Sparked by a recent jump from glass to plastic wine bottles by UK grocery giant Marks & Spencer, the debate between which is better for good ol` mother earth.Recent findings by Robert Kremer, a U.S. government microbiologist and other agricultural scientists are raising fresh concerns about Monsanto's products and the Washington agencies that oversee them.
"This could be something quite big. We might be setting up a huge problem," said Kremer, who expressed alarm that regulators were not paying enough attention to the potential risks from biotechnology on the farm, including his own research."We don't have a robust enough regulatory system to be able to give us a definitive answer about whether these crops are safe or not. We simply aren't doing the kinds of tests we need to do to have confidence in the safety of these crops," said Doug Gurian-Sherman, a scientist who served on a FDA biotech advisory subcommittee from 2002 to 2005.(Reuters)
Keep in mind that it is not the law in North America to label goods that have been produced with GMO crops. For more info on the issue, check out this cbc article...
It is commonly quoted that by 2030 the world needs to increase it's food production by 50% or double by 2050.
But, it appears that is incorrect. The actual amount is 70%. In a report from the soil association,'reveals that all those claiming we need to double global food production by 2050, or 50% by 2030, are wrong about the figures, are wrong about what the figures apply to, and are wrong to claim that achieving these figures will mean we will feed the hungry or end starvation.'These claims are being used to justify huge increases in industrial farming, specifically in continued production in genetically modified crops.
Peter Melchett, Soil Association policy director, said:
“The ‘big fat lie’ of needing to double global food production by 2050 has dominated policy and media discussions of food and farming, making it increasingly difficult for advocates of sustainable farming methods, such as organic, to convince people we can actually feed the world without more damage to the environment and animal welfare.
Why it's bad: it is an Endocrine Disruptor,essentially it alters hormone regulation,which can effect natural growth patterns. Studies have also shown that it can also make bacteria resistant to antibiotics.
There has been a movement to have the FDA demand that it be removed from consumer products and only recently has there been any response, the have begun to look into the possibility of having regulations changed.
