Phantast2k
Member
I'm buying organic food for the most part, but I am not really opposed to GMO. Those are just some of the arguments off the top of my head.
I will not fight that fight here.
-
Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.
Chipotle Is Now 100% GMO-Free
- Thread starter ShadowKingpin
- Start date
- Status
I'm buying organic food for the most part, but I am not really opposed to GMO. Those are just some of the arguments off the top of my head.
I will not fight that fight here.
Wolfgunblood Garopa
Member
Why? I'm not sure I understand the overwhelming pro-GMO sentiment in this thread.
This is bullshit. GMO foods are just a form of genetic manipulation that humans have done for thousands of years. Just instead of selectively breeding the plants after finding a strain with the resistance we want we just go about doing it in a quicker fashion.
SteveWinwood
Member
thats not an argument
thats a complete misunderstanding of genetics and basic biology
Colonel Mustard
Banned
He's probably typing that while eating an 'organic' dessert banana.
FairXchange
Member
The use of the word 'suspect' is worrisome. I've done my own homework and come to a different conclusion on the matter. I'm just one person, and I'm not pushing my opinion on others. I merely said I'm glad Chipotle had done this.
The same people were making the same blanket insults when Pepsi decided they would be removing aspartame from their entire product line. Never mind that a billion dollar corporation decided it was time to distance themselves from that chemical/ingredient, lets make fun of the people who have had concerns about its effects on health and blame it on their pessimism!
Because GMOs save literally millions of lives.
The whole GMO thing is an oversimplification of several complex and different issues. Just saying "GMO is always safe and corporations would never mess with your health" isn't ask that smart either.
Directly, a GMO isn't harmful (unless it was made poisonous or something), of course. The market fuckery and the attempts at monopolizing agriculture is what people should pay attention to.
Also, while there are GMOs made to fare better against weather and plagues, there are those designed to tolerate higher doses of pesticides.
Directly, a GMO isn't harmful (unless it was made poisonous or something), of course. The market fuckery and the attempts at monopolizing agriculture is what people should pay attention to.
Also, while there are GMOs made to fare better against weather and plagues, there are those designed to tolerate higher doses of pesticides.
Poor bananas they will never win that fight. I have a feeling we will reach a point in time that bananas aren't readily available and I won't have a use for Nilla Wafers any longer.
could you elaborate on this? genuine interest
metalslimer
Member
The anti gmo movement is almost on the same level as the anti vax movement to me. A complete lack of understanding of the science
Basically its cross-breeding or selective breeding crops only at a more chemical/genetic scale.
Take the beneficial parts and traits from one plant, and implant it in another to create a hybrid food that can cost less to grow, defend itself against insects and rot, grow in different climates and grow bigger and probably be more nutritious to the consumer.
Read an article about Golden Rice that will give you a lot of good background.
FairXchange
Member
Stop essentializing the world around you.
Honest question, then. What have you read / been shown that supported your conclusion in the matter? If those of us rolling our eyes are wrong, I at least want to know why. I like to be right and, if I'm wrong, I love to be shown WHY I'm wrong....
....so I can then be right as I amend my position
.And billion dollar corporations change their tunes all the time based on PR, it has nothing to do with right or wrong, it's a bad argument.
GMO crops are more economically efficient and produce greater yields due to their resistances to insect predation (this is why they were made in the first place).
Greater yields, in turn, mean two things: more food is produced, and that food is cheaper, since increasing supply generally depresses prices.
Cheaper food is a nice convenience and all for people like us in the developed world, no question. But for people in impoverished nations, it's often the difference between "I cannot afford to buy any food" and "I can feed myself today."
metalslimer
Member
Can you point me to the scientific literature from your homework? Blog posts don't count
Because GMO's are a way to make food cheaper, giving countless people reliable food access where they wouldn't have had it without GMO's, and at the same time make it more environmentally sustainable to produce. I really can't respect a general anti-GMO stance.
For those interested in learning more, I strongly recommend reading about Norman Borlaug.
Imagine being this man's wife, and knowing that your husband -- in a very real, serious, and clear way -- saved millions of lives. Not in the way that, say, a president might "enrich our lives" or some abstract concept like that, but in the way that literally millions of people would have starved if it were not for his inventions.
He was a wonderful man to whom we should all be enormously grateful.
Imagine being this man's wife, and knowing that your husband -- in a very real, serious, and clear way -- saved millions of lives. Not in the way that, say, a president might "enrich our lives" or some abstract concept like that, but in the way that literally millions of people would have starved if it were not for his inventions.
