ALL citrus fruits are GMO hybrids of the pomelo, mandarin, and citron- the only 3 original citrus.
Most people have no idea what they’re talking about when they say they’re against GMO’s. No idea.
We need to get around to realizing that genetic modification isnt contamination, or carcinogenic chemicals, or sludge, or evil godless mutations. They aren’t horrifying and they’re grown natural just like everything else.
“i don’t buy anything with gmos,” said the woman walking her purebred pug
look don’t be against GMOs be against PATENTING GENES and PURPOSELY DESIGNING CROPS TO BE STERILE SO FARMERS HAVE TO KEEP BUYING SEEDS.
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1: Potatoes and citrus fruits have been selectively bred. Selective breeding is not GMO. The term GMO, messy as it is, was coined specifically to distinguish from organisms developed via traditional selective breeding methods.
They ARE different processes, and attempting to erase that difference only further confuses people.2: Many GMO crops are purposely designed to be sterile so that the GMO crops don’t hybridize and contaminate wild-type or heirloom varieties. That was a thing that was happening early on, and after organic farmers and conservationists sounded the alarm, the GMO creators shut down the ability to reproduce in their products to compensate.
Not that I’m trying to let Monsanto and its peers off the hook. That was the era when they tried to file lawsuits against farmers because their GMO corn had done its natural thing and pollinated. Big ag companies like Monsanto are greedy and exploitative and many of their GMO products are designed to support bad agricultural policies and practices that can boost production and profit in the short term but that are harmful both to humans and the environment.
3: Genetic modification and genetic engineering ARE artificial processes and CAN be potentially dangerous. They can also be tremendously beneficial to humanity and the planet at large. Look, we don’t let just anybody create whatever new chemical they want and release it onto the market as an untested drug. This is EXACTLY the same situation with GMOs. They need a solid regulatory process and people need to be responsible with their creation and use.
We also need a sensible gene/GMO patenting system, because currently it’s batshit and manages somehow to lead to BOTH horrifying overreach AND failure to make innovation profitable enough to pursue. Intellectual property laws are broken, news at 11.
from Tumblr http://ift.tt/2urm8dX