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Japan and South Korea Bar Imports of U.S. Wheat

Rainman05

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http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/01/b...nd-south-korea-bar-us-wheat-imports.html?_r=0

Japan and South Korea suspended some imports of American wheat, and the European Union urged its 27 nations to increase testing, after the United States government disclosed this week that a strain of genetically engineered wheat that was never approved for sale was found growing in an Oregon field.
Although none of the wheat, developed by Monsanto Company, was found in any grain shipments — and the Department of Agriculture said there would be no health risk if any was shipped — governments in Asia and Europe acted quickly to limit their risk.

The European Union, which has a “zero tolerance” approach to genetically modified crops, said through its consumer protection office Friday that if any shipments tested positive, they would not be sold.

The United States is the world’s biggest exporter of wheat. While genetically engineered corn and soybeans are routinely grown, they are largely consumed by animals, while wheat is consumed directly by people and has faced more consumer resistance.

Japan and Mexico are among the biggest importers of American wheat. The European Union imports more than one million tons each year, mostly to Spain.

You can go to the link. I left the unimportant parts out. Read the link for all the info.

Anyway. I don't trust GMOs but I don't mistrust them completely. Technically, we, humanity, have been crossbreeding plants and vegetables and animals to get the desirable traits from them. GMOs are just the XXIth century way of doing that. But we have to wonder... has it gone to far? What are the risks? Who has oversight and reports if abuses are made? So while I don't mistrust the science behind creating genetically modified organisms (here, crops), I mistrust the people who are behind it.

What do you guys think about GMOs and about the fact that several countries have banned wheat imports from the USA for fear of GMO contaminated shipments of crops.
 
The risk is how the new genetic code is inserted into the plant. Cross breeding is done without any 'help' but most engineered plants have had a 'stripped' virus used to implant the new genetic material. In a crude way it is like giving the plant the flu which implants some new genetic material instead of the sniffles.

The worry is an improperly prepared virus carrier can still be active and cause problems if enough of them get into the food supply, the process to make the virus carrier isn't a one virus at a time manual process.

Some 'frankenfood' scares seem overblown but the East and Europe have had a constant litany of grievances with US food. Most treaties prevent outright embargoes and tariffs to protect domestic grain production so very strict regulations help slow the importation of US grain. Our beef gets tagged quite a bit for a variety of reasons.

Most bans don't last long enough to affect prices but as the wheat harvest is just now kicking off in SW Ok I am sure many farmers are just shaking their heads at one more ding in their profit margin.
 
The risk is how the new genetic code is inserted into the plant. Cross breeding is done without any 'help' but most engineered plants have had a 'stripped' virus used to implant the new genetic material. In a crude way it is like giving the plant the flu which implants some new genetic material instead of the sniffles.

The worry is an improperly prepared virus carrier can still be active and cause problems if enough of them get into the food supply, the process to make the virus carrier isn't a one virus at a time manual process.

Some 'frankenfood' scares seem overblown but the East and Europe have had a constant litany of grievances with US food. Most treaties prevent outright embargoes and tariffs to protect domestic grain production so very strict regulations help slow the importation of US grain. Our beef gets tagged quite a bit for a variety of reasons.

Most bans don't last long enough to affect prices but as the wheat harvest is just now kicking off in SW Ok I am sure many farmers are just shaking their heads at one more ding in their profit margin.

"The worry?" Who is worried about this, and what is the scientific basis for this concern?
 
LOL...

What if it was a natural hybrid of its surroundings?
 
Interesting story on the issue:

GMO Wheat Found In Oregon Field. How Did It Get There?

snippets:

Fast forward eight years. About a month ago, a farmer in eastern Oregon noticed some wheat plants growing where he didn't expect them, and they didn't die when he sprayed them with Roundup.

The farmer sent samples of these curious plants to , a scientist at Oregon State University who has investigated other cases in which genetically engineered crops spread beyond their approved boundaries.

She found that this wheat was, in fact, genetically engineered. She passed samples on to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which confirmed her results.

In 2006, traces of genetically engineered rice — also unapproved — were discovered in large parts of the American rice harvest. That discovery shut down America's rice exports to some countries. Exporters lost millions of dollars. The wheat harvest is much bigger.

