I won't comment on the actual genetic modifications (that Borlaug made at least) because I can't tell you whether those in specific are detrimental to health or not. But the pesticides, herbicides, synthetic fertilizers are all absolutely poisonous, and with mono crops, all are detrimental to soil and biodiversity. The earth is being poisoned, our food, our air and our water (water depletion is also a huge issue) by the green revolution process. While it was a solution, and did save and allow for the growth of many people, it still has very serious issues and flaws in the whole process that took place.
That's fine, I can respect that opinion, but the fact is, without them, you are going to have to drastically reduce global population. Are you going to be the one running the abattoir? Or will you stand to the side and condemn the people who are dealing with your decision? would you be the one to pull the trigger on a few billion lives to rid the world of pesticides, or will you expect some one else to be a sin eater for you?
mmm what a fantastically structured question! Let me answer it for you! No. I believe what I said I believe. Absolutely not and absolutely not, I believe natural sustainable farming is key, and that it can, and will eventually be feeding the world and all of it's population growth.
That's fine, I can respect that opinion, but the fact is, without them, you are going to have to drastically reduce global population. Are you going to be the one running the abattoir? Or will you stand to the side and condemn the people who are dealing with your decision? would you be the one to pull the trigger on a few billion lives to rid the world of pesticides, or will you expect some one else to be a sin eater for you? I guess I somewhat sympathetic, I just think the cure is worse than the disease. "We destroyed the village in order to save it."
This is a strawman argument. No where have I suggested that GMO be banned. No where. So I have no idea where you are coming from with this. Again, I am just saying that we have a choice. Us choosing not to support these foods doesn't mean the rest of the world starves. This is just ridiculous. And I do think the lives of the workers do matter and they shouldn't just be sacrificed for the greater good. Talk about elitist!
You said that the reason farmers use GMO is that they are all uneducated, no? Did I misunderstand this? Lack of education on how to grow a sustainable crop, garden and farm is certainly an issue, lack of education about the importance of soil and biodiversity, and lack of education on valuable farming techniques and technologies. Why is it that organic foods and the like are always more expensive? Why don't any farmers simply get an education so they can produce non-GMO foods at the same costs as GMO-foods? Seems like there'd be a fantastic market for that.
You implied or directly said that the herbicide glyphosate poses danger to farm workers. I pointed out two conclusions from that. Yes glyphosate is dangerous in large concentration for farm workers. So is every other pesticide and herbicide. If we need to protect them from glyphosate, we need to protect them from any chemical. The way do do that is prevent their use. For your point about farm workers to mean anything, it inherently implies you are advocating removing these chemicals from the picture. And yes, if we prevented all use of pesticides and herbacided, there would be mass starvation. Therefore, dangers of glyphosate are about specific measures for protecting workers. If that is not what you are implying, bringing up farm workers is a complete non sequitur. Why else are we talking about farm workers and glyphosate at all unless you are advocating separating the two? In my job I've been told by police that I'm crazy to do it and I'm going to be murdered. There is risk. I can either accept the risk, or go and find another job. That isn't elitism, it's realism.
Uneducated on how to run a sustainable, organic, diverse and soil rich crop, maybe (this takes quite a bit of knowledge and practice, and is by no means easy). This doesn't mean by any stretch that i'm calling all farmers idiots like you would like to manipulate me to say. And many farmers do produce organic, non gmo foods at the same cost as gmo mono crops. What they sell it for is a different story.
If that's the case, they could dominate the world food market by providing a higher quality product at the same price as the GMO stuff. Instead, they choose to remain a small niche market. Not even one major non-GMO farmer has chosen to lower their price to dominate entire market? Why would this be the case?
I think any worker should be protected from the harmful effects of chemicals - it's basic OHSA. There are other ways to protect workers. Workers work with nuclear materials, poisonous semi-conductors which resulted in massive birth defects and such. They didn't stop those industries, they corrected the problem. Why are you going to such extremes. Also, not every pesticide and herbicide is carcinogenic. The industry can find alternatives and research newer methods - it's not just about making a billion people starve Again, no one is saying prevent all use of pesticides except you. Preventing exposure and actually giving an F about people who serve you.
