Oh boy, GMO's are being discussed in /out/, time to put my grad school education into action (currently pursuing Master's in Food Chemistry, have a solid background in chemistry and agricultural science btw)
>>523860Says some studies conducted in reaction to a little thing that happened in Mexico. While I do not agree GMOs will be a "death knell" (that's just exaggeration), GMOs can very well propagate into the environment and cause the loss of genetic biodiversity as they reproduce with other native plants. For more info, search "teosinte and GMOs." I have an excellent book lying around which describes that particular case with excellent objectivity.
>>523863No one will ever spray a forest or non-designated agricultural land with Monsanto's famous Round-Up herbicide. Its bulk sale is tightly monitored, and the amount of damage you can potentially do with a pallet of Round-up you bought from Costco is very limited. Round-up targets specific plant species' biochemistry (such as protein synthesis) and many plants or tress will not see much damage from its use - think of your garden and weed killers.
>>523876Do not confuse evolution with adaption. Animals will quickly adapt. Insects are interesting however. I do not know much about them, but I do know they adapt very quickly. Remember the case of butterflies and Bt corn? No? I'll give you a link or reference to read in a bit.
>>523879>>523885>>523900>>523891You're all right to a degree. There are always risks with new technology. However, the ability to feed billions of people with our modern agricultural practices is CURRENTLY worth the risk. I am not saying we should continue these trends, yes, some pesticides persist in the environment. Other pesticides are degraded in months. Others in days. Keep in mind they are one of things keeping a steady food supply in the U.S. and around the world.