Well, I have a lot to say.

The reason that I mentioned the health benefits of vegitarianism, Jefferson, is because you stick vegitarians in a box that I didn't want to be in. I like to think I'm an informed consumer, and I'm a fan of science. I am pro-GM foods, and a vegitarian. That was my point. I'm not shoving anything down your throat. I didn't say that meat eaters are stupid bastards, or anything like that. On the contrary, you keep saying that vegitarians are stupid and reactionary. I am not stupid and reactionary, or at least, I hope I'm not.

Herbicide has definitely been linked to cancer, and plant disease can't actually harm humans. We're too genetically different. The only thing plant disease does is reduce the number and quality of crops. Ocassionally, it can wipe out an entire group of something. Before 1970-something, people ate a different sort of banana, but it was entirely wiped out by a virus, so we had to switch to another sort of banana. Genetic engineering could have prevented that, and, since the bananas that we ear are extremely genetically similar, it's going to happen again unless we do something. It could take 60 years to develop a genetically diverse banana that tastes good the old way. Or, we could just go to a lab, and fix things. The Hawaiian papaya plantations were saved by genetic engineering.

One of the great things about genetically modifying foods is that it DRAMATICALLY REDUCES the use of pesticides, herbicides, and insecticides. Better an unknown potential danger than a real, definite danger, ne?

I am very sorry about what happened to your son, Jefferson. That must have been terrible. I'm not a parent, but I can't imagine what I would do if something similar happened to me.

I didn't mean to imply that fecal matter on meat was the only way to transmit e. coli. I merely meant that it is a way, and has caused some of the wider outbreaks in the US.

E. coli is generally spread by feces being anywhere they shouldn't be, and having the bacteria come into contact with parts of you where they shouldn't be. Sorry if I gave the wrong impression.