FDA Quietly Pushes Through Genetically Modified Salmon over Christmas Break

[KT2000]

56. selective breeding is not GE

GE can create new proteins that have never existed before. (ever heard of prion diseases?) You should take a look at some of the animals they have created that were huge, misshapen, and in extreme pain. Do you really trust Monsanto to thoroughly test and tell you the truth when they never have? Have you read any of the few health studies in animals that ate GM foods? You would find there has been damage to vital organs.

You should really read up on this (Institute for Responsible Technology)
How is genetic engineering done?

Because living organisms have natural barriers to protect themselves against the introduction of DNA from a different species, genetic engineers must force the DNA from one organism into another. Their methods include:

•Using viruses or bacteria to "infect" animal or plant cells with the new DNA.
•Coating DNA onto tiny metal pellets, and firing it with a special gun into the cells.
•Injecting the new DNA into fertilized eggs with a very fine needle.
•Using electric shocks to create holes in the membrane covering sperm, and then forcing the new DNA into the sperm through these holes.

But haven't growers been grafting trees, breeding animals, and hybridizing seeds for years?

Genetic engineering is completely different from traditional breeding and carries unique risks.

In traditional breeding it is possible to mate a pig with another pig to get a new variety, but is not possible to mate a pig with a potato or a mouse. Even when species that may seem to be closely related do succeed in breeding, the offspring are usually infertile—a horse, for example, can mate with a donkey, but the offspring (a mule) is sterile.

With genetic engineering, scientists can breach species barriers set up by nature. For example, they have spliced fish genes into tomatoes. The results are plants (or animals) with traits that would be virtually impossible to obtain with natural processes, such as crossbreeding or grafting.