The Big Picture: Feeding Edge

[Rinkuta]

I agree to a point but there are some modified foods that gave this whole issue such a bad rep.

For example, there was a time when they put an ice water fish gene into tomatoes so it would survive frost better. This was because some fish have a type of blood that allows them to not freeze as easily and live in colder waters. It certainly sounded like a good idea-till a person with fish allergies suffered an allergic reaction to their salad.
Now i didn't say it was genetically modified foods because i'm not sure if this type of food modification is under the same title or not, but for people who panic before researching really aren't going to care are they? There are also some foods that don't have the same nutrition in them like they used to because of plants that were modified to grow more in quantity not quality.

And Frankenstein wasn't just considered mad because of the lightning thing. He dug up a bunch of graves and put a body together from scrap organs rotting in the ground and tried to animate it (and yes I read the book<3).

After saying that I still want to point out that I agree- and I love baby carrots o3o om nom.

 

[shiajun]

There are two types of genetic engineering being referred to here: going in and tweaking the genes already in the organism and on the other hand introducing genes not already in the organism. Both are Genetically Modified Organisms. "Salmon-tomatoes" fall under that category.

 

[C_Topher]

Also, this technically isn't a new technology. Since the 1960's, most of the world's insulin is produced by incorperating the human insulin gene into E. coli bacteria using similar techniques to those used to make GM foods. We've been doing this for 50 years, people. The only difference is now we're using it outside the medical field. While there are a few remaining kinks to be worked out (as with all science), the there is little to no reason to be worried about ANY GM food. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to eat my lunch.

I hate to be a real anal retentive, but insulin produced from genetically engineered E. coli does NOT date back to the 1960s. The technology (for insulin production) was developed in 1978, and the insulin manufactured by these processes didn't hit the market until the 1980s. Prior to that we were still harvesting pigs (and before that, cows) for insulin. Hell, restriction enzymes (which are the key to gene splicing) weren't even isolated until 1970.

Furthermore, your (inaccurate) boast that "we've been doing this for 50 years, therefore it's 100% safe" is a terrible (not to mention fallacious) argument. Just because we haven't had a serious problem yet doesn't mean we'll never have one. For example, it was 32 years between the first nuclear power station going online and the Chernobyl disaster.

http://www.gene.com/gene/news/press-releases/display.do?method=detail&id=4160
Alright, I'll admit I got the dates wrong. I should have known better seeing as I'm about to write a final exam on the topic in a couple of days. Still, 30 years is a pretty long time. And I'm actually a student to someone who worked in the lab that harvested the pig pancreases used to produce the majority of the Western world's insulin (located in Winnipeg, the more you know).
Also, I did NOT claim this is 100% safe. I'm well aware of the limitation of the technology, primarily the fact that the mechanisms for gene expression and regulation aren't fully understood yet despite how long they've been studied. While we still have a ways to go, that doesn't necessarily mean it's not safe to consume GM foods. It just means we need to be smart consumers.
Finally, DO NOT bring up Chernobyl. That was caused not by the technology but by the people using it: http://www-pub.iaea.org/MTCD/publications/PDF/Pub913e_web.pdf
Nuclear power is safe provided you don't screw around with safety protocols, so stop using it as the baseline for the evils of technology.

 

[SensibleCrout]

I just read keresak's comment [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/6.250609-The-Big-Picture-Feeding-Edge?page=5#9293181] and is much more informative than any other comment here and even the clip itself.

[ Click ] [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/6.250609-The-Big-Picture-Feeding-Edge?page=5#9293181]

 

[Psycho Cat Industries]

Reminds me of global warming and how we all laughed at it when it snowed in my area for the first time in ten years.Makes ya realize how true it is that ignorance is bliss

 

[ekaj19]

moviebob you are in fact the most entertaining thing on the internet that isnt porn. i look forward to watching your videos each week. keep up the good work

 

[Fuloqwam]

I have nothing to add to this discussion. I just wanted to pass along kudos on a interesting and fun topic.

My ex girlfriend used to lecture me about eating Genetically Modified Foods. I really wish we were still on speaking terms so I could use this to shut her up.

 

[ReiverCorrupter]

To summarize the more intelligent points in this thread.