Steve Mercer, from U.S. Wheat Associates, says there's no indication that this will happen to wheat. Right now, it's just a few isolated plants growing in eastern Oregon.
 
This is nothing more than fear mongering to protect domestic agricultural interests. It has been going on for years. The scientific consensus is entirely on the side of GM crops and has been for years, it is overwhelming. Europe has been the worst in this regard, it has a much larger and more culturally ingrained agricultural tradition and strong special interests especially in Western Europe. They have done their best to gin up fear against GMO's in an effort to prevent an agricultural FTA and to keep US and Canadian products off their shelves. It's extremely unfortunate especially since it has done so much damage in the developing world.
 
Don't have much concerns over GMO's. We've been doing this for centuries, now it is just more accurate, and there is less chance for risks to my knowledge. But I distrust that evil ****ing pile of **** company Monsanto with a every fiber of my being. The way they have congress wrapped around their finger is sickening.
 
This is nothing more than fear mongering to protect domestic agricultural interests. It has been going on for years. The scientific consensus is entirely on the side of GM crops and has been for years, it is overwhelming. Europe has been the worst in this regard, it has a much larger and more culturally ingrained agricultural tradition and strong special interests especially in Western Europe. They have done their best to gin up fear against GMO's in an effort to prevent an agricultural FTA and to keep US and Canadian products off their shelves. It's extremely unfortunate especially since it has done so much damage in the developing world.
I don't think there is a problem with GMO's either. But what if there is? We have had so little time to see since they were developed.
 
I don't think there is a problem with GMO's either. But what if there is? We have had so little time to see since they were developed.

We've had almost 20 years and thousands of scientific studies not to mention common sense.
 
The wheat didn't die when they sprayed it with ROUND-UP???? Yep, Frankenfood. Holy crap.

That is the whole point! It's engineered to be resistant to glyphosate herbicides like Round-Up so that farmers can use the herbicides broadly to clear their fields without damaging their crops. It increases crop yields by reducing the amount of product lost to infestation and pests while increasing your potential area of arable land in developing countries that have unique or large insect problems.
 
Everything we eat is genetically modified. It's called evolution.
 
The wheat didn't die when they sprayed it with ROUND-UP???? Yep, Frankenfood. Holy crap.

At least you have sense. :thumbs:
 
I do not trust GMO's any more then I trust anything else where large amounts of money are involved. Look at the health hazards of processed foods yet our government still allow them to be produced and eaten because its good business. I wouldnt be at all surprised that in 20 years time we find that some GMO's lead to all sorts of health issues, and that being the approved crops. There have been several instances now where unapproved crops have found there way into our food supply. That is a scary thought.

GMOs also have their downsides. Here is an example of one side effect partially related to GMO's.

Dirt Poor: Have Fruits and Vegetables Become Less Nutritious?: Scientific American

but it is true that fruits and vegetables grown decades ago were much richer in vitamins and minerals than the varieties most of us get today. The main culprit in this disturbing nutritional trend is soil depletion: Modern intensive agricultural methods have stripped increasing amounts of nutrients from the soil in which the food we eat grows. Sadly, each successive generation of fast-growing, pest-resistant carrot is truly less good for you than the one before.

They studied U.S. Department of Agriculture nutritional data from both 1950 and 1999 for 43 different vegetables and fruits, finding “reliable declines” in the amount of protein, calcium, phosphorus, iron, riboflavin (vitamin B2) and vitamin C over the past half century. Davis and his colleagues chalk up this declining nutritional content to the preponderance of agricultural practices designed to improve traits (size, growth rate, pest resistance) other than nutrition

I have also read several cases where GMO's were believed to have serious health issues when given to livestock and test animals. I will point out these are probably strains not approved for human consumption but as I mentioned above sometimes the stuff gets mixed up and finds its way into the human market.
 
The risk is how the new genetic code is inserted into the plant. Cross breeding is done without any 'help' but most engineered plants have had a 'stripped' virus used to implant the new genetic material. In a crude way it is like giving the plant the flu which implants some new genetic material instead of the sniffles.

