The Student Room Group

Take the flour back, WTFFF!?!?

Anyone else think these people are idiots and should be charged if they destroy the GM crops being grown in an isolated field?

The activists seem to think GM crops are harmful and they plan to destroy the GM wheat this summer, do they not have better things to do???

It's quite unfair to think it could be used in developing countries where it could assist in increasing food productions for farmers.


http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-17906172

Scroll to see replies

Reply 1
In what possible way are these protesters true environmentalists?
Reply 2
Because increased food production isn't important to anyone, right?
Reply 3
Yeah, I heard this on the radio this morning. They're a bunch of self-aggrandising, selfish dickheads. It's all very well for them to talk about the wonders of organic produce as they waltz down the Waitrose aisle, but this kind of thing could save countless lives in developing and third world countries.
Reply 4
I'm not a fan of scientists in agricultural production tbh. Look at their record, telling farmers to pull up hedgerows, telling farmers to construct instant drainage systems etc

All most of it does is harm the enviroment around it meaning less productive farms.
Reply 5
sorry ? I thought this was for students ? are you saying that the "green revolution" completetly passed you by somehow ? Maybe you would have prefered to live in a different demographic where mass starvation was the norm ! (Ukraine in Stalin's non GM world maybe !) WAKE UP
Reply 6
The ironic thing is the scientists know these useless activists will try to destroy the crops but still have to disclose the location of their GM crops by law - I don't see why they don't change the law on this. And you never ever seem to see these activists being arrested and actually charged either :sigh:
Um, perhaps hidden bear traps among the crops/outskirts may do the trick :colone:

In all seriousness though, these people are absolute idiots, and in all honestly kind of depressing that they can not see the benefits of GM food.
One of the group that was protesting came to speak in one of my classes before Easter. He was really weird and didn't seem to understand the opposite arguments that some people were giving him.

He also gave out a lot of literature. No-one took it xD
Reply 9

these people are idiots and should be charged if they destroy the GM crops being grown in an isolated field

Last time people attempted to introduce GM to the UK, there were several de-contaminations, and other protests. A number of people were charged (most notably the 'Totness Two'), yet they had their charges dropped before it got to court. They intended to use the 'greater harm principle' as their defence, and it seems agribusiness did not want a public un-covering in court of the problems with their products :-).

See http://www.stopgm.org.uk/resistance-to-gm/uk.html for more on the history of resistance to GM in the UK.


It's all very well for them to talk about the wonders of organic produce as they waltz down the Waitrose aisle, but this kind of thing could save countless lives in developing and third world countries.

Can you back this up with hard evidence? The fact is that GM products have done incredible harm to agriclutre in some of the countries they have been introduced to.

Have you ever actually asked the 'third-world' what they want? The largest grass-roots organisation of peasants is 'Via Campesina', who represent about 200 million farmers worldwide. Believe it or not, they are opposed to GM! Access to the land, they say, is the real reason for world hunger. See http://viacampesina.org/en/ and http://www.viacampesina.org/downloads/pdf/en/Monsanto-Publication-EN-Final-Version.pdf for more information.



For those who support GM, I suggest that at the very least you read through the (brief) arguments on this website - http://www.stopgm.org.uk/ - so that you understand what the other side thinks.
Reply 10
Can we send them to 3rd world countries which rely on GM and see if they have the heart to protest there? That will test how strong their beliefs really are.
Reply 11
ForKicks: Which third world countries rely on GM?

Perhaps you should be sent to countries in the Global South that have been hurt by GM... )For instance, Argentina http://www.grain.org/article/entries/706-twelve-years-of-gm-soya-in-argentina-a-disaster-for-people-and-the-environment)
Reply 12
Original post by timus
Last time people attempted to introduce GM to the UK, there were several de-contaminations, and other protests. A number of people were charged (most notably the 'Totness Two'), yet they had their charges dropped before it got to court. They intended to use the 'greater harm principle' as their defence, and it seems agribusiness did not want a public un-covering in court of the problems with their products :-).

See http://www.stopgm.org.uk/resistance-to-gm/uk.html for more on the history of resistance to GM in the UK.


Can you back this up with hard evidence? The fact is that GM products have done incredible harm to agriclutre in some of the countries they have been introduced to.

Have you ever actually asked the 'third-world' what they want? The largest grass-roots organisation of peasants is 'Via Campesina', who represent about 200 million farmers worldwide. Believe it or not, they are opposed to GM! Access to the land, they say, is the real reason for world hunger. See http://viacampesina.org/en/ and http://www.viacampesina.org/downloads/pdf/en/Monsanto-Publication-EN-Final-Version.pdf for more information.



For those who support GM, I suggest that at the very least you read through the (brief) arguments on this website - http://www.stopgm.org.uk/ - so that you understand what the other side thinks.