1) Selective Breeding and genetic engineering are very different things.
2) Genetic engineering is far more unpredictable that breeding.
3) Genetic engineering is not inherently bad, and in fact can help to solve many problems.
4) Genetic engineering of food should continue, but it does need stricter regulation, and laws need to adapt so that companies cannot abuse the technology (as far as copyright laws etc.)

In conclusion. Bob is incorrect insomuch as there ARE legitimate concerns that accompany the new technology, but he is correct insomuch as we shouldn't fear it but rather lobby for regulation reform because it can ultimately be a cause of great good.

 

[ReiverCorrupter]

Still, 30 years is a pretty long time.

If you think 30 years is a long time in genetics, then you have a very, very long way to go in your studies. A hundred years from now, you might begin to see the results. 30 years is nothing.
I don't want to tell you that whatever your prof's telling you is wrong, but it doesn't take a masters degree or PHd to figure out that there are potentially some extreme long-term effects of messing with genes in any way.

It isn't the years that matter; it's the generations. 30 years is a LOT for bacteria, but nothing for man.

 

[Eicha]

Man, now I'm wondering how a Robo-Tomato would taste on a pizza.

Nice one Bob.

 

[Hyperguyver]

I so want me a Tomato-209.

 

[Twilight_guy]

Huh... nobody complains about food eugenics...

Nice video to clarify "genetic engineering" as "artificial selection." I think people still worry that guys in white coats are pumping chemicals into their food though.

 

[RoBi3.0]

I am sorry Bob, but you got this one wrong, really wrong. While a lot of people fear Genetically altered food for no reason, There is a reason why Genetically Engineered Food is worrisome.

First off there is a difference between animal husbandry that gradually happens over 100 hundreds of years and cloning an animal. Yes cloning counts as Genetically Engineered Food. The main point being it isn't a variation of a certain animal it is the same god damn animal. This is really a problem when it is small scale, but on a massive scale animal bloodline could disappear to the point where there is only really only one cow in existence, but thousands and thousands of copies of that cow.

Is eating cloned cow going to harm anyone? No, but the eradication of bovine bloodlines leaves that part of the food chain endanger of being wiped off the face of the map. At that point it would one take one type of disease that cloned cow is extremely vulnerable make those cows extinct, and if we only have cloned cow then we as humans are then fucked. This could in turn be applied to any food.

This example may seem extreme, but Genetic Engineering could lead to the destruction Biodiversity. Will it? I don't know, but I am sure not going to put my faith in humans beings acting responsibly, when the consequences for their actions will not be seen of decades.

Secondly, while Genetically altered food may not be harmful to humans we should still have the right to know that we are consuming it. This is one of the hot topics on the issue. The corporations responsible for genetically altered food endless lobby the government on state and federal levels so that Genetically altered food can go unlabeled as such.

If you are willing to completely turn over one of your most basic needs to a corporation, falsely believing that they have your best interests in mind, then there probably no help for you.

 

[Juliana Quant]

Biologist here, shaking my head. Sure, genetic engineering is the same as selective breeding if you don't think words should have meanings.

Taking genes from one organism and inserting them into the genome of an organism from a different kingdom is hardly "selective breeding." A fish is not going to mate with a tomato. That's why there is a different term for that.

Also, Monsanto screws over small farmers and wants to patent genetic code. GMO food means acres upon acres planted with "round-up ready" corn that is actually one genetic individual. It's a political issue and an ecological problem, and I don't want my grocery $$ to support the cause.

Sure, there are people out there who are just plain scared and you can mock them all you want. But really, it's not THAT simple and by pretending it is you seem just as ignorant.

 

[RoBi3.0]

Huh... nobody complains about food eugenics...

Nice video to clarify "genetic engineering" as "artificial selection." I think people still worry that guys in white coats are pumping chemicals into their food though.

Guys in white coats do pump chemicals into our food. Don't believe me Google Ammonia treated meat. It is a interesting process to say the least.

 

[Skunktrain]

Well, now I'm going to be up all night thinking about the looming attack of the killer tomatoes.
I'll be up all night studying for finals but now you know what I'm thinking about.

 

[FlyAwayAutumn]

And that's another win for science.

Spoiler: SCIENCE!