# GMO Foods: No one can seriously dispute what? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\ **Created:** [August 1, 2014, 11:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gmo-foods-no-one-can-seriously-dispute-what/694571 "2014-08-01T11:43:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2014, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gmo-foods-no-one-can-seriously-dispute-what/694571/21 "2014-08-01T20:22:55Z")
> [@RaffArundel](#): > > … I’ll point out the actual debate is two-fold. First, the overall health effects of Glyphosate which apparently the overall health effects are still being studied. Second, the amounts of herbicides used. Since herbicides by their very definition kill plants, there is a limit to how much you can dump on your field before you impact the crop itself. The point to the GMO is to have a higher tolerance, so you can kill more stuff you don’t want by dumping more Roundup on your field. The reality is that GMO crop introductions have resulted in markedly lower use of far more toxic herbicides like atrazine, and have other environmental benefits. > **[Genetically modified crops shrink farming’s pesticide footprint](https://biofortified.org/2012/06/12/genetically-modified-crops-shrink-farmings-pesticide-footprint/)** > > By Richard Roush, University of Melbourne and David Tribe, University of Melbourne Recent news reports claim one in ten Australians believe the world will end on December 21, 2012, based largely on… > [@](#): > > The [cite](https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/11/2/2125) in question. That paper describes a speculative theory lacking hard evidence. > **[Sri Lanka delays herbicide ban as kidney disease origin remains elusive - ICIJ](https://www.icij.org/inside-icij/2014/04/sri-lanka-delays-herbicide-ban-kidney-disease-origin-remains-elusive/)** > > Facing political opposition and questions about scientific evidence, Sri Lanka has placed on hold its ban on top-selling Monsanto herbicide. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2014, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gmo-foods-no-one-can-seriously-dispute-what/694571/22 "2014-08-01T20:26:41Z")
The other issue is the labeling of foods using products derived from GMO products (such as corn oil from GMO corn), which were to contain none of the foreign DNA or GMO-derived proteins. Should those products be labeled? ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2014, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gmo-foods-no-one-can-seriously-dispute-what/694571/23 "2014-08-01T23:23:43Z")
> [@IvoryTowerDenizen](#): > > Personally, I’d rather know specifically what pesticides, fungicides, insecticides were used during cultivation of the food than GMO. No one clamors for those to be identified. No kidding. Another thing I would like to know before GMO content is where my poultry and pork is being processed. Apparently, producers have figured out how to make a profit by raising chickens and pigs in the US, then shipping them to China to be processed, then shipping the meat back here for sale. Current US law only requires the label to indicate the country of origin, not the country of processing. I find that much more distressing than GMO food. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2014, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gmo-foods-no-one-can-seriously-dispute-what/694571/24 "2014-08-01T23:31:35Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > No kidding. Another thing I would like to know before GMO content is where my poultry and pork is being processed. Apparently, producers have figured out how to make a profit by raising chickens and pigs in the US, then shipping them to China to be processed, then shipping the meat back here for sale. Current US law only requires the label to indicate the country of origin, not the country of processing. I find that much more distressing than GMO food. Is that true? I had no idea. The thought of China handling anything related to fresh food is worrisome. Do they have to meet USDA/FDA regs? ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2014, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gmo-foods-no-one-can-seriously-dispute-what/694571/25 "2014-08-02T00:02:39Z")
> [@IvoryTowerDenizen](#): > > Is that true? I had no idea. The thought of China handling anything related to fresh food is worrisome. Do they have to meet USDA/FDA regs? I just received a response to an email on this very subject I sent to my US Senator, Jean Shaheen (D-NH): > [@](#): > > Thank you for contacting my office about poultry processed in China. I appreciate hearing from you about this issue. > > I share your concern about the importance of keeping our country’s food supply safe. Currently, poultry slaughtered in China cannot be exported to the United States. However, after assessing the security of China’s poultry processing system, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced that poultry slaughtered in the U.S. could be shipped to China for processing. Additional testing and certification remains needed before any poultry processed in China can be shipped to the United States. > > Federal law requires the labeling of the country of origin for poultry, as well as for beef, pork, lamb, goat meat, wild and farm-raised fish and shellfish, perishable agricultural commodities, peanuts, pecans, ginseng and macadamia nuts imported and sold in the U.S. \*\*No law currently requires the labeling of the country where these products are processed, \*\*but I will be sure to keep your thoughts in mind should the Senate consider any related legislation. > > Please be assured I will continue to monitor this situation closely, and thank you again for sharing your thoughts with me. Please do not hesitate to contact me again with any future questions or concerns. Bolding mine. ---
**Author:** ![watchwolf49](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e9c0ed/32.png) [@watchwolf49](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/watchwolf49)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2014, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gmo-foods-no-one-can-seriously-dispute-what/694571/26 "2014-08-02T00:52:57Z")
I, for one, am glad the bottles of Round-Up I buy are “safety seal for [my] protection”. I’d hate for someone to slip a poison in there without me knowing. The alternative to all this is to grow your own food … it’s not difficult by any means. There may be seed companies in your community that even specialize in non-hybred seeds. Books and books and books in your library on how to grow a garden organically. It’s hard work, but you’ll know exactly where your food comes from. ---
