Unpopular Opinions.

[Hawkfeathers]

Re: Unpopular Opinions.

My father grew up in the Bronx & my grandparents lived there until I was about 11. I remember the subway stop was Allerton Ave.

[MaskedOne]

Re: Unpopular Opinions.

The discussion on Veteran Issues has been moved to

http://www.paganforum.com/showthread.php?10868-Various-Veterans-Issues

[Medusa]

Re: Unpopular Opinions.

Vegies are over rated.

[anunitu]

Re: Unpopular Opinions.

Well yeh,cause they are not Bacon.....

[Näre]

Re: Unpopular Opinions.

Bacon is overrated.

[Juniper]

Bacon is overrated.

Finally someone else who agrees.

[anunitu]

Re: Unpopular Opinions.

It is the meat eating animal in me that loves Bacon,and also I really like Avocados so go figure...also have a thing for raisins(Straight or in bran cereal)

[Sean R. R.]

Re: Unpopular Opinions.

Had to say this, sorry for necroing this thread but:

I fully support genetic modification for humans. Sure, it can be dangerous, but all progress has its dangers.

[Norse_Angel]

Re: Unpopular Opinions.

Call me crazy, but I don't think GMO's are healthy for human consumption. I truly believe they will lead to the destruction of our farms (super weeds) as well, the non-ruled infertility possibility. Not sure if it's safe to gamble when it comes to the future of the human race. With that being said, this is what the government feeds their people. Europe has flat out banned the production of GMO's (and for good reason) while the American FDA is so corrupt, they don't care if there is 2x the floride in our water than what the tooth paste companies recommend if ingested to call poison control.
Anyways, that's talking on the overall being of the people when it comes to countries. Genetically modifying humans is a different story. If you opt to do so, just like any other scientific experimentation (pharmacutical tests, skin products, etc) you are accepting the possibility of lifelong disability. With that said, sure, it's your body.
But then again, we may find infertility, or other problems to sprout after generations of breeding that were direct results from Genetic Modification. Case and point, we aren't even sure as of what our cell phones are doing long term to our bodies, and how they may effect generations of our offspring. But, to be fair; we'll find out.

[DanieMarie]

Re: Unpopular Opinions.

To be fair, the EU hasn't flat-out banned GMOs, they've just implemented a very stringent screening process that has resulted in bans for a lot of GMO products. They still exist, though. I support the measure, because GMOs can be good and can have value, but they also have threats in that they are usually designed to work with certain herbicides and pesticides that harm local plant and insect populations (a lot of those are also banned now). The concept isn't bad and isn't that far off from the selective breeding we've been doing for ages, but the actual practice is usually shady.

Think of it this way...something like a tomato or potato* variety genetically modified to be resistant to blight would be massively helpful, especially in damp climates. It could improve harvest yields and would greatly reduce the need for fungicides for those crops. But modifying a crop to be resistant to herbicides so that farmers can liberally spray their fields with said herbicides without harming the crop is problematic. Unfortunately, most GMOs fall under the latter. But that doesn't mean the entire concept is wrong and should be banned.

I'm adding this here because in my circles, GMOs are massively unpopular. So saying that GMOs might not be all bad all the time is a hugely unpopular opinion.

*BTW, this is an example of a GMO study that is totally allowed in the EU and receives support here.

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To add to my previous post, the potato crop example does have its challenges in the EU. The study and development of such crops is allowed. Unfortunately, getting these types of GM crops to market is challenging. Although they'll probably be allowed, the process can take years. I support screening, but I also think that when crops come from academic level studies that have already reviewed environmental impacts, the process should be shorter.

[anunitu]

Re: Unpopular Opinions.

I do know that the GMO is kind of a response the growing population. I read that without some of the enhancements from fertilizer and pest control,we would not have been able to produce enough food for the ever enlarging population that demands food. This is in a way,the further expansion of that solution.

Might be better to control the expanding population with birth control,BUT that brings us to the religious objection to population control.

See here.

By the year 2050, global population will reach 9 billion, a figure that poses significant challenges to the agricultural producers who will be charged with providing adequate food and fiber to nourish and clothe that many people.

[DanieMarie]

Re: Unpopular Opinions.

I also think we need to concentrate on issues such as distribution and food waste. I'm not sure that production should go up significantly in the west (although avoiding spoiled crops and reducing fungicide/pesticide/herbicide use would be fantastic), at least not in Europe, because we already overproduce here a LOT. I can't speak for the US (although from what I've read, the US has similar issues), but in Europe, a lot of the food here is wasted, never goes to market, or gets sold cheaply to poor countries in Africa and Asia at a price that their local farmers cannot compete with. As a result, food here is very cheap, which would sound great except for the fact that neither the farmers nor the workers who plant and harvest the crops make money. Increasing production here won't solve those problems; in fact, they'll make them worse. As it stands, we actually produce far more food than we need.

Developing crops to deal with specific environmental threats could be a huge help for farmers in the developing world and could allow them to be self-sufficient, especially in the face of climate change. However, there are a few challenges they face, including the "dumping" of overproduction from developed countries (hard to compete with) and the high price of said GMO seeds. I think that in order to have the process be truly fair and beneficial, those seeds need to be affordable for farmers in those countries, and food imports from Europe and North America should be highly regulated.

[Norse_Angel]

Re: Unpopular Opinions.

I think if the human race would cease to be as wasteful of a species, we wouldn't need to ever consider using GMO's. For example, self sustainabilty when it comes to personal gardens. It is very possible, and quite easy, to grow your own food in your backyard. In recent years, Skygardens have been gaining a lot of popularity, which on average per building, can feed upwards of 9000 people yearly. There are much better alternatives when it comes to solving the problem of food vs population than the detrimental destruction GMO's pose to our ecosystem.

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Even in some areas where climate makes it difficult to grow certain foods, agricultural funding can go towards turning old abandoned buildings into functional greenhouses.

[B. de Corbin]

Re: Unpopular Opinions.

Back to a fresh unpopular opinion:

People worry far too much.

When the shit hits the fan, the fan clears the air (to grossly paraphrase Master Lao )

There is a difference in speculating about the problems that may be created by current conditions, and claiming that every change is going to send the world down the bong in a bobsled.

The former is used to alievite the potential and inevitable drawbacks that every change produces, but the later prevents beneficial change from occuring.

Maybe schools should teach courses in dancing on trampolines so people can learn to move gracefully when standing on uncertain ground?

[anunitu]

Re: Unpopular Opinions.

Quickly steals B. De.'as very cool saying.
down the bong in a bobsled.

The man is a verbal time bomb....Got to love a mind that can coin a phrase like that.