Bill Nye admits he was wrong about GMOs.

[Mermaid]

A good scientist should reconsider their position when confronted with new evidence. 

Anyone who calls him or herself a scientist must do this or they have no credibility and questionable ethics.

[missingnocchi]

There is a distinction between selective breeding and genetic modification.

That's one of the key points here. It's really absurd to use the success of the former to prove the success of the latter.

There certainly are many studies indicating the safety of GMOs, but I have two problems with them nonetheless:
1. GMOs are a recent enough innovation that any studies out right now would not be capable of determining any long term risks
2. It's wrong to take the evidence as collective support for all GMOs. Any risks that arise would likely be on an individual basis, not fundamental to the genetic modification process. In other words, one GMO, or even many GMOs, being harmless does not imply that the next one is also harmless. Each new gene introduced carries the risk of new and unforeseen pleiotropic effects which would not have been seen in any other GMO. “Genes don’t operate by themselves,they function in concert much like an orchestra, and to understand how they’re working, you have to know not just who the members of the orchestra are but how they interact.” - C. Robert Cloninger, M.D. PhD. Just because it's okay to add a piccolo to one orchestra doesn't mean it will be ok to add a xylophone to another one.

If we're going to use GMOs, we need to study them on an individual basis, and preferably over the course of a couple of generations. Although I have no illusions that we would actually wait that long for something as unprofitable as safety.

[Ace101]

I don't freak out about GMOs, but I see no reason to go out of my way to eat them if organic alternatives exist. You sure can't go wrong by only eating organic - I'll just say that.

[Shiranu]

Would people rather millions starve to death every year?

Ehhhhh....

[doorknob]

I wish I could convince my father that GMO's are not a bad thing. Ever since he watched that documentary on GMO's he's adamantly against them. I can see their point if we were taking DNA from say a rattle snake and putting it into a tomato plant but that isn't what's happening. I'm try telling my dad that but he just won't listen that stubborn mule!

[stromboli]

I've never admitted this on the forum before, but I fucking hate bow ties.

[Mike Cl]

I hate the word 'natural' in this context. What the fuck is that supposed to mean? Do these so-called environmentalists think a cow would survive 5 minutes in the wild? Or what about hemlock, that's 'natural', but you will soon find yourself dead with a mouthful of the stuff.

I'll join you in that hatred.  What substance on this earth is not 'natural'?  It all came from what is available in nature.  No matter what combo we come up with, it is still natural.  It's one of those words that so many almost worship as a god or something.  "You need to eat natural foods."  What?????  What is that?  Pepsi is just as natural as a carrot.  So what?  Cow shit is natural, but I don't want to eat it.  Oleander is natural too, and I don't want my dog or child eating that, either.  How about we eat 'healthy'?  Sounds good to me.  As long as it is fully recognized that ice cream is not only natural, but just about the healthiest food there is!!

[Solitary]

I've never admitted this on the forum before, but I fucking hate bow ties.

I'm with you on this, I would never wear mine when I worked in a hospital and the head nurse had a special meeting about their dress code and said that people were saying how nice the orderlies and others looked in their uniforms after she had written me up for not wearing one. I asked her if the people were wearing their bow ties when these people saw them? She couldn't resist saying no they weren't very loudly. The audience couldn't stop laughing. Cha Ching!  Solitary

[Unbeliever]

I don't know that I agree with Nye, but I like a person who can change their mind and admit it.

[Drummer Guy]

I'm not worried about the safety of GMOs.  What bothers me is the unethical behavior that can occur.  Crops can be modified so that you can't replant from the previous year's yield, so you are stuck buying new seeds from the GMO company every year.

Or other situations that have occurred, like the guy who was sued because he grew GMOs that had blown onto his field from a neighboring field.

The whole patenting of genetic sequences is pretty anti-productive to the cause of trying to feed billions of poor people.

Having said that, my exposure to this area is limited so maybe it's not as bad as I think.

[Shiranu]

Or other situations that have occurred, like the guy who was sued because he grew GMOs that had blown onto his field from a neighboring field.

This one is actually an urban legend.

Studied GMO's this year in biology, and the professor is pretty... liberal? I guess... but she presented the evidence well and said even though she was skeptical of them there is no evidence they are dangerous in the short term (obviously don't know long term since they have only been around for 20 or so years).

[Gerard]

I've never admitted this on the forum before, but I fucking hate bow ties.

Yes indeed. The knots are bloody difficult to make...

Gerard

[Mike Cl]

Yes indeed. The knots are bloody difficult to make...

Gerard

Not if you buy them already tied.

[Gerard]

Not if you buy them already tied.

Or with a clip! Although I always somehow feel that's cheating....

Gerard

[Mike Cl]

Or with a clip! Although I always somehow feel that's cheating....

Gerard

Clip bow ties, clip ties.  Not cheating.  Being forced to wear a monkey suit--that's cheating!