GM food

[Wij]

And it would be if it had been made the traditional way.

 

[rynnor]

And it would be if it had been made the traditional way.

Regardless tbh - how many local varieties of rice do you think there are and how many do you think these golden rice guys will support?

Edit - wiki says over 40,000 varieties - but you still think GM wont threaten diversity amongst rice varieties right?

 

[Wij]

40,000 is not achievable but there will still be diversity. Where's your sweet spot of strains or should we just not attempt to improve any crops by conventional or GM means?

If we hadn't started to use better crops in the last century due to fears about reductions in diversity the green revolution would have been impossible and we could nowhere near feed the world as it is now. That's certain, not an unquantified risk.

 

[rynnor]

40,000 is not achievable but there will still be diversity. Where's your sweet spot of strains or should we just not attempt to improve any crops by conventional or GM means?

If we hadn't started to use better crops in the last century due to fears about reductions in diversity the green revolution would have been impossible and we could nowhere near feed the world as it is now. That's certain, not an unquantified risk.

Yes - sadly we are pretty much stuck - the best thing about GM is that it could potentially save us from a monoculture type disaster like the potatoe famine - the down side is that a lot of people would probably have already starved.

The best thing we could do as a species other than slowing our population growth would be to broaden our diets and not rely too much on a few staples like rice/wheat/potatoes etc. since this is an inherently risky dependancy.

 

[Job]

There's plenty of food, we throw a third of it away and the rest makes most of the western world fat.

 

[Wij]

There's plenty of food, we throw a third of it away and the rest makes most of the western world fat.

Not the most accurate picture. Most people in the world do not waste much food and if they do it's through lack of storage, education and the right crops in the right place. The USA and Western Europe aren't the best representation of the world. The green revolution has increased food/hectare yield far beyond the level that fat westerners are wasting.

 

[Job]

I mean the consumer, the landfills are full of food..fucking billlions of tonnes of it, top notch, nutritious food, just scrapped off the plate.

 

[Wij]

Yes - sadly we are pretty much stuck - the best thing about GM is that it could potentially save us from a monoculture type disaster like the potatoe famine - the down side is that a lot of people would probably have already starved.

The best thing we could do as a species other than slowing our population growth would be to broaden our diets and not rely too much on a few staples like rice/wheat/potatoes etc. since this is an inherently risky dependancy.

It is yes, and done with a little foresight, GM food can only help here.

 

[Wij]

I mean the consumer, the landfills are full of food..fucking billlions of tonnes of it, top notch, nutritious food, just scrapped off the plate.

Over here yes, but it isn't all wasted anyway. Piggies, compost and methane capture on landfill all benefit from food waste but as I said western food waste will not solve food crises elsewhere in the world. Indeed it's a symptom of the success in improving yield in poorer parts of the world. They have enough food to export cheap food to us.

 

[Scouse]

Not the most accurate picture.

...just one hundred little martyrs...

 

[rynnor]

...just one hundred little martyrs...

As stated last time its bullshit - a lot of poverty is political and since poverty is a subjective measure it will never go away - Oxfam doesnt want it to go because its directors would be out of overpaid jobs so having an unachievable target suits them perfectly.

 

[Wij]

...just one hundred little martyrs...

Charity becomes political and says nothing about food waste vs food need worldwide.

Buh?