Can you back yours with hard evidence? No


And I have this feeling you're from this unpleasant group we're talking about - you ignoramus, go and read a GCSE biology textbook then come back and talk to us.
Reply 13
If food production is increased than food will be cheaper which means less money to business men who sell food so have to do something so they can control the food production.
Reply 14
The UN recently commissioned the IAASTD report, with around 40 scientists looking at the problem of world hunger. They concluded that GM has no place in feeding the world, pointing instead to the valuable role of small-scale farming and agro-ecology.

In places where it's being commercially grown, there is no evidence that GM crops have any higher yield or decrease in chemical use in the long term. After 2-3 years the pests and weeds build resistance, so yields go down and use of chemicals go up. The only people benefitting from this scam are the agrochemical companies.

India is currently experiencing the biggest mass-suicide in human history, with hundreds of thousands of GM farmers killing themselves once the crops have failed.

I'd love to hear where everyone else on this thread is getting their passionate belief in the virtue of GM crops. Personally, I'm starting to think about joining take the flour back.
I'm all for GM crops, but they do have problems- most notably cross-contamination with the natural breed of the crop. This will tend to reduce biodiversity and eventually the availibility of new genes to splice into the GM crop to enhance yield, disease resistance, etc. I know this from A-level biology, so I haven't got a complete picture by a long way, but my own view is that GM is fine- as long as it's done responsibly. All too often, it isn't.

Then there's the fact that the agrochemical companies to make a fortune off what is supposed to be helping others. I'm fairly left-wing politically, so I'm not really comfortable with that, but I guess it's a necessary evil.
Reply 16
Original post by Pete W
The UN recently commissioned the IAASTD report, with around 40 scientists looking at the problem of world hunger. They concluded that GM has no place in feeding the world, pointing instead to the valuable role of small-scale farming and agro-ecology.

In places where it's being commercially grown, there is no evidence that GM crops have any higher yield or decrease in chemical use in the long term. After 2-3 years the pests and weeds build resistance, so yields go down and use of chemicals go up. The only people benefitting from this scam are the agrochemical companies.

India is currently experiencing the biggest mass-suicide in human history, with hundreds of thousands of GM farmers killing themselves once the crops have failed.

I'd love to hear where everyone else on this thread is getting their passionate belief in the virtue of GM crops. Personally, I'm starting to think about joining take the flour back.



Are you a scientist? Because like all scientists we only say things which are evidence-based - where is your evidence for this rubbish you are churning out?

Surprisingly, my dissertation was on food production and nutrition in developing countries and the issues smallholders often come across are low-yielding seed varieties, pests and lack of fertilisers - GM crops could actually combat this, they could have genes that make them resistant to certain pests so farmers who have little capital don't need to buy pesticides, GM varieties could yield more per area of land and could be adapted to harsh growing conditions as well as other genes which could improve its nutritional content.

I find it rather strange this is your first and only post on TSR and it is to reply to this, if I'm not wrong you're from that ''Take the flour back'' group?? :rolleyes:

Go read up on some GCSE textbooks and maybe some science journals to prove what you have said then come back


I had a little read on the supposedly ''MASS SUICIDE IN INDIA DUE TO GM'' it's actually been decreasing since GM has been introduced - you can't cherry pick evidence from sensationalist headlines

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/nov/05/gmcrops-india
(edited 11 years ago)
Reply 17
I'm not a scientist, but there are loads of scientists on the anti-GM side of the fence. For example, Professor Bob Watson, the director of IAASTD and now chief scientist for UK's Department for Environment Farming and Rural Affairs, when asked if GM could solve world hunger, said: "The simple answer is no."
Reply 18
Original post by Pete W
I'm not a scientist, but there are loads of scientists on the anti-GM side of the fence. For example, Professor Bob Watson, the director of IAASTD and now chief scientist for UK's Department for Environment Farming and Rural Affairs, when asked if GM could solve world hunger, said: "The simple answer is no."


That is because world hunger isn't affected by GM alone :rolleyes:

For example, poor road infrastructure or lack of rural credit for farmers - how would they access GM seeds?? if they have don't have irrigation and poor rainfall - how would you grow GM crops even if you had any seeds?? GM or not. Also, lack of technology such as tractors and tillers in developing countries means smallholders can't farm and produce food on a commercial scale as they are still using traditional farming methods.

You obviously need to do your research as you have no idea what you are talking about
(edited 11 years ago)
Reply 19
Original post by nutrition2012
Can you back yours with hard evidence? No


And I have this feeling you're from this unpleasant group we're talking about - you ignoramus, go and read a GCSE biology textbook then come back and talk to us.


He did back up his points...

He provided an insightful post which was against your argument. He presented the perfectly valid opinion that GM crops could overall be harmful, and could even slow down the process of feeding the world. He did not condone the actions of the crazies mentioned in the original article, and didn't push his view.

You've responded by insulting him, and not providing counter-arguments. What indeed was the purpose of this thread if you were simply planning to cruch any reasoned discussion?

Quick Reply

Latest