OMG GMOs no. 1












Additional Sources:

Click to access Introduction_to_On-farm_Organic_Plant_Breeding.pdf




Are hybrids genetically modified? In a strict sense, yes.


4 responses to “OMG GMOs no. 1

  1. Excellent Post. I look forward to reading the rest of them. Thanks for doing all the research and sharing with the rest of us!

  2. TO: LI
    FROM: Eric Koperek (Plant Breeder) =
    SUBJECT: Speciation = what constitutes a species?
    DATE: PM 5:59 Monday 1 June 2015
    (1) Please note the traditional = conventional definition of a species: Something that will NOT successfully breed with anything else.

    (2) Almonds, apricots, peaches, plums, nectarines, and cherries interbreed freely. The hybrids produce viable offspring. Thus, these fruits are NOT separate species.

    (3) Oranges, lemons, limes, grapefruits, and all other citrus fruits crossbreed freely. The hybrids produce viable offspring. Thus, these fruits are NOT separate species.

    (4) Wolves, dogs, and coyotes all interbreed freely. The hybrids produce viable offspring. Thus, these animals are NOT separate species.

    (5) “Wide crosses” are only possible between plants that are very closely related genetically = they have not evolved sufficiently apart so that they cannot interbreed.

    (6) Trying to equate traditional plant breeding (selection and crossbreeding) with genetic engineering is like walking on Jello: There is no scientific foundation to support such a comparison.

    (7) “Induced mutations” are laboratory tricks that have almost zero effect on the commercial seed and nursery industry. There is not a single crop that I know of that has been developed using these methods (and I have been a plant breeder for more years than most people have been alive).

    (8) The expression of most genes is invisible. For example: It is impossible to tell by looking at a sweet corn plant how much sugar the kernels contain. This is why genetic engineering is so very dangerous. A “gene gun” is just like a shot gun — it blasts foreign genes into plant chromosomes ripping apart DNA sequences in entirely random fashion. The resulting damage is almost always invisible to the eye = the effects are biochemical and not easily detected or measured. Thus it takes many, many generations of testing to determine that any genetically modified organism is “relatively safe” for human or animal consumption. No long-term tests of genetically engineered crops have ever been conducted by government or industry scientists. None.

    (9) Any competent high school student can conduct animal feeding studies comparing Roundup-ready corn or BT (bacillus thuringiensis) corn with non-genetically modified maize. The results are quickly apparent. Any plant breeder with a conscience will tell you that genetically engineered crops are unsafe. This is a big industry secret that the USDA and Monsanto don’t want anyone to know about.

    (10) Beware when reading any “scientific” study that says genetically engineered crops are safe. The results are ALWAYS “doctored” to lead readers to false conclusions. This is so easy to do (and such routine corporate practice) that it is a joke in the plant breeding industry. Here is how it is done: (A) Conduct a preliminary feeding trial the results of which are secret and never disclosed to the public. The preliminary trial tells you at what age test animals start to show health problems. (B) Conduct a controlled experiment that has a cut-off date before test animals develop any tumors or reproductive problems. (C) Smile sweetly and honestly report that “we fed 200 hogs GMO corn for 9 months without any ill effects. GMO corn is safe to feed to your pigs”. (D) What you very carefully do not say is that the experiment ended before the pigs could breed. (E) Joe Public sleeps safely at night knowing that the Guys-In-White-Lab-Coats are hard at work protecting his dinner plate.

    (11) Do not underestimate the political and economic power of Monsanto. These folks have been around since the turn of the century. They wrote the book on foul play. With billions of dollars of profits at stake, it is easy to steamroller any scientist or government official who dares open his mouth. The trash heap of history is littered with hundreds of corpses of well-meaning citizens who thought that publicity would protect them from Monsanto. They reasoned wrongly.

