32 Comments

  1. We already see the severe health affects gmos are already having on animals & humans alike.

    What they aren’t realizing is that with all this gene manipulation & unknown mutations caused by the manipulation, is that they could actually end up creating something that eventually becomes poison.
    Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should!!!!!

    1. Skeptologist says:

      What evidence have you seen to convince you GMOs are having “severe health effects” on animals and humans?

  2. Skeptologist says:

    Another GMO-alternative that doesn’t put entire apple orchards at risk from cross pollination is called the Opal Apple

    Why is cross-pollination a concern for a tree that is propagated primarily by grafting? Is the author really unaware of this fact or is she being intentionally deceptive?

    So – why did we need the Okanagan GM Arctic apple again?

    This is truly a stupid question. People innovate new products even when there may not be a need or demand that is apparent to everyone. Why do we need naturalsociety(dot)com? There are already dozens of other websites offering content very similar to this website, so by the authors own logic, this website is pointless.

    What could happen if you turn off certain genes with ‘gene silencing’?

    Gene silencing is based on sequence similarity. The similarity between the sequence of the silencing construct in the transgenic expression cassette (i.e. the DNA that is engineered into the plant) to that of the target gene. Off-target effects (when non-target genes become affected) are limited to genes with highly similar sequences. This is typically only occurs when the target gene is a member of a highly homologous gene family. As PPO is a member of a family, this is a theoretical possibility. But since we know this (as would the scientists developing Arctic Apples), changes in expression of the other family members can be examined. While I don’t know exactly what was done in developing Arctic Apples, such basic research steps are obvious to anyone familiar with gene silencing. I would be stunned if the scientists involved never examined the apples for off-target effects.

    whether they might transfer those vulnerabilities to other apple trees

    They won’t BECAUSE APPLES A PROPAGATED BY GRAFTING! Is it too much to as Christina Sarich to inform herself about the most basic fundamentals of the topics on which she is attempting to pontificate?

    1. While I don’t know exactly what was done in developing Arctic Apples, such basic research steps are obvious to anyone familiar with gene silencing. I would be stunned if the scientists involved never examined the apples for off-target effects.

      I would like to add that most of the sequence based off-target effects are evaluated in-silico before the construct is actually made. After the transformation is done and release candidates are identified, it would be typical to create RNAseq libraries to evaluate actual genome wide expression levels as compared to empty vector and wild type controls.

      1. Skeptologist says:

        Exactly. People like Christina Sarich seem to think that scientists share their same level of ignorance and are just blindly fumbling around pretending they know what they’re talking about.

      2. jon biscit says:

        Numerous scientists are concerned that if we consume dsRNA in GMOs such as the apple and potato, they might inadvertently silence or alter our genes as well. Studies on bees,2 mice,3 and other species have verified this danger. According to a seminal 2013 paper published in Environment International,4 safety assessments must find out if the dsRNA produced in the genetically engineered food causes an effect on humans, preferably using human cell assays, animal tests and possibly “clinical trials on human volunteers.” Unfortunately, there is no indication that the dsRNA used in the apples and potatoes have gone through any of these tests.

        1. We eat double stranded RNA all the time, in huge quantities, from all the plants that we eat. RNAi is sequence specific, and targeted to specific mRNAs in the plant. Is there any indication that there are off target effects from either of the lines that you mention?

        2. hyperzombie says:

          So funny, if eating food messed with our genes I would be 99.9% pizza and beer by now.
          Grow up, and learn something.

    2. jon biscit says:

      The real question is why are you here. Do you really think people here believe your holier than thou attitude. The readers her are asking- hmm what is his mission here. Why is he really here on his own accord. Wait … maybe he is worried about his job. Or maybe he is trying to get elected for office. Try and figure how many posts he has penned. Oh yeah he’s got to try and convince everyone that we are all a bunch of unintelligent misfits. What do you think readers? Is Skepty trying to preach to you about the evils of being honest, of trying to stand up for basic human rights, of trying to hold on to a healthy environment.
      Wow what a great individual he is!. Or is he a miserable, deceitful troll.
      One thing is foir sure the longer he posts here the more questionable his credibility becomes. If you fall for his deception the more Monsanto gains.

  3. Undecider says:

    But the “Elite” do need GMO in order to reduce the population.

    1. hyperzombie says:

      I thought it was the chemtrails?

      1. It’s more than that, the use of vaccines and GMOs.

  4. JOHN BISCIT says:

    Isn’t everyone here amazed at how much time and effort the resident trolls spend here attacking Christina and others. What is their true agenda and how much does Monsanto actually pay these bashers? What are skepty and Bobo afraid of. Obviously this board has seriously concerned Monsanto who can hire this many trolls for this long a time.

    1. hyperzombie says:

      I am more amazed that after time and time again showing you and the other anti-GMO folks that you are WRONG, you keep coming back…. Hmm it is like some one is paying you to be wrong, Whole Foods? Stoneybrook? who is your paymaster?

      1. jon biscit says:

        Why are you really here hypertroll?

  5. Things aren’t bad enough that we have to eat 25 apples to get the nutritional value of one apple grown 100 years ago, now they want to play some more with our food. What good is a food if it fills us, but does not feed us? Brown, smrown, who cares?

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