Skip to Content.
Sympa Menu

market-farming - Re: [Market-farming] Baker's Creek and GMO

market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org

Subject: Market Farming

List archive

Chronological Thread  
  • From: Marty Kraft <martyk AT allspecies.org>
  • To: Market Farming <market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [Market-farming] Baker's Creek and GMO
  • Date: Tue, 8 Sep 2009 04:10:51 -0500

The hybrids and the heirlooms were selected for from naturally occurring traits, from genes that were already present within the species of plant. These traits were probably present within the gene pool of that species for hundreds or thousands of years. These traits have been tested countless times by various environmental shifts and they survived and somehow fit in with the larger community of plants and animals.

A GMO has had one of its genes altered into something new, a mutation, a new gene or gene sequence for that species. These mutations have not been tested in the larger environment to see what they might do to naturally occurring members of that species or to other species. I am sure that companies do some tests for a short time but their nothing like the trillions of tests that the natural world has done on the naturally occurring genes. The truth is they don't know what they have created and how it will effect the environmental or human health long term. GMO company's motives seem to me to be purely for profit not the long term health of the species, the environment or humans. These companies tests can have only run for decades at best where nature tests her mutations for thousands of years before the genes reach ascendency. Nature introduces mutations little by little over time where GMOs are unleashed by the trillions all over the range of the species. No doubt nature will do the testing for the next thousand years but we do not know the consequences. The pursuit of money, not wisdom has ruthlessly forced these mutations upon us without our informed consent. There ought to have been a law to protect the innocent. If a gene had tried what these companies have tried they would have been terminated. We could look at a boycott as a form of natural selection.

Marty Kraft
On Sep 7, 2009, at 8:33 AM, Richard Stewart wrote:

Companies like Baker Creek and Johnny's are not selling GMO seeds, they are selling hybrids, heirlooms, and organics, which I suppose, technically, are ALL genetically altered by cross breeding since few if any seed lines are 100% pure.  Some of them also having seed coatings to help better protect them from frost, rot, or insects.  That is all a matter of choice at that point but none of it is GMO in the evil sense it is applied usually.




Archive powered by MHonArc 2.6.24.

Top of Page