    (12) If you want to uncover some real horror stories, dig into the literature and read about the health effects of BT-toxin on humans and animals. BT-toxin kills corn ear worms by rupturing their guts. Their intestines develop big lesions = holes and the contents gush out. Guess what happens in humans and animals? Answer: Tiny, little holes. Pinprick perforations that allow bits and pieces of undigested molecules into the bloodstream. The intestinal wall is greatly weakened. (This has become such a problem in American pigs that many sausage makers now import natural casings = pig intestines from countries that ban GMO feeds. GMO fed pigs have weak intestines that burst when sausages are filled).

    (13) When an organic farmer sprays his sweet corn with BT bacteria, the bacteria sit on the corn silks waiting for a worm to ingest them. When the worm eats the BT bacteria it dies of terminal indigestion. Note: The toxic bacteria is on the corn silks (which are thrown away before ears are cooked). In genetically engineered BT corn, the bacterial toxin is INSIDE the plant. Every kernel contains bacterial insecticide. Would you knowingly and deliberately feed pesticides to your child? BT corn was approved without ANY safety testing for animals or people.

    (14) THINK before you blog about subjects of which you know just enough to display your ignorance.

    (15) It wonders me why a LAWYER would blog about the safety of GMO foods. A reasonably suspicious citizen might wonder who pays your salary.
    This is a common = classic Monsanto public relations trick.

    end comment.


    • Erik–

      Thank you for your comments. I more than welcome other viewpoints, just as I hope you can appreciate other points of view divergent from your own. I also wish to clarify some things. The stone fruits you mention in point 2 are not the same species. They are different species in the genus Prunus. The pluot I mentioned in my post was cross between species, and while it was developed using patience and in the field rather than a lab, it does not mean that they were in the same species. Your conclusion that because two plants can make a new plant that can survive on its own with or without human interference must mean it is in the same species is not accurate. Plant breeders take to the lab all the time. Perhaps you don’t do that and I thank you for your plant breeding and farming efforts as I imagine they are beneficial to you and your community, but just because you do not use these methods does not mean that traditional plant breeding does not as well. I did not have to dig very far to come across many examples.

      I am not saying and did not ever state in my post that GMOs are safe. My position is that research needs to be done because there are a lot of assumptions being made and a lot of arguments being made that are not supported by research–at least not yet. I recently read a very good book called Uncertain Peril and it made a lot of good points against GMOs. Many of these points swayed me regarding the devastating consequences of GMOs as a business and agricultural practice. However, the arguments regarding research into the consequences of GMOs on your body consisted largely of saying that more research needed to be done and that it wasn’t being done–for various political and financial reasons. Accordingly, my position is that this is not the basis upon which I am deciding to stay away from GMOs. And to make an accusation that because I cannot with certainty state that there is a health issue with GMOs (apart from herbicides and pesticides used in their growth which I think is well-documented) that I must be employed by Monsanto is a logical fallacy. And there is nothing reasonable about your suspicion. To be clear, I am not in anyway connected with Monsanto. I also eat organically (including non-GMO), grow a substantial amount of my own food, heavily support local food initiatives and try and stay away from processed foods and packaging as much as possible. I do not do these things to soothe my evil Monsanto soul, but because I believe that these things are better for myself, my family, my community and my planet. However, when trying to understand the issue of GMOs I did not feel it was adequate to listen to opinions of people that first and foremost wanted to bash Monsanto and criticize anyone with a questioning and countering viewpoint. Granted, this was not a scientific paper but I did try to find scientific sources because I, too, am wary of information from social blogs. I also did not rely on or quote any studies that said GMOs are safe. I actually was focused more on the definition of the term GMOs and what it meant so that I could pin point how to avoid them. In the course of doing the research on the definition of GMO, I concluded that I was not quite satisfied with the way the term has been defined because I did not think it was precise.

      We are on the same side. If I were not on your side, however, I can guarantee you would not have swayed me with insults and conspiracy theories–another thing I came across quite often on both sides of this debate and tactics and techniques that I think weaken both sides.

      Again, Erik, thank you for your comment and for the taking the time to be interested in this important debate. And thank you for the work that you do as a farmer. I imagine by your passionate response that you farm organically and that is wonderful.

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