Hate to tell you this but almost everything you eat has been genetically modified at one time or another. It used to be called selective breeding. Do you want tender, juicy meat they bred wagyu and charolait for that. Insect resistant veggies, they breed or crossbreed for that. In a lab setting or barn, I'm fine with it. I like to eat. Just think, if we can modify a defective gene in an unborn baby, and it has been done, why take generations to change something when it can be done in a lab?

Most atheists I know are pro-science, so pro-GMO ... and even pro-Monsanto. I am not. Particularly disingenuous is the argument that we have been genetically modifying plants for all of agricultural history through selective breeding ... and somehow this is 100% the same thing as laboratory gene modification. I think the very best we can say about it is that it's too soon to know what the long-term effects will be. I know this much, given my particular health issues, I'm not remotely interested in being part of the test group. Everyone else is free to do as they please with no lectures from me.

I'm not interested in eating foods specifically designed to be sprayed with glyphosate (Roundup, a proven carcinogen) and its toxic derivatives. Creating laws so those GMO foods can be hidden among the non-GMO foods is despicable and you can thank Monsanto for it all. Bad stuff. Bad company.

GMO may cause inflamed lining in the gut over the long term (years, decades?) because existing natural pesticides the plant uses have been ramped up, ie lectins etc.

Monsanto is one of the most immoral corporations I can think of.

GMOs are perfectly fine. There is no difference between regular food and organic but the price.

As to Monsanto? I grew up in a farming community. They were doing the same thing for ages before Monsanto bought a bunch of smaller seed companies. It's just the same practices with a different name.

I'm pro GMO, it's the only way we're going to feed the world (without mass genocide). As far as Monsanto goes, its a large corporation. It does good things, and bad things. They need to be watched, just like any other corporation.

It's sad that there is no respect for lives over profits. Monsanto is ruining the Earth with roundup and Gmos. It causes cancer.

Humans have been genetically modifying food since we became City dwellers. As soon as we planted our first plant and bread it with specific other plants to make it more of what we want we began the GMO process. Our bodies break things down into their chemical components and process them anyway.

My bachelor's degree focused on biology. I am for well researched (pre and post) GMOs which screen multiple generations of the GMO for possible effects. In effect, a GMO is a mutant. Mutations occur constantly.

our whole lifestyle is based on helping just us and hurting everything that doesn't help us.

The problem with GMO is that it is business, and not a pure detached research. The profit margin factor often leads to recklessness. Even if only a few of the stories about Monsanto are true, there is cause for grave concern.

monsanto has starved far too many farmers with their suicide seeds . It is time they were taken to task

In my opinion almost all fruits and vegitables are gmo, here are some examples [businessinsider.com]

A year or so ago a Monsanto scientist, an engineer schooled in, and from China, spoke to our group. She was clear, committed, sincere, and very versed in the work she was doing. Her English was better than many American's vocabulary skills.
She was convincing in a couple of ways. First, the need for food all through the undeveloped world, and the history of eons that says that nature,, by itself, has done little to help much of the world grow food. Secondly, new science/technology has a long history of mistakes and idiocies. Food will be no exception. However we must remember that, yes, electricity killed a lot of people as it was being adapted to common use, but do any of us really want to go back to candles and wood-burning computers?

Here in the Delta region, Monsanto is a big part of farm life. Monsanto has patents on most of their seeds. Recently Monsanto sued a farmer who is neighbor to a Monsanto customer. Seems the wind had blown some Monsanto seed onto his property and Monsanto was suing the farmer for stealing patented corn.
The judge laughed Monsanto out of the court with "This sounds to me like your customer painted his house purple in a windstorm and now you are suing the neighbor for stealing paint."

Here are 2 experiments 1st one you can do at home.
Take small organic, and nonorganic potatoes, (better yet, sweet potatoes, cause their vines are prettier) use wooden toothpicks in the sides to hold them at the right height in a sturdy glass of water and watch what happens.
If there are chemicals which retard the growth of the veg, in one or the other, are you willing to feed them to your family, betting your kid's futures on some agency's "guarantee"?

2nd, this would be a wonderful experiment to carry out, (although how could it be done?)
Canvas all the powerful families in the world, don't ask them anything, just examine their diets.
Find out how many mostly intelligent people in that class eat the same stuff (gmos included) we have easy access to, and how many insist on organic, source and prep disclosed, foods?
I'm not telling you what to do or think, not calling anyone names if they don't agree with me...
I'm just asking legitimate questions.

I don't have anything against GMOs, and I agree they are necessary to feed the worlds population, however I am not in agreement with creating GMO's that are simply resilient to certain types of herbicides which is exactly what Monsanto has done and continues to do. It 's product Glyphosate is metastasizing its way through our entire bio-system.

I don't trust this corporation at all, none, zero, zilch. Monsanto has paid off scientists, manufactured studies to influence EPA. Monsanto is an evil company, which will soon be part of Bayer (same bloody deal with them). Fuck them.

I am also in favor of having foods labeled GMO or non GMO so that people can have a choice of what they put in their bodies to the extent that this is still possible .

