GMO's Good Or Bad?

Genetically Engineered Organisms and Genetically Modified Organisms are not the same thing. As new GMO bills come into Law, we will find ourselves not being able to buy any Genetically Modified Crops at all!  Why? Because they are  all grouped together right along with the dangerous types of GMO's. What? There are good types of GMO's?  GMO's fall under several classifications: Natural mutations show up in nature on their own, Open-Pollinated are either self pollinated or thru specific cross pollination with certain traits in mind thru controlled cross-breeding within proper species, some open pollinated varieties are  (being my favorite vegetable) for example the Bloomsdale spinach or Sugar Snaps or Super sweet Corn, to name a few. Traditional hybrids arise from controlled cross-breeding to achieve a certain trait of the parent for example Sweet 100 Tomato is actually a traditional hybrid achieved thru GMO techniques as is also Many types of Arugula, Squash, Pumpkin, Watermelon and so on. You can see that the above list can be extensive and as such these types of GMO's must not be included in any new laws that are intended to govern the next type of GMO's called Genetically Engineered.

I have been doing my radio show called "Dont Panic Its Organic" for over 38 years now and around 1984 I started talking about GMO's. I read that in 1982 – FDA Approved the  First GMO: Humulin, an insulin produced by genetically engineered E. coli bacteria then same year it appears on the market and then by 1994 – GMO Hits Grocery StoresThe U.S. Food and Drug Administration approves the Flavr Savr tomato for sale. It was in 1996 that   GMO-Resistant Weed were detected in Australia.

All during this time, I was trying to tell folks that these are the types of GMO's that we must be aware of. Genetically engineered GMO's fall into three categories: First there is rDNA: DNA that have been altered by joining of two different types of genes in the test tube. Think BT ready corn or  Round-up ready Corn. Then there is Protoplast fusions:joining two cells of two different plants that would not normally join in nature. Another category is Chemical or radiation induced mutations: these are spices that are either through chemical or through the use of exposing them to radiation, the plants seeds produce a mutation of the parent(s).  These three types of GMO's are called "Transgenic" and it is these that we must be careful in what we allow to happen and what we do not want to happen. These transgenic GMO's can have devastating effects on all living things right down to what is growing below in the ground.

A good example of how GMO's can help mankind is a recent discovery of a GMO banana that has no chemicals in the DNA is is one of the Genetically-engineered carotene-enriched 'super' banana. I have read all that I could find and it does not saying anything about chemicals of any kind being added and if this is so, it will be good for mankind but if it is another way to allow Round-Up ready bananas it is not. So did the writer get it straight that it is a Genetically Engineered Banana or is it a Genetically modified organism? That would make a difference.

You can hear this article live on my latest radio show

Any questions? Email me andy@invisiblegardener.com response next article

 Andy Lopez

Invisible Gardener