You are viewing a single comment's thread from:
RE: How some fruits and vegetables looked like before we changed them
Why unfortunately? Those plants were not changed for the worse.
Yep, the corn looks very very different, the current shape is something totally new.
Because in many cases they were changed genetically by a human. They do not look they way the nature made them.
Pretty much all of them don't look the way nature made them, the question is why is that a bad thing. Are modern carrots worse than the root thingy in the picture? Why do you think changed by humans necessarily means worse?
Well... my little brain tells me that is if something is genetically changed (GMO) to make it bigger or grow faster, more resistant to pests, diseases and so on, is not necessarily a good thing. It goes against nature. It is messing with the natural genetic code and that was made in a certain way for thousands of years for a reason.
Of course nature keeps changing and adapting too, but it is a natural process.
When things change, it's neither necessarily good, nor necessarily bad. All of those plants in my post changed because of humans for the better, not for the worse. That's why it was not unfortunate that they changed with time because of us.
The idea that everything GMO is bad is unsubstantiated. Doesn't using a computer go against nature, too? Maybe the fact that we are using them is unfortunate too?
Computer is not made by nature and I don't eat it ;)
Of course we all have different opinions about it that is great. I would prefer to eat less of modified food, but it is kind of impossible.
Yep, we can disagree, of course :)
It is absolutely impossible to eat food that is not modified, even simple vegetables and fruits that you take for granted and as natural have been heavily modified by human selection. And we can see that many of them are healthy and actually in some cases much healthier than the originals. That's why I'm saying that change even if it's GMO might sometimes be good instead of bad.
Ok, but that controversial corn for example. It is all different and changed. And yes - it is bigger, grows better and is more efficient. But is it healthier for human than the original one?
And nothing is purely clean and organic now... so that's a shame.
Organic is a meaningless word. Technically everything is organic. The difference is mainly marketing... As everything is technically also chemicals... Like vitamins, they are chemicals.
I don't know how modern corn compares to old-timy corn, but we have the old one to compare, maybe somebody has published on the matter. Grains if not consumed in moderation could become unhealthy and corn is one of those. It is entirely possible that the old corn was not so rich in energy and nutrients and arguably a healthier thing to eat. It could also be the other way around.
ewkaw, I think you are mistaking selective breeding with GMO's...there is a huge difference and they are nothing alike. Selective breeding is taking the seeds from a plant that has qualities you are looking for and only replanting those, then from those plants, only taking the seeds from the plants that again had the qualities you are looking for, and it keeps going until you get the desired effect. The plants already had the genetic information and the qualities simply being brought forward. That is how there are so many dog breeds in the world - they were bred for specific qualities to show. The same with chicken breeds, bovine breeds, sheep breeds etc.
GMO on the other hand is the result of a laboratory process where genes from the DNA of one species are extracted and artificially forced into the genes of an unrelated plant or animal. In other words, mixing different species DNA together...bad. This can never occur in nature or through selective breeding.
You have every reason to be against GMO's, but there is nothing wrong with selective breeding.
I agree with you.
In the conversation I was focusing on GMO as human made, not selective breeding. Maybe I wasn't clear about what I meant by Human made.
Oh, sorry I didn't realize.
It's fine :)
You explained it well.