Re: Article: GM Banana Designed to Increase Vitamin A in the Diets of the Poor in Afr
The article mentioned A but also other trace elements. Perhaps sweet potatoes lack those? It also mentioned cooking bananas (plantains?); if they're expecting someone accustomed to those to switch to "Chiquitas" that could be an issue.
I'm not against GMOs per se--it's still a plant, right? Science is part of our lives. But I do have a problem with making poor people dependent on paying royalties for super plants. If I were farming on a large scale, I might purchase RU ready corn seeds in order to stay competitive but, since I only grow veggies for myself and someday a few others again if I ever master FL dirt and seasons, I'm content to save my own seeds from my best fruits/accept spares from friends which means my plants cost nothing save my labor. (I've actually checked out propagating patented plants; it doesn't appear the exercise is particularly onerous but you do have to keep good records if you're going to be honest. I've been checking on blackberries which are about 20 cents each--cheap but I, like my supplier, would pass the cost on to my customers when I sold plants. I wouldn't be paying that annually for the parent plants which, unlike bananas, are technically the same plant forever and not a new pup.)
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