In my last newsletter I simply asked people to think and to challenge me and to question what they read, what they buy, what they hear about sustainability because it’s really important.  I will do the “I am not an expert” disclaimer one more time and I am sticking to that.  I want to thank Phillip Greene, author of Running on Empty and recent show guest on Mrs. Green Goes Mainstream, for the challange below.  He is not he first to question my beliefs on GMOs & other topics about which I write and hopefully he will not be the last to engage in the conversation.

Dear Mrs Green,

I am not convinced that genetically engineered salmon is really a “Frankinfish.” First of all most of our food is in some way genetically altered. You probably wouldn’t recognize the first ear of corn to appear in the wild. It would be about the size of your little finger. The “Engineering” was painstakingly done by cross pollination over hundreds of years. I was amused when Mugabe, dictator of Zimbabwe, refused shipments of genetically engineered corn when his farming community was in shambles and his people starving. He said it was an American plot to destroy Zimbabwe.

I prefer keeping an open mind on the subject. We readily accept mutated vaccines which are developed to respond to natural mutations of viruses, and the artificial development of body parts. The development of the human genome promises great strides in medicines, largely through engineering genes. Producing more food for the hungry people of the world may also hold great promise. If we destroy our environment it may be the only thing that saves us.

Phillip J Greene
Author

You can check out his book at: http://www.runningonemptybook.com/ It’s informative and understandable for mainstream people like me.