GM seeds are safe? Not so fast
The world has been consuming genetically altered seeds for nearly 30 years, and as Robert Arnason noted in his article of April 3, (Scientific truth on life support), the debate on safety goes on, noting that a 2016 report concluded, “there is no substantiated evidence that GM crops are more risky than conventional crops. This comprehensive report should have settled this issue. It did not.”
It’s hard for me to believe that the technology of altering a seed’s internal structure can be interpreted as being a scientific understanding.
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The classical definition of science is the understanding of a process, and while over the preceding three decades I have read many opinion pieces and articles where the authors have claimed that the technology of genetic manipulation is safe, I have yet to read an article that explains how this is a scientific truth.
As a farmer, my responsibility is to the long-term stability and survival of seeds. I believe that seeds have their own sense of engagement with the world they live in, and when we use technology to alter a seed’s future, we alter our future.
Science understands that change produces change, and when we talk about the “safety” of genetically altering a seed’s future, we are engaging in speculation, in much the same way brokers speculate on future market trends. There is always the influence of the unknown.
Wayne James,
Beausejour, Man.
