Genetically modified .... humans

[vorlon13]

CRISPR Cas9 is cheap. And this is how they'll do it. Once they improve the accuracy, it will be available to almost everyone.

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The ethical implications are not easy to solve, but I think the biggest thing is that we cannot allow any changes or modifications enter the genome. This is something that medical ethicists are agreed on.

GMO corn is planted next to fields of "regular" corn, and those modifications are gradually spreading through the rest of the genome from the pollen being free and easy on the wind. Think "killer bees", and you get the idea. There is no way that the modifications will be kept out of the rest of the gene pool. The modifications will eventually spread.

It's not that easy to spread traits from corn field to corn field AND have those traits enter into the genome of 'all' the corn.

While in the past I have raised soybeans for seed (for other farmers to use) I've never raised corn for seed, only for consumption.  The rules and regulations are just too onerous.  Seed corn fields are engineered.



In the picture note that 4 rows of corn have had their tassels removed (that's the pollen producing 'antenna' on top) and one row is left intact. That one row will pollenate the 4 rows that were detasseled, and itself. When it is harvested, ONLY the corn from the 4 detasseled rows is for next years seed for farmers like me. The rows with the tassels left on are picked separately. Those rows are not hybridized since they pollinated themselves, the other rows are hybridized as they had different genetics to start with than the rows with the tassels left on. (and yes, all of this has to be meticulously kept track of, which row is which, and which rows are detasseled and which aren't. Additionally, IIRC, a 200 foot strip around the outside of the field is not used regardless as it may have been pollinated from adjoining fields. (that's why seed corn fields are big, a small field with a 200' 'neutral zone' won't be commercially useful)

Oh, detasseling? That is a miserable job if done by hand. Even my dad thought it was miserable work and is one of the few farm jobs I never had to do as a result. And for the detasseling crew, their work is checked, errors are big problems. Cutting the wrong rows, and/or leaving tassels occasionally is a big no-no.

Over the years machine detasseling has taken hold, but it hurts those rows more than doing it manually, so there is a cost trade off, mechanical is cheaper, but it reduces yield. For a product worth possibly $400 per 40,000 kernels (seed corn is sold by the kernel, not the bushel) you need to do the math to see what the best way really is.

There are also licensing arrangements and agreements for the corn genetics. When I buy seed corn I have to sign documents attesting to my only raising it for consumption as I am not purchasing the rights to the genetics at all.

The seed corn companies do not give away their genetics technologies. Ever.

If pollen from a seed corn field drifted into my field (at the right time or it has no effect) yes, my corn crop might have some admixture of traits from that field, but it is to no effect as none of my seed will be used for seed. And it cannot be used for seed, by the way. It isn't hybridized. My corn wasn't pollenated with the correct parent stock (it pollinized itself) so it probably isn't viable if I did plant it. And I wouldn't want too. Since it isn't hybridized, I won't know which traits it has (drought tolerance, herbicide resistance, insect resistance, fungus resistance, root worm resistance, stalk diameter (it's important), cob color, days to maturity (IMPORTANT !!!), number of rows of kernels on a cob and propensity to either set one big ear or 2, one big, one smaller.


BTW, I have to know and remember this stuff or I will effup and not be a farmer anymore.