I got into a back-and-forth with GMKnow over on Twitter (you can read the exchange here). As is obvious from one look at their website, they’re vehemently opposed to GMOs. The exchange was funny for one particular reason, at least to me. They’re anti-GMO, and, therefore, have a problem with inserting genes into a crop for our consumption. Yet, strangely, they won’t even address mutagenesis organic crops that have thousands of induced mutations.
Anyone familiar with agriculture in the 20th century will know the role that mutagenesis played in both organic and conventional agriculture. The process involved blasting seeds soaked in toxic chemicals or exposed to gamma rays to induce double-chromosomal strand breaks randomly (this deletes or rearranges genetic sections). A significant portion of the seeds that were painstakingly developed from this process are now grown as organic crops. As plant scientist Kevin Folta wrote: “it has been done for decades. No opposition, no labels wanted, no protesters, no fear.”
I’m sure by now you’ve noticed why GMKnow couldn’t afford to even try to answer such a question: there is simply no way to answer without making GMOs look super-safe in comparison, and if there’s one thing they can’t do, it’s admit they are wrong.
Related on the SLP
Read the full, original article: What the anti-GMO brigade won’t admit