**Author:** ![PaulParkhead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ea924/32.png) [@PaulParkhead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PaulParkhead)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2014, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gmo-foods-no-one-can-seriously-dispute-what/694571/27 "2014-08-02T01:43:52Z")
> [@IvoryTowerDenizen](#): > > Is that true? I had no idea. The thought of China handling anything related to fresh food is worrisome. Do they have to meet USDA/FDA regs? Partially related [Snopes](http://www.snopes.com/food/warnings/smithfield.asp) link. As I read that, it’s simply not worth anyone’s while to send live animals to China for slaughter and then re-import the meat. ---
**Author:** ![tracer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tracer/32/20578_2.png) [@tracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tracer)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2014, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gmo-foods-no-one-can-seriously-dispute-what/694571/28 "2014-08-02T01:44:11Z")
> [@watchwolf49](#): > > The alternative to all this is to grow your own food … it’s not difficult by any means. There may be seed companies in your community that even specialize in non-hybred seeds. Books and books and books in your library on how to grow a garden organically. > > It’s hard work, but you’ll know exactly where your food comes from. Growing enough food to fulfill all of your food needs, and all the food needs of the family you support (if you have kidlets), requires a hell of a lot of effort and a pretty sizable chunk of land. And that’s assuming you live in a place with good growing conditions. The beauty of real farms is that they take advantage of economies of scale, as well as the expertise necessary to grow a lot of food efficiently. If everyone had to grow their own food, most of the population would starve. ---
**Author:** ![tracer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tracer/32/20578_2.png) [@tracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tracer)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2014, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gmo-foods-no-one-can-seriously-dispute-what/694571/29 "2014-08-02T01:47:29Z")
Or to put it another way: There’s a huge difference between growing a few vegetables in a private garden to supplement your diet, and growing everything in your diet including the wheat for the flour, the sugar beets for the sugar, the eggs, etc… To say nothing of grinding the wheat, turning the sugar beets into sugar, etc… Uless you’re a farmer, when you say you “grow your own food”, you probably mean that you grow A LITTLE BIT of your own food. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2014, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gmo-foods-no-one-can-seriously-dispute-what/694571/30 "2014-08-02T03:24:32Z")
> [@PaulParkhead](#): > > Partially related [Snopes](http://www.snopes.com/food/warnings/smithfield.asp) link. > > As I read that, it’s simply not worth anyone’s while to send live animals to China for slaughter and then re-import the meat. If the email **Fear Itself** posted is true, it sounds like the animals are slaughtered here. I don’t understand how that’s profitable. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2014, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gmo-foods-no-one-can-seriously-dispute-what/694571/31 "2014-08-02T03:47:56Z")
> [@tracer](#): > > the sugar beets for the sugar Blasphemy! Cane sugar only, thenkewverymuch. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2014, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gmo-foods-no-one-can-seriously-dispute-what/694571/32 "2014-08-02T04:02:16Z")
> [@PaulParkhead](#): > > Partially related [Snopes](http://www.snopes.com/food/warnings/smithfield.asp) link. > > As I read that, it’s simply not worth anyone’s while to send live animals to China for slaughter and then re-import the meat. > [@IvoryTowerDenizen](#): > > If the email **Fear Itself** posted is true, it sounds like the animals are slaughtered here. I don’t understand how that’s profitable. China has been trying to get the rules changed for years. In 2013, China was approved to process chicken that was raised and slaughtered in the US. Here is the [FAQ on the timeline and regulations from the USDA website](http://www.fsis.usda.gov/wps/portal/fsis/newsroom/news-releases-statements-transcripts/news-release-archives-by-year/archive/2013/faq-china-08302013), and the money shot is here: > [@](#): > > This means that China is now approved to export processed chicken to the United States on the following conditions: > > The processed chicken product must be fully cooked prior to export; and > > No chickens raised or slaughtered in China are eligible for export to the United States, even if they are processed. ---
**Author:** ![PaulParkhead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ea924/32.png) [@PaulParkhead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PaulParkhead)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2014, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gmo-foods-no-one-can-seriously-dispute-what/694571/33 "2014-08-02T04:09:11Z")
> [@IvoryTowerDenizen](#): > > If the email **Fear Itself** posted is true, it sounds like the animals are slaughtered here. I don’t understand how that’s profitable. I have no reason to doubt **Fear Itself**. But unless there’s a super cheap way of sending live or slaughtered animals to China and then returning them to the USA, I’m just not buying this. That’s why I posted a Snopes link - this sounds like a story that has taken on a life of its own. There are plenty of processing places in the US, I assume. So unless the whole purpose of this suggested exercise is to send carcasses overseas in order to do unspeakable things to them, in a manner which will actually _increase_ the price of the finished product…I call shenanigans. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2014, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gmo-foods-no-one-can-seriously-dispute-what/694571/34 "2014-08-02T04:33:33Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > China has been trying to get the rules changed for years. In 2013, China was approved to process chicken that was raised and slaughtered in the US. Here is the [FAQ on the timeline and regulations from the USDA website](http://www.fsis.usda.gov/wps/portal/fsis/newsroom/news-releases-statements-transcripts/news-release-archives-by-year/archive/2013/faq-china-08302013), and the money shot is here: Please know that I’m not doubting your email. I just find it amazing- I think it highlights how cheap labor must really be. Sad. ---
