Have to agree with most of this and add, we need to also focus on the human condition and genetically caused diseases, that can and do condemn some of our best and brightest to an untimely end; or an end that is racked with pain and pleading to prematurely end it.

And no I'm not asking that anyone be given more than the allotted time or destiny, just superior outcomes and quality of life.
And which can be done and indeed, transferred to all future generations, thanks to the elimination of many of these extremely costly conditions, that always end badly!

Look, if a lizard (another carbon life form) can grow a new limb, why can't we?
And why should some gasp for every pain racked breathe of air, due to a genetically transferred condition excetera etc.

And why should drug cheats be the only ones winning; when with a little undetectable GM, we can put them and their supply lines out of business. And why do just some of us never get fat or suffer age related degenerative conditions?

And why block products like golden rice, which can ease starvation in many places.
Must we wait until the Luddite like detractors, have to walk a mile in those starvation shoes, before common sense/humanity finally prevails!

In any event, the genie (genome) is out of the bottle; and the, it's all in the jeans, pun was intended!
Rhrosty.

Another evidence free article from a pro-GM writer.

The two main GM traits to date are Herbicide Tolerance and Insect Resistance. The first means the GM crops are sprayed with weedkiller and the weeds die but the crop survives.

Unsurprisingly this system no longer works very well as the weeds have developed resistance to the most widely used chemical, Roundup (glyphosate). Now the new GM crops can also be sprayed with 2,4-D (an ingredient in Agent Orange) and glufosinate ammonium and dicamba and Mesotrione. This GM trait is turning fields into chemical disaster areas. In Latin America there is huge cancer and birth defect rates in rural areas due to the spraying of these chemicals on GM soy.

The second main GM trait is insect resistance. The GM plant creates a toxin to kill certain insects. This toxin cannot be washed off and so we eat it too. Once again this is no longer working as the insects have developed resistance. To overcome this the seeds are coated in neonicotinoid systemic pesticides that are linked to bee colony collapse disorder.

To say that Australia is missing out on this technology is like missing out on a hole in your head. Farmers in N America are suffering as China has not authorised the import of one of Syngenta's GM corn types. Farmers have grown it and are now unable to export. Until recently Syngenta said on its website that China had approved import of the corn. Also GM alfalfa contamination has meant the rejection of exports. Monsanto had to pay compensation for rejection of US wheat exports that had been contaminated by GM wheat trials.

It is clear that industrial agriculture, of which GM is the latest flowering, has gone down a dangerous path. Increased chemical dependence, poor quality food, destruction of soil and water and farmer indebtedness. What we need it a total change of agriculture. Have a look at the Australia Food Sovereignty Alliance's Food Plan for a place to start the transformation.

Asher Judah, is a member of the Institute of Public Affairs (IPA) is a right-wing, corporate funded think tank based in Melbourne. It has close links to the Liberal Party of Australia.
As such he is a party to the takeover of agriculture by agribusiness and of course also backs the mega corporations who want to control all agricultural supplies and seeds.
These people take no account of the disastrous health effects of the chemicals used and the modified seed.
It has been shown for instance that GM crops fed to animals has caused sickness and death.
Not a good way to go for agriculture.

Hi Rhosty
The most recent scientific research is showing that our genes can be turned on and off by all sorts of things including environmental factors, food, chemicals, exercise and even our thoughts. These changes can be inherited. Therefore the mechanical idea that we can do something to 'fix' genes once and for all is a little unscientific.

Golden rice is floundering as it does not yield well. Go to the website of the developers of the product, IRRI, and read their updates there. Vitamin A deficiency is being fixed by encouraging people to eat a varied diet and by supplements. There is no need for expensive, unwanted, failed GM technology.

All the science and evidence shows that we need biodiversity, agroecology and fairness to fix our failing world, not GM.

It is interesting that the authors book is published by a conservative Catholic publisher.
Conservatives, especially those that presume to be religious, usually promote the cautionary principle re any kind of presumed progress in human affairs.

Columbian "exchange" - oh puleez!
Columbian plunder and even holocaust would be a more apt phrase.
http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/History/American_Holocaust.html

And of course the plunder still continues.
It is interesting that the essay begins with the infamous mis-adventures of Christopher Columbus, the man who sparked off the imperial invasion and systematic plunder of the "new world", with "catholic" Spain and Portugal leading the plunder-seeking pack.
Why not Google the title Christopher Columbus from a Native American Perspective to find out the real truth about Columbus, or Google the truth-telling book Columbus and Other Cannibals by Jack Forbes.
This one stark image also tells the truth about what Columbus sparked off, and was involved in too.
http://www.dartmouth.edu/~spanmod/mural/panel13.html
And this too:
http://www.dartmouth.edu/~spanmod/mural/panel21.html
Of course the IPA and right-wing christians celebrate the happenings thus pictured as the "triumph" and/or "victory" of the christian West.
They also promote the hubristic idea that humankind should "subdue" or "conquer" the natural world.

Meanwhile this site provides all the evidence and references which describe why GM "foods" will inevitably turn out to a disaster for humankind - perhaps even terminal too.
http://gmo.mercola.com

Once it is disclosed that the author of an article is connected to a right wing (un) think tank then On Line Opinion's reputation declines further.
I follow one of those groups just to keep myself aware of the rubbish they are publishing. Nearly everything they write ignores masses of contrary evidence. The CIS's name (Centre for Independent Studies) reminds me of 1984 or a saying of Humpty Dumpty.