Monsanto and friends have also done research on the crops that now dominate the markets in the US, although there is evidence that they fudged on the results. New independent evidence indicates that their products actually require more chemicals (more cost to farmers, more pollution in waterways), do not yield more than bred crops, and do not have the nutritional value of traditional crops. The GM salmon that breed with normal salmon yield faster-growing fish with shorter lives and deformities – what will that do to the wild populations? If the genetic modifications did not yield fertile offspring, I would be much less hesitant to see these varieties released into the wild.

I am not totally opposed to genetic modification, but think that we must be much more cautious than we have been. Most of the papayas in Hawaii (and most of the ones with pinkish flesh rather than yellow flesh everywhere) are GMOs. The modification in that case was to make the plants resistant to a fungus that almost wiped out that industry. As for modifications that combat life-threatening illness, the cure would appear to be better than the alternative.

I think we as humans, tend to get stuck on the concept of GM, but these Mosquitos now feed on fruit instead of blood. Modification has its place… The doctor in California who was part of the team on modifying the HIV virus to kill cancer; a genetically modified virus is saving lives.

However, I do prefer my seeds grown from the earth instead of a lab.

Release of GM species into the wild is scarey stuff. Exhaustive research must be done prior to introduction of any transgenic species into the wild. Too many such species have been introduced with minimal research, thanks to the influence of companies such as Monsanto, Dow, and Syngensis in the US..