Random GMO experiments (cross-pollination in the 'wild') is how all current food crops got improved throughout history. Now, we're doing it more deliberately. Which is seen as worse somehow, which is just FUD.
GMO can involve genes from a totally different species, like fish genes + plant genes. "Cross-pollination" refers to within a species.
Do you 2 pro-GMO people have any reason you think it's "FUD, plain and simple"? Is that the argument, that it's no different to what nature does? Just repeating "FUD" like that doesn't make it so.
It's very reminiscent of the blanket dismissals of nuclear power/waste "fears" one reads on here, suggesting there are only bad, emotional-based reasons to have issues with it. Since there are no actual reasons, they must be just fears. Simple. "FUD, plain and simple".
But there is rational uncertainty about GMO safety–how could there not be.
There's no such thing as 'genes from a species', same as there's no such thing as 'words from another book'. They're just words.
Further, mutation, cross-species gene sharing (which can happen simply by digesting another species), gene-hopping happen commonly in nature already.
Again, calling GMO evil while what happens in your backyard garden 'natural and good', is not good science. Its witchcraft, emotional, ignorant. Its FUD.
Inserting BT toxins into plants makes them insecticidal. Organic farmers use BT bacterial topically, but the BT toxin rinses off. Nobody has tested dietary BT toxin. There is no reason to assume systemic BT toxin is safe.
The same applies to numerous other compounds. Each needs to be tested individually. Safety of one tells you nothing about others.
Breeding varieties of edible plants gives you small variations on what they both had.
Most GMOs are much worse. Tolerance of Roundup exposes us to large amounts of Roundup, lately discovered carcinogenic. Nowadays most oats and chickpeas are coated with Roundup, because they are sprayed before harvest to speed drying. Not GMOs, but a problem.
I believe this was being debunked throughout this thread. The usual exaggeration and hyperbole. Instead of 'most', replace with 'some', 'little' or 'none'.
And again, all modern useful garden plants depend upon a serendipitous/random mutation in the past that introduced new genes into the line, duplicated genes for useful growth patterns, or hopped genes to where they do entirely new things for the plant. At random.
So really, none of that above was real science, but instead more careless Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt being thrown about.
