Re: SOC/BIO: Rifkin's "worldwide moratorium" on genetically modified organisms

From: Harvey Newstrom (mail@HarveyNewstrom.com)
Date: Mon Jul 31 2000 - 15:34:03 MDT


"Michael S. Lorrey" <retroman@turbont.net> wrote:
> Actually, there is no evidence that butterflies are harmed by pesticides
> produced by plants in the field, and evidence to the contrary has been
pretty
> overwhelming that the 'sky is falling' whines of the anti-GM greenies is
> unfounded in any way.

I was under the impression that it was pretty well established that the GM
wheat was poisonous to Monarch butterflies, even though it was designed to
have pesticides that would not harm butterflies. The concern was not for
the "poor Monarch butterfly", but that the intended design parameters
obviously didn't work as expected in the final product. The plant is still
considered safe for human consumption, but anti-GMs still quote this as
evidence that unexpected side-effects can and do occur with GM foods, as
with any new technology.

This is from memory of popular media reports (and we all know how accurate
they are!). References to real facts would be welcomed.

--
Harvey Newstrom <http://HarveyNewstrom.com>
IBM Certified Senior Security Consultant and Legal Hacker.
Engineer, Research Scientist, Public Speaker and Author.
Extropy Institute Benefactor since the last millennium.



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