He was a wonderful man to whom we should all be enormously grateful.
Miles Quaritch
Member
Looks like maggots going to work on rancid food.
Phantast2k
Member
Please don't kill me.
That doesn't sound right. Before we were never able to selectively breed a pea and some bug. We can now infuse a modified bug gene into peas. So this is a bad argument imho.
FairXchange
Member
Developing nations aren't as optimistic as you are, and I would let them decide for themselves on an individual basis whether it is a viable method of agricultural development for their needs.
For instance:
http://www.foodsafetynews.com/2010/06/haitian-farmers-burn-monsanto-hybrid-seeds/#.VT5a7iFVikp
This isn't as cut and dry as people are making it out to be, nothing ever is.
Thanks for the snide remark, but I've already explained I'm not interested in changing your opinion.
NYCmetsfan
Banned
Stupid. Its not bad to be GMO free but they have no downsides and isn't chipotle having supply problems?
farming methods and corporate practices are much different than the overall safety/health and concept of GMOs of the food which is as black and white as you can get.
farming methods and corporate practices are much different than the overall safety/health and concept of GMOs of the food which is as black and white as you can get.
metalslimer
Member
Do you want to explain why this is a bad thing. You do know we infused a human insulin gene into bacteria to produce insulin that has saved millions?
Besides the straw man of Monsanto no one has provided a good reason as to why genetic manipulation is bad
why don't you narrow down your disdain for GMOs to companies like monsato instead of blindly hating on foods & research that are (and have been) hugely beneficial to mankind
jackissocool
Member
Very few people are defending Monsanto, and countries are right to deny that enormous capitalist monster presence in their country. But GMO is not inseparable from Monsanto, and only terrible rulers would deny more food to their people.
FairXchange
Member
That's a great point but they are part and parcel in many ways (when dealing with patents), perhaps Chipotle was using GMOs with these unsafe farming practices? That would again make this a justifiable reason to stop using them.
My Mom is nearly 60 and she cares about GMOs way more than I do.
NYCmetsfan
Banned
There are ingredients on packaging, nobody is saying you should eliminate that.
Adding gmo tags does nothing, adds no information and is a nebulous concept in general (we have been eating GMOS for thousands of years, that organic corn isn't "natural corn") what defines a GMO?
I don't think people have a problem with the fact that Chipotle does a good job sourcing their food to farms with better and more humane and moral practices, and possibility other harmful and bad methods but this highlights the GMO portion not that other portion. There are a lot of GMOs that can be humane, moral, safe and not harmful to ag workers.
hippies are the worst
crimsonheadGCN
Banned
I went to Chipotle last week and they didn't have any signs telling customers that they aren't carrying carnitas. So they probably got them back recently.
Phantast2k
Member
No, I lack the background knowledge to do so ( and / or maybe it's not a "bad thing").
It's just clearly not the same as cross breeding we did for thousands of years hence my reply to that comment.
CornBurrito
Member
Sounds like a problem with the pesticides used, not the GMO crop itself.
And megacorps already tamper with the genetics of food. It is called artificial selection. And non-GMO doesn't mean harmful pesticides aren't sued.
Since when did GMO's become Attack of the Killer tomatoes?
If you've eaten any cheeses lately you've been uknowingly eating the products of GMOs.
Rennet is an enzyme that is necessary to make cheese, it helps the milk curdle. However it's only produced and found in the stomachs of cows and whatnot. An artificial bacteria is created to produce this enzyme without the use of the cows stomach and create the enzyme in Rennet to make the cheese. The GMO bacteria is destroyed during fermentation which leaves zero traces behind in the final product.
It saves tons of time and money.
NYCmetsfan
Banned
does that coffee that those monkeys poop out count a GMO? those emzymes are genetically modifying the nuts
CornBurrito
Member
Yes because the evidence largely points to GMO crops and aspartame as being harmless. The pesticides used with GMO crops is another matter.
And "doing your own research" is great but if your own research consists of looking at fear mongering health blogs like Food Babe then you need to learn how to do research properly. Otherwise you'll make it to some faith healing/crystal healing site that argues that all modern medicine is bogus. And hey, if it is written online on some vocal blogger's site it must be true eh?
I'll come in to do my usual defense of Monsanto.
Monsanto is a company that has been thrown under the bus by the pro-gmo movement, and has been demonized by the anti-gmo movement.
However, when pressed - no one can give any real good reason why Monsanto is any worse than your run of the mill corporation.
We shouldn't even have to throw Monsanto under the bus here - can anyone provide a single reason why Monsanto is an especially bad company?
