Genetically modified organisms is NOT the same thing as selective breeding

[BhForce]

On 4/19/2017 at 9:42 PM, simran345 said:

I don't know why but red carrots kept coming to mind today and it's been bugging me as to why they are red in India, and if they get orange carrots or not?  Lol I know of all the things to think about gajaran/carrots come to mind ?.  So I did a search on Google,coz it's still bugging me why they don't have orange carrots in India or do they? 

I just wanted to add this short note on genetically-modified organisms (GMOs). The issue of multi-colored variants of a single species leads naturally to the thought, often expressed, that GMOs are not bad because humans have been genetically modifying organisms since forever, and it is through genetic modification that we got different colored carrots.

Well, I vehemently disagree! In the case of colored carrots, humans are simply mixing different combinations of already existing genetic information within the carrots through selective breeding. A monster chimera can't come into existence just because of certain safeguards placed by either God or (if you don't believe in God) nature.

This is much different from a genetically modified organism:

A genetically modified organism, or GMO, is an organism that has had its DNA altered or modified in some way through genetic engineering. In most cases, GMOs have been altered with DNA from another organism, be it a bacterium, plant, virus or animal; these organisms are sometimes referred to as "transgenic" organisms.  

Or, from an anti-GMO site:

A GMO, or genetically modified organism, is a plant, animal, microorganism or other organism whose genetic makeup has been modified using recombinant DNA methods (also called gene splicing), gene modification or transgenic technology. This relatively new science creates unstable combinations of plant, animal, bacterial and viral genes that do not occur in nature or through traditional crossbreeding methods. Visit the What is GMO page for more information and a list of high-risk crops.

https://www.nongmoproject.org/gmo-facts/

Now, the reason I mention all of this, is because as Sikhs, we should naturally be concerned with what we're putting into our bodies, since it's a temple of God (Harimandir). Of course, there's nothing in Gurbani specifically addressing GMOs, but if you just take a basic proposition of Sikhism (that the world is running in accordance to Kaam, Krodh, Lobh, Moh, Hankar), then you can see that the entire impetus for GMOs is the Lobh (greed) of giant agribusinesses like Monsanto and Cargil.

Most corn in the US and Canada is GMO. Then they also take it and make High-Fructose Corn Syrup out of it, which becomes the sweetener in your Coca-Cola. Something to avoid. In our homeland, most bangan (eggplant) is GMO--referred to as "BT Bangan" (BT for bio-technology). Please avoid to whatever extent possible, and definitely not suitable for Guru's Langar.

 

[simran345]

7 hours ago, BhForce said:

I just wanted to add this short note on genetically-modified organisms (GMOs). The issue of multi-colored variants of a single species leads naturally to the thought, often expressed, that GMOs are not bad because humans have been genetically modifying organisms since forever, and it is through genetic modification that we got different colored carrots.

Well, I vehemently disagree! In the case of colored carrots, humans are simply mixing different combinations of already existing genetic information within the carrots through selective breeding. A monster chimera can't come into existence just because of certain safeguards placed by either God or (if you don't believe in God) nature.

This is much different from a genetically modified organism:

A genetically modified organism, or GMO, is an organism that has had its DNA altered or modified in some way through genetic engineering. In most cases, GMOs have been altered with DNA from another organism, be it a bacterium, plant, virus or animal; these organisms are sometimes referred to as "transgenic" organisms.  

Or, from an anti-GMO site:

A GMO, or genetically modified organism, is a plant, animal, microorganism or other organism whose genetic makeup has been modified using recombinant DNA methods (also called gene splicing), gene modification or transgenic technology. This relatively new science creates unstable combinations of plant, animal, bacterial and viral genes that do not occur in nature or through traditional crossbreeding methods. Visit the What is GMO page for more information and a list of high-risk crops.

https://www.nongmoproject.org/gmo-facts/

Now, the reason I mention all of this, is because as Sikhs, we should naturally be concerned with what we're putting into our bodies, since it's a temple of God (Harimandir). Of course, there's nothing in Gurbani specifically addressing GMOs, but if you just take a basic proposition of Sikhism (that the world is running in accordance to Kaam, Krodh, Lobh, Moh, Hankar), then you can see that the entire impetus for GMOs is the Lobh (greed) of giant agribusinesses like Monsanto and Cargil.

Most corn in the US and Canada is GMO. Then they also take it and make High-Fructose Corn Syrup out of it, which becomes the sweetener in your Coca-Cola. Something to avoid. In our homeland, most bangan (eggplant) is GMO--referred to as "BT Bangan" (BT for bio-technology). Please avoid to whatever extent possible, and definitely not suitable for Guru's Langar.

 

Thank you for this, this is what I wanted to know. How the different colour carrots are grown. GMOs aren't good, but I'm not very knowledgeable on these, and how difficult it would be to avoid them. But it's worth looking into more. Thanks.