**Author:** ![watchwolf49](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e9c0ed/32.png) [@watchwolf49](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/watchwolf49)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2014, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gmo-foods-no-one-can-seriously-dispute-what/694571/35 "2014-08-02T04:59:06Z")
> [@tracer](#): > > Growing enough food to fulfill all of your food needs, and all the food needs of the family you support (if you have kidlets), requires a hell of a lot of effort and a pretty sizable chunk of land. That’s what it takes to know what you’re eating. Otherwise, you don’t know what you’re eating, exactly. Do you trust the local supermarket? Do they trust their suppliers? Are the farmers to be trusted? I do … what could go wrong? ---
**Author:** ![penumbrage](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c77e96/32.png) [@penumbrage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/penumbrage)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2014, 5:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gmo-foods-no-one-can-seriously-dispute-what/694571/36 "2014-08-02T05:51:56Z")
There is another issue with GMO which can’t be resolved with common sense and rigorous scientific studies. How do you keep non-GMO foods pure? > **[HuffPost - Breaking News, U.S. and World News](https://www.huffpost.com/?err_code=404&err_url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.huffingtonpost.com%2F2013%2F06%2F04%2Fernest-barnes-kansas-monsanto_n_3384987.html)** > > Read the latest headlines, news stories, and opinion from Politics, Entertainment, Life, Perspectives, and more. Even if experimental leftovers, volunteer plants, food and seed handling and storage facilities are effectively isolated, what can you do when they can cross-pollinate? [http://www.agry.purdue.edu/ext/corn/news/articles.00/gmo\_issues-000307.html](http://www.agry.purdue.edu/ext/corn/news/articles.00/gmo_issues-000307.html) And (at least for Monsanto) when 1% cross-contamination is eventually surpassed, then the non-GMO farmers can be sued for patent infringement! > **[Farmers Lose To Monsanto In Seed Contamination Lawsuit](https://www.huffpost.com/entry/monsanto-wins-lawsuit_n_3417081)** > > Farmers Lose To Monsanto In Seed Contamination Lawsuit ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2014, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gmo-foods-no-one-can-seriously-dispute-what/694571/37 "2014-08-02T14:39:13Z")
The cross-pollination/“contamination” issue has a phony ring to it, seeing that all manner of plants cross-pollinate each other, whether GM/conventionally hybridized/organic/whatever. If you’re growing a field of conventionally bred corn next to a field of “heirloom” organic corn which “contaminates” a small percentage of your crop, should you be able to sue? Or just use common sense about creating a buffer strip so your crop remains as “pure” as possible? As to Monsanto supposedly suing people for accidentally having GM traits in their crop, the only such cases I’ve ever heard of involved farmers who [_deliberately_](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monsanto_Canada_Inc._v._Schmeiser) grew a GM crop without paying a royalty fee to Monsanto. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2014, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gmo-foods-no-one-can-seriously-dispute-what/694571/38 "2014-08-02T15:23:29Z")
My main concern with GM crops has to do with the continuing trend of food crops being mono cultures. If a fungus/virus is found that attacks these specific varieties of corn or soy, we can wipe out all the food producers out there. If more farmers grew a variety of strains of food crops the food supply would be better protected. As more large scale farms buy the same GM products, it further reduces the variety being grown. ---
**Author:** ![tracer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tracer/32/20578_2.png) [@tracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tracer)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2014, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gmo-foods-no-one-can-seriously-dispute-what/694571/39 "2014-08-02T15:23:42Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > Blasphemy! Cane sugar only, thenkewverymuch. If you’re trying to grow your own food, you’re gonna find it pretty difficult to grow sugarcane if you don’t live in the tropics. ---
**Author:** ![tracer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tracer/32/20578_2.png) [@tracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tracer)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2014, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gmo-foods-no-one-can-seriously-dispute-what/694571/40 "2014-08-02T15:27:03Z")
> [@penumbrage](#): > > There is another issue with GMO which can’t be resolved with common sense and rigorous scientific studies. How do you keep non-GMO foods pure? > [HuffPost - Breaking News, U.S. and World News | HuffPost](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/06/04/ernest-barnes-kansas-monsanto_n_3384987.html) > Even if experimental leftovers, volunteer plants, food and seed handling and storage facilities are effectively isolated, what can you do when they can cross-pollinate? > [Minimizing Pollen Drift & Commingling of GMO and non-GMO Corn Grain (Purdue Univ.)](http://www.agry.purdue.edu/ext/corn/news/articles.00/gmo_issues-000307.html) This **could** all have been prevented with Variety GURT (“terminator seed” technology) … except that the anti-GMO crowd was so vehemently opposed to Variety GURT that Monsanto never brought it to market. Shot themselves in the foot, they did. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gmo-foods-no-one-can-seriously-dispute-what/694571.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gmo-foods-no-one-can-seriously-dispute-what/694571.md?page=3)