[Fuusm-l] Invitation

[Mike Bailey]

This Friday at 6:00 PM in the Fellowship Hall the Green Sanctuary committee will be having our quarterly “Just Dinner”. We bring dishes composed of vegetarian, organic, locally grown, home grown, fair trade, humanely raised or otherwise environmentally conscientious edible. We eat them and we talk about them. 



This week we will be talking specifically about genetically modified or engineered organisms. I lifted the paragraphs below from a fact sheet published within the last week. The litany is virtually unchanged since the early days of GMO science but the controversy has not gone away.



A proposed benefit of GM foods is that they can potentially produce higher crop yields, which could help by feeding more people in developing countries. They are also cited as more economical, despite the initial higher cost of the seeds. The rationale is that they reduce the need for pesticides and herbicides as well as reducing the manpower needed to successfully grow the crops, which should translate into improved financial gains.


Improved food quality is another benefit associated with GM foods. A tomato, for instance, can be engineered to stay fresher for longer, thereby extending its shelf life in the supermarket.

Yet another benefit that is believed to occur from GM technology is that crops can be engineered to withstand weather fluctuations and extremes. This means that they can provide sufficient yields and quality despite a severe, poor weather season.

Another benefit is that GM foods can be engineered to have a high content of a specific nutrient that is lacking in the diet of a local population group. The vitamin A rich 'golden rice' is one example of a GM food that has been engineered to have high levels of a nutrient.

Please come and share your opinion. Coincidentally, we are serving the first meal of the weekend for the National Universalist Convocation. Perhaps we can make it interesting for them.

Mike
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