The worry is an improperly prepared virus carrier can still be active and cause problems if enough of them get into the food supply, the process to make the virus carrier isn't a one virus at a time manual process.

Some 'frankenfood' scares seem overblown but the East and Europe have had a constant litany of grievances with US food. Most treaties prevent outright embargoes and tariffs to protect domestic grain production so very strict regulations help slow the importation of US grain. Our beef gets tagged quite a bit for a variety of reasons.

Most bans don't last long enough to affect prices but as the wheat harvest is just now kicking off in SW Ok I am sure many farmers are just shaking their heads at one more ding in their profit margin.
Im scared of "them" making food grow with less and less nutrients and have less requirements for tending/upkeep or quicker yield. Cheaper/more efficient food production with more monetary rewards at the expense of common people filling their stomachs with frivolous food that never actually nurtures them. Like hollow "filler" foods.

Not sure if my fear is sound or not as ive never even researched genetically modified foods. But if they engineer an ear of corn that grows to the same size yet requires half the soil and fuel for growth wouldn't that corn not be as wholesome in the end?
 
The wheat didn't die when they sprayed it with ROUND-UP???? Yep, Frankenfood. Holy crap.

And Round-Up is made my Monsanto. The only question is, why haven't they sued the farmer yet?
 
I don’t have a problem with GMOs themselves. I think ultimately they can feed the world. My issues are with the business practices that arise as a result of them.
 
Don't have much concerns over GMO's. We've been doing this for centuries, now it is just more accurate, and there is less chance for risks to my knowledge.

We've been crossing corn with bacteria via viral or physical DNA splicing so as to create a cross-kingdom hybrid with an antibiotic splice as the culture mechanism? We've been producing millions of plants with the exact same DNA, totally wiping out a variety's biodiversity? We've been creating herbicide resistant plants with the ability to spawn super-weeds? We've been creating plants that go with specific pesticides sold by the same company, creating a cycle of dependence?

Because, ya know, I'm pretty sure all that stuff is very new.

And if all that stuff has been going on for centuries, why does Monsanto own the seed/IPR now when they just played with it for a few minutes?
 
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Im scared of "them" making food grow with less and less nutrients and have less requirements for tending/upkeep or quicker yield. Cheaper/more efficient food production with more monetary rewards at the expense of common people filling their stomachs with frivolous food that never actually nurtures them. Like hollow "filler" foods. Not sure if my fear is sound or not as ive never even researched genetically modified foods. But if they engineer an ear of corn that grows to the same size yet requires half the soil and fuel for growth wouldn't that corn not be as wholesome in the end?

depends- IF the plant can be made more efficient in the use of water in particular, added nutrients as well, then the quality doesn't slump. Think of it more like improving the MPG in a vehicle by working on the engine rather than making the body out of paper. The earliest work was for drought resistance and insect attack, splicing in genes to boost those traits.

Since most grain has an animal feed value, making it less nutritious doesn't seem profitable. Not a master baker but I do believe poor value grain doesn't bake as well. I do know at the farmer's point of sale grain quality affects the money paid for the crop. Poor grain is suitable only as animal feed and not given top dollar by the elevator or the feedlot.

I'd look at the food processors for any sign of making what we eat 'filler'.
 
Don't have much concerns over GMO's. We've been doing this for centuries, now it is just more accurate, and there is less chance for risks to my knowledge. But I distrust that evil ****ing pile of **** company Monsanto with a every fiber of my being. The way they have congress wrapped around their finger is sickening.

Not at the molecular level we haven't. Only natural cross-breeding.

Alabama Jury Says Monsanto Polluted Town - NYTimes.com

Why does our government trust Monsanto?
 
I wonder how many people here even know that wheat was a genetic mutation of goat grass.

Or that husbandry is a form of genetic manipulation.

Or the we got modern dogs by messing about with the genome for wolves.

Or what horses looked like before we altered them.

Man has been a genetic engineer since long before we know that there were genes.

Oh, well the Gullible need their boogeymen to keep them from exposing their minds to real threats.
 
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I believe the seeds are sterile and must be replaced each growing season (from Monsanto, etc)
:eek:

No, "terminator gene" crops have never been used.
 
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