Monsanto is a company that has been thrown under the bus by the pro-gmo movement, and has been demonized by the anti-gmo movement.
However, when pressed - no one can give any real good reason why Monsanto is any worse than your run of the mill corporation.
We shouldn't even have to throw Monsanto under the bus here - can anyone provide a single reason why Monsanto is an especially bad company?
Yeah honestly, IMO carnitas was the only tasty meat they had and that's gone now...
The steak is dull, a bit chewy, and dry. The chicken is also dry and bland. Barbacoa in general tastes awful to me. The only barbacoa that I ever liked was my aunt's, but she made it differently. So, no major restaurant chain is gonna come close to hitting the mark there.
I'm not setting foot in another Chipotle, unless piggy meat returns.
Bluekaveli
Member
Overrated
God Dayumm
Banned
Because they patent things they should not. They are the Apple of the food industry
What negative farming practices have you associated with GMOs?
Do you know that seeds have been patented for something like... 80+ years? That basically every major seed provider patents seeds, GMO or otherwise? Monsanto or otherwise? That's not even getting into the logic of patenting seeds (which I think is sound).
CornBurrito
Member
Why shouldn't they be patented? How else do you expect this research to be funded?
This. Anytime people speak out against gmo food stuffs I assume they don't have any scientific background.
FairXchange
Member
I linked to a few already, you'll see them if you look.
GoldenEye 007
Member
Mine was serving pork last night.
That's probably for the best since your statement is fear mongering
Resident_UA
Member
It sucks that everyone is on extreme spectrum of this. Either you believe that GMOs will kill you or that everyone who is concerned about GMOs is an idiot.
I don't mind GMOs, but I kind of hate the fact that their existence is kind of destroying competition. Some sorts of fruits and vegetables that are difficult (expensive) to grow just can't compete with GMOs. It's almost impossible to find tomatoes that I like. They are either bad tasting but a bit easier to grow "organic" tomatoes or tasteless GMO tomatoes. There's nothing in the middle
Who gives a shit that it's fear mongering? What's the downside? People will buy more expensive food? So what? I really don't understand why so many people are so passionately defending GMOs. Sure, there's a lot of misinformation about the, but who is it hurting?
Boss Mog
Member
I'm kind of shocked by the pro-GMO talk in here. Yes GMOs can be beneficial if you modified them to grow in certain soils and weather conditions, especially in Africa where they need food but that's not at all what the majority of GMOs are modified for.
Monsanto is the main supplier of GMO seeds in the world, but Monsanto isn't a food company. It's a chemical company that makes billions of dollars selling its pesticides like RoundUp. And the reason they make their own GMO seeds is to modify them to be able to tolerate high concentrations of their pesticides without dying and that's pretty much the only modification they make.
Monsanto is not a company you hear about a lot but it's one of the biggest, richest and most powerful in the world. They try to stay out of the media and public eye as much as possible because there's no way to spin their shenanigans in a positive way really. The fact is that the overuse of their chemicals is making people sick. Cancer rates are rising drastically these days and a lot has to do with the toxic chemicals we ingest in our foods. Monsanto even developed Agent Orange for the military as a chemical warfare herbicide and it was used in Vietnam to destroy foliage and crops but it also made people that came in contact with it very sick.
It just seems weird to me to see so many of you defending GMOs when the vast majority of GMOs aren't made for the the good of mankind but rather to fill the pockets of a chemical company ensuring them sales of their pesticides and make us sick in the process.
Monsanto is the main supplier of GMO seeds in the world, but Monsanto isn't a food company. It's a chemical company that makes billions of dollars selling its pesticides like RoundUp. And the reason they make their own GMO seeds is to modify them to be able to tolerate high concentrations of their pesticides without dying and that's pretty much the only modification they make.
Monsanto is not a company you hear about a lot but it's one of the biggest, richest and most powerful in the world. They try to stay out of the media and public eye as much as possible because there's no way to spin their shenanigans in a positive way really. The fact is that the overuse of their chemicals is making people sick. Cancer rates are rising drastically these days and a lot has to do with the toxic chemicals we ingest in our foods. Monsanto even developed Agent Orange for the military as a chemical warfare herbicide and it was used in Vietnam to destroy foliage and crops but it also made people that came in contact with it very sick.
It just seems weird to me to see so many of you defending GMOs when the vast majority of GMOs aren't made for the the good of mankind but rather to fill the pockets of a chemical company ensuring them sales of their pesticides and make us sick in the process.
- Status