I am just a lay person, not a scientist, but I’ve done a lot of research in order to form my own opinions on the subject. I am FOR responsible research into ways to more efficiently utilize our resources for safe, sustainable agriculture.

There are many forms of gmo research being conducted in universities as well as the various for profit companies. It’s a complex subject and can’t be dismissed as either ALL BAD or ALL GOOD. I’m a believer in responsible research and I support the companies who do not buy into the fear mongering of the anti-gmo movement. I do not support the organic conglomerates who are profiting from the fear based marketing against gmos.

I live on an island where a lot of gmo research takes place. (None by Monsanto - so I won't comment on that company.) There is a lot of friction between the employees of the various companies researching ways to improve crop yields for distressed countries, and some ill informed activists who wish to stop the research into these crop improvements for reasons that simply don’t make sense.

A product that has been genetically modified as an alternative to its conventional or organic counterpart has been tested exhaustively to ascertain its safety. These crops can reduce the amount of harmful pesticides, while working with less harmful pesticides, to produce more yield, which is safer for the farmer. These may be crops that will grow in less than ideal environments.

There are examples of gmo research that has been beneficial to communities. Here in Hawaii, gmo research by a university scientist saved a crop from the devastating ring spot virus There’s also genetically engineered insulin for diabetics. Bt Cotton, resisting bollworms, etc. Having gmo plants near conventional or organic plants actually helps them with pest control too.

Because I wanted to become more knowledgeable on the subject, I took a FREE online course through Cornell University called “The Science and Politics of the GMO” that discusses the pros and cons of GMO technology and the challenges and triumphs on both sides of the issue. I highly recommend it for anyone who would like to increase their understanding of gmo research and reasons people have for being for it and against it. It also covers the role activism, politics and the media have in this issue.

Like many intelligent people I've spoken with, there doesn't seem to be a clear understanding of what the term GMO really stands for. ... I apologize in advance, if you already understand totally, but hear me out, just in case, ok?
-1st, you seem to think that the end results of the GMO process could be accomplished by selective breeding.
This is - to my knowledge - NEVER the case. The entire purpose of genetic engineering is to introduce certain genes into a species, which could NOT occur naturally.
PLEASE, do not take my word, look this up. I am writing from memory.
The alterations I speak of are things like...
-Adding a poison (derived from an inedible insect) to corn. This is to prevent corn borers (also insects) from destroying crops.
Incidentally, this substance is now often found in humans. And another...
-A tomato was crossed with an Artic fish. The idea was to protect the tomato from freezing. (Plz see end paragraph)
-2nd, speaking of "now found in humans", Monsanto developed Round-Up, which will kill most plants, UNLESS, they are the patented Round-Up resistant seeds from said company. The point here is, if you use their herbicide, you may not EVER be able to use any seeds but theirs. ( The scary part is that it is increasingly common to find Round-Up's toxins even in human breast milk.
-3rd According to my readings, (I've not heard this contradicted anywhere, I've searched), Monsanto has a practice of planting fields with the same crops as non Monsanto neighbors, waiting a couple years for the other, private farmer to begin reseeding their fields, then filing suits against that neighboring farmer for " using Monsanto's patented seeds". (If farmer X's seeds do happen to be related to Monsanto's, that could have happened by the pollen being carried by the wind, cross pollinated by insects, or, who knows, deliberately done via plane spraying by M, itself.
The ending of many of the suits is that M ends up with the adjoining farms.
.
To finish, some of these trials might be totally wonderful, (ex. freeze resistant tomatoes) BUT, ...
Possible corrupt business practices aside, whatever changes that have occurred NATURALLY in our food supply have happened over HUGE spans of time. Monsanto is doing these changes over relatively minuscule time frames, and we are unwittingly, and unwillingly part of a gigantic experiment!
And this worries me immensely.
And if it doesn't worry you,.... well just enjoy those rosy glasses.

It is important to go ahead with GMOs, but it must be made sure that it is safe for the future of mankind. Monsanto is not an impressive company because they seem to role around their own profit. Pesticide resistant crop helps greedy businesses but not the flora and fauna.
Humans need to realize that weeds are less prone to pest and many weeds can be consumed and are often better than super-food from the health-food stores. Most pest-insects can be consumed as well. If pest-insects become too many, preying insects and birds will thrive. They are mankind's safest pest-control.

I just posted a comment a few days ago. There have been 6000 reports by non related scientists stating they have found no adverse effects from GMO's and they pointed out that we have been revising plants to get better production since we started farming 6000 years ago.I will go with 6000 reports .

Genetically modifying plants is no different than hybridization and selective breeding that has been employed as long as we've had agriculture. It's just more efficient and effective.

Monsanto is like any other corporation; they're in business to make a profit for the shareholders and they're going to do that any way they legally can. Every corporation will die whoever they need to in order to protect their patents.

Mmm tomacco...?

Monsanto Sux. Their practice of suing farmers is poor behavior. There is no evidence that GMOs are harmful. We have been engaging in artificial selection since we became non nomadic.

One thing that has come up is that some of the gmos have lost their ability to work like they first did sort of like antibiotics.