russ_watters said:
You present that as if there is a level-ground debate, but the reality is that the benefits are well established facts while the drawbacks you listed are a mixture of irrelevant, wrong and idly speculative: science vs scientific sounding crackpottery.
There is a ground-level debate over GM food crops to be seen if one expands one's view to span the Atlantic ocean to observe our cousins in the European Union. In my opinion the potential drawbacks to GM food crops are not "irrevelant, wrong, and idly speculative". Of course there are benefits from the new GM food crops. But this a new science, and as with all new areas of science, there are often unforseen consequences that only appear after the introduction of the new techniques. A balanced and unbiased consideration of all the evidence seems reasonable and prudent considering the potential harm to humans and our biosphere that may result.
"There are many other potential benefits and risks to GM foods, which you will likely learn about as you investigate the topic further and decide whether or not you want to support or avoid GM foods and related technology.
Reading a brief fact sheet is a good way to familiarise yourself with the purported benefits and issues related to GM foods. In this way, you can equip yourself with an overview of the knowledge needed to make an informed decision about GM foods and how they will affect your life."
http://www.geneticallymodifiedfoods.co.uk/fact-sheet-pros-vs-cons.html
"GM Products: Benefits and Controversies
Benefits
• Crops
o Enhanced taste and quality
o Reduced maturation time
o Increased nutrients, yields, and stress tolerance
o Improved resistance to disease, pests, and herbicides
o New products and growing techniques
• Animals
o Increased resistance, productivity, hardiness, and feed efficiency
o Better yields of meat, eggs, and milk
o Improved animal health and diagnostic methods
• Environment
o "Friendly" bioherbicides and bioinsecticides
o Conservation of soil, water, and energy
o Bioprocessing for forestry products
o Better natural waste management
o More efficient processing
• Society
o Increased food security for growing populations
Controversies
• Safety
o Potential human health impacts, including allergens, transfer of antibiotic resistance markers, unknown effects
o Potential environmental impacts, including: unintended transfer of transgenes through cross-pollination, unknown effects on other organisms (e.g., soil microbes), and loss of flora and fauna biodiversity
• Access and Intellectual Property
o Domination of world food production by a few companies
o Increasing dependence on industrialized nations by developing countries
o Biopiracy, or foreign exploitation of natural resources
• Ethics
o Violation of natural organisms' intrinsic values
o Tampering with nature by mixing genes among species
o Objections to consuming animal genes in plants and vice versa
o Stress for animal
• Labeling
o Not mandatory in some countries (e.g., United States)
o Mixing GM crops with non-GM products confounds labeling attempts
• Society
o New advances may be skewed to interests of rich countries"
http://www.ornl.gov/sci/techresources/Human_Genome/elsi/gmfood.shtml
also see, http://www.buzzle.com/articles/genetically-modified-foods-pros-and-cons.html
