It is not at all lost on me that farmers have been playing with genetic lineages since we first started cultivating plants and animals. But slowly promoting desired traits via selective breeding is NOT the same thing as genetically engineering an organism from point A to point W in a single generation. It is the difference between sculpting with a sharp knife VS a hatchet.

And as far as genetic manipulation via selective breeding goes, that has proved to be problematic as well. Ask any farmer who is trying to raise non-GMO crops and heritage breed chickens and they’ll tell you unadulterated stock is getting more and more difficult to find. Sure, the chickens you see in the store ready to be brought home and cooked can pack on huge amounts of mass in only a few months, but these “meat birds” can barely even walk, can’t forage, and can’t even reproduce without the help of a human being and a syringe. They lay around in their own feces all day in crowded cages, which is one of the reasons they require so much in the way of antibiotics.

I understand that there is an increasing population that needs to be fed and that standing in the way of progress isn’t often a good idea. But not every scientific advancement is “progress” and I happen to think our efforts are going in the wrong direction with this problem. There ARE other ways of addressing it. Globally there is plenty of food being produced. It’s the distribution that’s off – not the production.

I am not a luddite and I do value scientific advancement and research. This just happens to be one issue that I am against. We all have a right to our opinion, and to have that opinion heard – which is why I urge everyone to fill out the comment form on that docket number.