GMO Barley

[Swazi]

I watched a disturbing documentary this morning about GMO crops and the threat to farmers by large Biotech companies introducing patented genetically modified seeds for staple crops. While I've heard of GMO, I'd never paid any attention to it or looked at what it was all about. It seems that there are trials going on at the moment with barley to research Fungal resistance, modified product characteristics (to improve use and efficiency in brewing) & herbicide tolerance.

It all seems a bit crazy to me and the fact that companies can patent something that can grow and spread through nature on its own doesn't sit well with me. I wouldn't be happy if GMO barley were to take over. Who would the modified characteristics benefit?

It's all a bit new to me, does anyone know any more about this stuff?
How does everyone else feel about this sort of thing?

 

[Cussword]

It all seems a bit crazy to me and the fact that companies can patent something that can grow and spread through nature on its own doesn't sit well with me.

I have to confess, when it's put like that I'm not entirely comfortable :nono:

 

[Laurin]

Hi Swazi
there are many things already been patented by companies such as Monsanto. They patent what they discover/find rather than what they invent. There is not enough testing been done yet to know what the impact of GMO is short- or long-term.
There are many interesting documentaries about it.

Check out: The world according to Monsanto & Patent for a pig if you want know more about it.

This topic can be really scary and sounds like science-fiction thriller, rather than real life.


Laurin

 

[pittsy]

i think i watched a programme somewhere about this , i think we dont have GMO in British farming as yet and its mostly in American Farming , i could be wrong but i also think its not allowed here (i hope) not totally sure i may of got this completely wrong

 

[Laurin]

I can't name a source now but I think there are testing fields and such in the UK and the rest of Europe, probably not many but I am quite sure there are a few.
The problem is also about genetically modified gene sequences from GMO crops contaminating ordinary crops. Lots of the plants get fertilised with spore via the air and you can not stop that efficiently enough to guarantee no cross contamination.

 

[johnnyboy1965]

Laurin has got this right. Once we/us/scientists/farmers introduce a GM strain to anything then it wont take long for the GM strain to take control. Darwin explained this to us. Once its in the system then its in, there is no way of taking it out. This is not a bad thing, though. Barley is just grass, its in the same family, but over millions of years its been cross-bred to create barley
What I have concerns about is desease tolerant crops

 

[Laurin]

Monsanto made organised crime legal, including extortion like actions against farmers all over the world. In areas in India where Monsanto predominantly provides the seeds people can not pay the debt back and suicide rate went up significantly.
The lobby work of the company made it possible that the GMO laws etc. could pass through the american food safety system with almost no problems.
Monsanto is also responsible for substances like Agent Orange and DDT. Agent Orange was used in the Vietnam War to defoliate trees and destroy crops and his highly carcinogenic; at the time Monsanto said it is totally safe. DDT is an insecticide which also cause cancer as well as having a huge environmental impact.

This topic is really interesting and more people should hear about it to create their own opinion on it. GMO is not a thing of the future it is one of the present.

 

[Swazi]

The issue covered by the doc I watched was the cross contamination of organic crops by the GMO crops and the issue of ownership that arose. The courts at the moment seem to side with the patent holder regardless of how the contamination occurred. The implication was that the farmer who thought he was growing organically had to hand over ownership of his crop (and all profits from the harvest) to the firm that owned the patent for the GMO breed that had infiltrated his crop.

Check out: The world according to Monsanto & Patent for a pig if you want know more about it.

I'll be sure to check these out...

 

[Good Ed]

We should ask our home brew suppliers if their grains are GMO free.

As someone who has grown organic vegetables commercially I am totally against GMO foodstuffs.

 

[Devonhomebrew]

For millions of years beer has been brewed and if the homo race were not satisfied they would stop making it but no they carried on so why in this day and age do we need to do tests on barley just leave nature alone and let it do what it has done for the whole time its evolved on this planet which is alot longer than what the homo race has ever lived not by a long shot.

Think about it this way if a calender year was the whole course of the earths existence the homo race only appeared on 31st december at 8pm so we have lived for about 4 hours scale that up well we are only very very young, so why do we need to learn everything about everything wouldnt it just be good to have no knowledge of a topic and just let nature do it.

I think im finished ranting.

 

[evanvine]

Can somebody tell me what the "O" in GMO stands for?

 

[Laurin]

GMO means Genetically Modified Organisms.

 

[evanvine]

Many thanks L :thumb:

 

[Morgan]

Monsanto is pure evil, they are trying to monetize the food chain and sadly the American courts are helping them. As Laurin said if a neighbouring farm is cross pollinated and some of their patented genes are present then they sue and usually win. If Monsanto has it's way then all worldwide seed and the foods produced from them will be licensed and they take a cut. Its a very scary path the USA is heading down and they seem to be dragging the rest of the world with them. It is quiet conceivable that due to cross pollination every plant in the world could pick up monsantos patented genes and therefore "belong" to them. Don;t get me started on the dangers and risks of having frog DNA and other Frankenstein genes spread into every single plant on the planet.

Again as Laurin mentioned they are trying to patent a pig, the patent is so broad that any aspect of pig breeding and pork farming would attact a royalty payable to Monsanto. really scary stuff, as BT corn has now proved not be resitant to rootworm, in fact in some cases has caused rootworms to evolve with immunity to the corn and produced a super worm that is far worse than the intial problem.

Anyhows enough of the ranting, time for another non GMO homebrew.

 

[Aleman]

Another problem with GMO crops is that the seeds are more often than not sterile and so if you want to grow the crop again . . .you have to by the seed again, rather than doing what most do and reserve a portion of this years crop for next year. . . . . Really acceptable for 3rd world countries. :twisted: :twisted: :twisted: :twisted: :twisted: :twisted: