DailyDirt: Creating Superfoods For Fun Profit

Green Tech

from the urls-we-dig-up dept

Fri, Nov 20th 2015 5:00pm — Michael Ho

Feeding billions of people isn't an easy task. Farming isn't actually the hardest part. Food distribution and food waste are much more challenging than simply growing more food for people. It's good that we have multiple biotech solutions for making plants and animals that are easier to raise and grow, but some of the concerns about genetically modified organisms (GMOs) aren't totally unfounded. Turning back the clock on genetic research isn't going to happen, but we should also keep an eye on what's going on.

Dupont and Caribou Biosciences are working on CRISPR technology to modify the genes of food crops, predicting that CRIPSR GMO foods will be on dinner plates by 2020. Genetically modified corn and wheat plants are already being grown in greenhouses, and many other plants are being tested, too: soybeans, rice, tomatoes, potatoes -- even allergy-free peanuts. The resulting plants have no genes from other species, so it may be much easier to avoid GMO regulations with these kind of gene-edited crops. [url]
Yum yum. A succulent red marine algae called dulse looks like translucent red lettuce, is high in protein, and tastes like bacon when cooked. This strain of dulse is patented, but the claims don't mention its bacon-y goodness. So get back in the lab and start creating more bacon-flavored species, already! [url]
Many scientists are hard pressed to find the harm in creating genetically modified organisms -- because genes are genes. However, there are still concerns with monoculture crops and creating a food supply chain that is dominated by a handful of companies. [url]

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Filed Under: algae, bacon, biotech, crispr, dulse, farming, food, food supply chain, genes, genetics, gmo, plants
Companies: caribou biosciences, dupont

8 Comments

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Anonymous Coward, 20 Nov 2015 @ 5:06pm

I will stick to fresh meat, fruit & vegetables but thanks anyways.
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Anonymous Coward, 20 Nov 2015 @ 5:22pm

Good luck with the GMO debate with so called "geeks"
Why do 'geeks' and those that always think they are the smartest always reject any criticism of GMO foods?

I understand the science behind it, but I also understand that reality isn't Star Trek. I am against GMO simply because even the scientists working on those issues aren't really sure of the long-term effect. There is nothing wrong with being cautious, and simply labeling the food like we do for everything in food processing so the consumer can decide for himself.

And I won't even go into the ethical side of the debate, which is the complete monopolization of food production by a few giant corporations. Screw fighting the next MPAA on Food Copyright.
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Anonymous Coward, 20 Nov 2015 @ 7:23pm

Re: Good luck with the GMO debate with so called "geeks"
Some of us don't reject criticism of GMOs, it's just that we're pretty laid back and flexible. A utopia without hunger? Star Trek cool. Zaibatsu dystopia? Neuromancer cool. Win-win.
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Anonymous Coward, 20 Nov 2015 @ 7:32pm

Re: Good luck with the GMO debate with so called "geeks"
Oh, I'm pretty sure there are "geeks" who think items for sale should be well labeled. It is the GMO folks who are afraid of disclosure. If in order to sell your product you have to hide what your product is, then one might think there is a problem there somewhere -no?
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Lawrence D’Oliveiro, 21 Nov 2015 @ 10:22pm

Re: aren't really sure of the long-term effect.
Cattle managed to pick up some snake DNA about 6 million years ago, so I guess that makes them GMOs. No “effects” so far that anybody has noticed. That “long-term” enough for you?
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Anonymous Coward, 21 Nov 2015 @ 11:54pm

Re: Re: aren't really sure of the long-term effect.
And Beta Carotene is supposed to be magical for your health, but when it was isolated from everything else thats in a carrot it turned out to be a carcinogen, and no-one knows why. That enough "scientific doubt" for you?
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Lawrence D’Oliveiro, 22 Nov 2015 @ 12:52am

Re: Beta Carotene ... turned out to be a carcinogen
Can’t find any evidence of that. Toxic in large quantities, fatal even, yes. But so is water.
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Anomynuos Crowad, 23 Nov 2015 @ 7:32am

"This strain of dulse is patented"

And therein lies one of the chief problems with GMO foods. I can't see that monocultures under the control of monoliths will be good for anyone other than shareholders.
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