GMOs are a huge part of global agriculture today, yet it exists with very little oversight and no protection for natural varieties. In fact, at least int he US, the laws tend to protect GMO crops over natural varieties. What is your opinion about how to move forward with GMO? How much level of protection and safeguard do we need? Are there types of GMO that are okay, or limits to what should be accepted?
I know that in the US, GMOs are patented which can often make it difficult to research. At the university I work at in Mexico, we have an agro-genomics program & the researchers study GMOs in controlled environments with secured systems in order to prevent any seeds being carried out on a researchers clothes (for example). This is not perfect because the research is not being done in the 'real-world' but they do use climate controls to mimic different weather patterns in order to study resilience and adaptability of different varieties. The hope amongst my colleagues is that some GMOs can reduce the quantity of pesticides used & increase resilience of the crops but currently GMOs are often used for financial gain rather than as a manner to promote healthy environments.
Thanks Erin. That is interesting to hear...I didn't realize that some were researching GMOs in secured setting such as that. I am much more familiar with the US model, where most of the testing is done outdoors and cross pollination quite rampant. I'm sure we are all familiar with the Monsanto stories of their genes cross pollinating and the farmers getting sued for "stealing" their patented genes. A dedicated group in Hawaii, where I am from, was trying to get Hawaii to pass a GMO free statute, so taht our isolated island could be a repository for natural plant selection. We felt that being a 100% GMO free environment might have some long term benefits for research, variety repositories, etc. but unfortunately Hawaii has taken a very different path, with GMO seed production now our biggest agricultural export.
It's also really cool to hear people trying to use GMO for beneficial qualities (i.e. lower pesticides) rather than profit (i.e. roundup ready).
Article Natural cross-pollination and the identification of hybrids ...
http://www.scielo.br/pdf/%0D/gmb/v23n3/4366.pdf
Article Natural cross-pollination and the identification of hybrids ...
https://dl.sciencesocieties.org/publications/aj/abstracts/29/8/AJ0290080644?access=0&view=pdf
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