Steve I firmly believe that all GM's should be regarded as potentially dangerous in the regard towards cross breeding and also in the fact that the target of their modification my become immune to their modification. This requires education and management on the farmers part. I can expand on this with the use of a Non-GM crop. If that's what you want to call it. Amaranth was introduced into KS about 12 years ago by a "All Veggie" group who was wanting someone to grow the plant for them so they could make an all Veggie High Protein flour. It has taken over the entire area. Up to until the introduction of Round-up Ready corn their was no chemical we could use to control Amaranth. This non-GM weed (to us anyway) has cost us more money and lost production that any other single item I know of. Some say it has cross breed with the "Common Pig weed" to produce a chemically immune pig weed that is also extremely hard to control. If someone was to ask me if I would have been more concerned if amaranth would have been a GM, I would have to answer "I could not care less." Both of these weeds were created in hell by Satin himself.
Right now the USDA is working on a new variety of grain sorghum that will have a higher starch content. Through selective breeding but someday bio-technology as well. That will yield a higher alcohol yield per bushel of grain. To me this is just plain "GREAT" Someday we will drown the arab nations in alcohol. Send them back to just killing each other instead of including us. They will have to buy alcohol and biodiesel from us like we are buying crude oil from them now. Since they have no agriculture to speak of. But what really angers me through. No one can come up with a challenge that will stand up in court, many have tried and lost. It wasn't for the lack of money either, these anti everything environmental groups do seem to be very well financed. If someone could come up with a challenge that could stand up in court. Then I could believe it had some merit. I would back off GM's in a flash. But they can't, so then they start in with the mis-information crap. Keith had quite the series of articles awhile back regarding the mis-information on bio-diesel. So it is with all farm chemicals and now all GM's. The chemical Roundup breaks down completely in nature. It was originally produced from Caster Beans. Fact is Monsanto's patent on the Roundup Ready gene in corn and soybeans is being challenged because it exists naturally (some say) in both corn and soybeans. This would make this GM a naturally occurring plant if Monsanto ready did find this gene in corn and soybeans and not man made as the patent requires. So many of the new GM's require a very small amount of chemical, herbicide and insecticide. So little that they would have to be considered "Green" when compared to the other options available. Maybe someday their will be no chemicals or fertilizer required. They are working on this. The good has to be weighted against the bad and everything has both good and bad traits. I as a farmer do not like to use chemicals. I consider them to be dangerous but necessary. They are also very expensive and I don't like the idea that they have the potential to hurt the environment. I live here too you know. I would have to be considered "Environmental Friendly", most farmers are. It is good politics and good business to be as "Green" as possible. In fact, nothing would make me happier than to throw away all chemicals and non organic fertilizer. I would much rather grow 20 to 30 bushel corn for $10.00 per bushel than 175 to 200 bushel corn for $1.40 like it was last year. The reduced work on me and wear on my machines would be a bonanza. America's cheap food policy depends on agricultural chemicals, and increasingly on GM's as well. [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > I have nothing against gm crops, per se, based on my limited knowledge. What > irks me is when the "inventors" of such crops go after innocent farmers, > when the gm stuff starts cross breading in the wild. ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor ---------------------~--> Buy Stock for $4. No Minimums. FREE Money 2002. http://us.click.yahoo.com/BgmYkB/VovDAA/ySSFAA/FGYolB/TM ---------------------------------------------------------------------~-> Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Please do NOT send "unsubscribe" messages to the list address. To unsubscribe, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
