on their crops (instead of tilling their fields) to kill every last weed without worrying about hurting their crop. What's more, they've patented their seeds, which means that the farmers can't save seeds from year to year - they have to buy fresh ones from Monsanto every year. Oh, and if you're a farmer whose field is even sort-of near one that uses Monsanto's GM crops, and some of those seeds waft over onto your fields in the wind (which you're kind of upset about if you're trying to be Organic), not only does Monsanto
not get in trouble for contaminating your fields with their unwanted seeds, they get to sue you (and win!) for raising their patented crops without buying them.
Now what's happening is that because of the overuse of Roundup and cross-contamination of normal plants with those carrying Roundup resistant genes, many of the weeds are also developing a resistance to it, so even more Roundup has to be use, and the cycle continues.
And there's so much more, including Monsanto's brilliant way of getting everything they want by placing employees in key government positions and buying their way out of lawsuits. It's actually pretty incredible, and someday maybe a movie will be made out of it. For anyone that's interested, here's a good article:
http://www.villagevoice.com/2013-07-24/restaurants/the-monsanto-menace/
Be aware that there is a Huge difference between GMO and hybrid. Might be good to read up a bit on that to understand the difference. GMO is actually taking genetic material from one organism and inserting it into the gene of an unlike organism.
One of the biggest issues for me is that with GMO crops, they are modified to allow them to withstand huge amounts of glyphosate and other very toxic herbicides and pesticides. This is taken into the plant and therefore not just on the surface of the plant. Anything that ingests those plants is getting those chemical compounds in very toxic amounts.
Just had a new article on glyphosate problems come in this morning. Reproductive system seems to be especially affected in humans and animals alike with exposure to glyphosate. Not to mention many other ways the body is affected which has been documented and continue to be documented with more time and exposure.
I know I've said it before, but I highly recommend Sandra Steingraber's book,
Living Downstream. You will get tons of enlightening information about such things as P53 gene mutations, PCBs, PCE (perchloroethylene), permethrin, petrochemicals, phenoxy herbicides, phthalates, plastics, PVC, and the Precautionary Principle - and that's just from the P section of the index. (Did I have you at "plastics"?
)
I know it sounds like a huge textbook of dry facts, but it's actually a very readable personal story about her own fight with cancer (diagnosed when she was 20) and her subsequent search for environmental causes of cancer, which led her to all sorts of revelations about all sorts of health problems that are on the rise. She's been called a "poet with a knife," and I find all of her books to be riveting reads as you get sucked in wanting to find out more, both about her personal story and about the facts she uncovers regarding chemicals in society. And she writes so beautifully!
Here is her website:
http://steingraber.com/
Here is the trailer to the documentary that was based on her book:
If we lived closer, I'd let you borrow my copy of the book!
