Genetic engineering (GMO) is NOT an extension of conventional plant breeding.

[mike_c]

68. that's not my experience at all....

First, I'm an ecologist. I've had molecular training, of course, in grad school, during post-doc studies, and in my university gig. I work with full time molecular biologists daily. But my own research is mainly in insect community ecology, studying the effects of disturbance on arthropod species assemblages in old growth forest soils and in low order freshwater stream systems, mainly.

It's been my experience that most recent ecology undergrads probably oppose GMOs (I teach upper division general ecology courses), then as the field begins to narrow, the fraction that pursues graduate studies is exposed to a wider range of disciplines, inside the lab and out, and their understanding grows and changes. The majority of working biologists in all disciplines support genetic engineering.

As for "gratuitous insults," I'm sorry. It is extremely frustrating to explain something relatively simple to someone over and over, then have them dismiss your explanation as "opinion" when you know full well it's the truth, and all the while ignoring the actual information you've tried to help them with. My profession is a culture of understanding, not dogma. I should know better than to beat my head against the wall of other peoples' willful ignorance, but dammit, some days I can't help it.