Exactly, it can just as easily be used to develop new seed varieties by cross breeding plants from the same genus as manipulating the genome to transfer a gene from an unrelated species.
I have no dyed in the wool objection to genetic modification but all the evidence so far - using the technique for developing seeds resistant to Monsanto weed killers, threatening any farmer who uses seed from their own harvest that has been fertilised by pollen from a neighbour's GM crop shows very clearly that it is not what you do but the way that you do it and often the down sides are not directly related to the actual scientific process.
Back in the 1970s we had the 'Green Revolution' a type of rice was developed that was high yield and was promoted as being a money earner for small farmers in Asia, especially in India. Their chance to earn more money, repay their debts, educate their children. It has since been shown that what this rice actually did was mire many of them even deeper into debt than they were before the new 'miracle' seed.
To benefit from the new hig yielding rice they had to buy the seed and buy the extra fertilisers needed to grow it. The extra output required extra inputs. As they had no money they borrowed it, usually from their land lords. When the crop came in, the seed was being used so widely and the crop was so large, that prices dropped and they could not repay their debt and this hasn't changed.
I am very wary of any group that claims to have the universal elixir that will solve all our problems. There is no lack of food in the world for its growing population. Under nourishment is caused by political forces and the loss of so much of the crop before it reaches market, through poor storage, lack of transport and political will. Solve these problems first then see of GM seeds can resolve any of the remaining problems.
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