Joel Hendon

Genetically Modified Food Crops Back In The News


Posted: Sunday, November 29, 2009

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http://hebronics.org/index.html

Scientists involved in the genetic engineering of plants are well accustomed to controversy and criticism but sometimes you are made to wonder if they sleep well at night. There have been just about every objection imaginable brought forward since the beginning of this endeavor, but there seems to be no end to it as progress is made.

Several large chemical and drug companies have been working on these ideas for years, the exact beginning is difficult to determine, but it is known that the first modified foods interred the marketplace somewhere around 1990, and has increased quite rapidly since that time. Presently 93% of the soybean seed planted are genetically modified, and 80% of the corn. Other crops are rapidly converting to the GM seed also. Rapeseed (canola) for oil production is 75% modified and cottonseed (also used for oil) is 83%. Potatoes and Tomatoes have been modified also but have not yet been introduced to the marketplace.

Leading the field in this endeavor is Monsanto Chemical Co. It seems their only real accomplishment so far is the development of seeds which are resistant to their own weed killer, brand named Roundup. Most are familiar with Roundup as it is the best seller, by far, of the commercial plant killers, used by farmers and even by homeowners. Roundup will kill almost any plant that grows, roots and all, but breaks down rapidly and does no harm to the soil. You can spray grass and weed growth one day and plant something in the ground the next day. It has been widely used by farmers for ridding their fields of unwanted growth before planting their crops for many years.

However, they could never use this weed killer on growing crops since it would also kill the crops. After discovering a bacterium which was unaffected by the chemical glyphosate, they were able to isolate the gene which gave it immunity to the chemical and transfer it to the seed's DNA. It has been quite successful and most large farm owners have gone to it.

But the possibilities of this new method of plant altering is of intense interest and may some day indeed double or triple the amount of production possible per acre of ground for many food corps. If, the steps taken are always closely watched for any dangerous aspects. There are many, especially those who espouse organic food culture, who are denouncing the entire theory of GM.

Personally, I don't have a clue as to whether or not these things offer the dangers that are propagated by those who oppose the process. But I do know we are constantly dependent upon our officials such as the FDA, et al, to keep us safe from such things. And I believe diligence should be given to investigate each avenue cited by the critics.

However, the claims of the critics as to health, etc., is not all Monsanto is facing. The company is now being discussed by U.S. antitrust investigators. The fact that they have doubled their prices of their genetically altered seeds over the past decade, has brought complaints from farmers and accusations of monopoly from competitors.

Monsanto rebuffs their accusations of overcharge by saying they have yet to recover their one and on-half billion dollar investment into the research of these seeds. I'm not an expert in these areas but I do know that the administration must tread easily as they investigate. Monsanto is one of the largest chemical conglomerates involved in agri-chemical development. It's condition and it's contributions to our advancement in such research needs to be protected while also protecting others rights.

I enclose here a link to one critic's site. I believe several of his complaints to be spurious, and in fact, I am unsure if any have legitimacy. But on the other hand, as I stated above, I am no expert in this area. For other sites concerning this subject, simply enter: "genetically modified food", into Googles search window.

http://www.cqs.com/gmohazard.htm

Author Biography: Joel Hendon was born near Gadsden Alabama. He attended public schools in Cherokee County, Alabama and after serving a tour of duty in the U.S. Army during the Korean War, attended Jacksonville State University, majoring in Business Administration. He became a Christian in 1948, and although he followed secular work as a career and retired from Allied Signal Aerospace, he is an avid student of the Holy Bible and related works as well as biblical history. He has an extensive website of conservative religious and political articles.http://hebronics.org/index.html

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Top-level comments on this article: (1 total)
» left by Bruce Horst
 2 years 50 days ago.
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Interesting article, Joel. I don't know much about Monsanto, but I do know growing up as a dairy farmer that if U.S. farmers did not use genetically modified seed, the U.S. wouldn't produce nearly enough food to feed even our own citizens. (GM seeds have actually been used for many decades, but before the 1990's the resultant food products were only used for feeding cattle, and not human consumption.)
» left by Joel Hendon 2 years 50 days ago.
125 fans.
Thanks for reading and commenting Bruce, and for the good information. And now that you mention it, I remember that myself. And, the dates I found were actually speaking of marketing foods. And so far, it is mainly in the cooking oils.
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