“For one thing, GM opponents often argue that the planting of GM foods is not a sustainable…”
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For one thing, GM opponents often argue that the planting of GM foods is not a sustainable agricultural practice. But according to Novella, that’s the wrong way to look at it. “GM is not agriculture…it is a tool,” he says. “The real question is how is it being used?”
Novella points to a commonly used GM crop known as Bt corn, which has been engineered to include a gene from the Bacillus thuringiensis bacterium that produces a pest-killing protein.
Unfortunately, Novella explains, the success of these GM crops can create perverse incentives to grow one type of plant exclusively. And just like with antibiotics, overuse of pest-resistant crops can lead to the creation of “super pests”—the agricultural counterpart of superbugs.
But according to Novella, the problem here isn’t the GM crops themselves, but rather how they are used. “There’s nothing inherent to…Bt crops that says you have to use them in the worst possible way,” he says. Rather, if farmers mix Bt and non-Bt crops, “it becomes one powerful tool in a box of tools” that can help them increase profits in a sustainable way. “If you’re just focusing on GM, you’re missing the big picture, in that you have to look at farming as a practice, of which genetic modification is just one tool,” he adds.
Genetic modification, Novella says, “is not the panacea, nor is it a menace; it’s just one more tool that has to be used intelligently.”
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No, GMOs Won’t Harm Your Health | Mother Jones (via dendroica)
I don’t think I’ve ever blogged about it here, but I’m a big fan of Steven Novella, the doctor being quoted in this article. His podcast, The Skeptic’s Guide to the Universe, helped keep me sane in my mega-commuter days.
Reposted from http://ift.tt/1ggKDeU.
