I really didnt understand how any of his post had anything to do with mine. I was kinda lost. Spork I want to understand so please feel free to post that somehow different.
@Burnsway:
I wasn't planning to write a novel about it. But perhaps more detail will make my point clearer. Do you remember how in the 1970's scientists were fearful of overpopulation because our agriculture could not support it? Scientists were actually predicting global starvation. Monsanto changed this. They engineered seeds by speeding nature's own techniques to produce greater crop yields and maximize the consumable product. Genetic modification is not necessarily problematic. We first had to observe that genes change in nature for us to become curious as to how we could nudge that process along to favor the traits we found desirable. It's basically human selection of a natural process. Mixing plant species is how we've produced fruits and vegetables free of viruses, plants that survive droughts, can withstand weed killer that would otherwise choke out desirable plants. Monsanto helped us to innovate crops that yield more and cost less. It helped us grow our food supply and streamline the business of farming.
Without genetic modifications, think about how much more land we would need to use to produce the same crop yield. More land use means more resources needed to farm it. More tractors, more fuel, more imported labor, more spraying to control weeds and pests. Without genetic modifications we would also be seeing our fruits and vegetables being sold at a higher cost. Since price is also a factor when people shop, we would see the cost of a healthier diet being even higher.
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