Genetically-Modified Everything

BreadMan writes "The Economist has an interesting article about how the use of GM (genetically modified) plants extends well beyond the food industry. Altered trees that make better paper, insect-resistant cotton, potatoes that contain the right kinds of starches. An interesting read to see where the industry is going in light of problems with having GM foods on the dinner table. There's more industrial uses for agricultural products than you'd think of right away, so this may be a lucrative use for GM technology."

Comments

Penn & Teller Bullshit

[L3on]

Penn & Teller (the magicians) have a show on the Showtime network called "Bullshit" in which they take a topic and explain how it either doesn't make sense or needs to be changed. One of the shows covers genetically modified foods and the people that are against them. It's very interesting to learn what people think about genetically modified food and the facts of it. For anyone interested I suggest you check the show out.

Basically, the show says that the people against genetically modified food don't know the facts and say that it isn't monitored by government agencies, while it is infact monitored by the FDA and EPA. Furthermore, genetically modified foods are solving the problem of world hunger by producing more output per area and being more resilliant in harsh climates.

Personally, I believe genetically modified plants are required to sustain life on earth with our current population.

Re:Better, cheaper paper

[Smidge204]

Unfortunately, Hemp and Marijuana are not the same thing.

Hemp has many industrial uses for the oils and high strength fibers. It also contains such trivial amounts of the psychoactive chemical THC that nobody could possibly get high off of it. Thje saying goes that trying to get stoned on hemp is like trying to get drunk on non-alcoholic beer.

It also contains higher concentrations of a chemical called cannabidiol (CBD), which actually counters the effects of THC... so smoking industrial hemp would more likely get you UN-stoned (and deathly ill, I'd imagine).

Hemp can be used to make anything that's currently made of cotton or wood, perhaps of lower quality but certaintly of lower cost.

Marijuana, on the other hand, has no commercial value other than as a drug (illegal or otherwise).
=Smidge=

Re:Killer App: Pets

[untermensch]

I've got an even better one: GM housecats to look like tigers, cheetas and leopoards. How much would you pay for a housecat that looked exactly like a bengal tiger?

Actually you can already get pets like this through traditional breeding. There's a wild cat species called the Serval, which is considerably larger (and smarter) than a house cat but much smaller than the big cats. In the last few years, they have successfully bred Servals with housecats to produce what they call a Savannah cat. The Savannah cats are much larger and smarter than a housecat, have a leopoard-like fur pattern, and several other very exotic characteristics. IMHO they're a gorgeous animal and are supposed to make great pets (if you can proof your home/yard to an animal with the curiousity of a cat coupled with greatly increased intelligence and size :) ). Of course they cost a fortune right now, expecially for a first generation cross, but maybe in a few years.

There's also a fairly recent hybrid between housecats and another wild cat species, but I can't remember what it's called, a small relative of the leopard I think.