GMOs were introduced to society along with lofty promises, GMO crops have all but taken over agricultural practices over the passing years since introduction. Genetic modifications do have promise for efficiency but limitations of this experimentation have shown up across agriculture industries globally: 1) Modified chromosomes are not always inherited from one generation to the next. 2) Pest and weeds which once died quickly have now begun to take on resistant traits. 3) New formulations, more chemicals, and more genetic changes are needed to maintain profit margins. 4) Agriculture dependent on select breeds of genetically altered seeds are becoming vulnerable.
Agriculture naturally adapts to pests and disease within regional ecosystems to produce seeds that are more adapted to threats. Heirloom seeds possess traits varying from year to year, diverse selections of seeds protects agriculture systems. Worldwide governments have been saving seeds at the Svalbard Global Seed Vault in an underground facility near the North Pole to prevent the loss of diversity in traditional gene banks.
DARPA researchers insist the problems related to limitations of GMO crops can be solved by circumventing the genetic modification of the plant by dispersing infectious genetically modified viruses into insects, thereby creating carrier bugs to edit crop chromosomes directly in the fields non-stop. They suggest that farmers would not need to rely on waning vertical inheritance of genetically modified traits; rather their method would allow for horizontal transfer of genetic modification via allowing infected insects to infect crops with viruses that can change plant chromosomes after they are attacked. Yes that’s right, GMOs are heading into insect infection.
For this to happen DARPA would have to colonize crops pests to infect them with viruses, and then unleash them into the environment; basically weaponizing the insects, results of doing such a thing are not known but carry massive implications, this would no doubt have profound impacts on ecosystems, crop health, and eventually human health. Non-GMO organic crops would need to be protected to say the least; even worse infected insects will come into contact with humans, what will happen then, the eventuality of it occurring are unavoidable, and the consequences are inescapable.
Many are strongly against this for various reasons and good cause, some even call it a sinister plan, they purport that “The regulatory, biological, economic, and societal implications of dispersing such horizontal environmental genetic alteration agents (HEGAAs) into ecosystems” does nothing to enhance U.S. agriculture or advance national defense.” Many scientists say that DARPA’s program could be viewed as a method to develop biological agents for hostile purposes, decrying the program could “constitute a breach of the Biological Weapons Convention.” Researching ways to weaponize insects with viruses may very well lead the USA to violating the treaty which bans countries from developing, producing, and stockpiling biological weapons with the project that began in 2017, although it was not with intent to build a weapon rather help farmers in the field.
Researchers from 4 universities and institutes have received $27 million in funding to help DARPA develop Horizontal Environmental Genetic Alteration Agents, which are viruses that will be introduced into insect populations to directly influence genetic makeup of crops. The project is being calling the “Insect Allies Program” with more lofty promises to help farmers combat “climate change” intending to use white flies, leaf hoppers, and aphids to introduce viruses into crops.
Infection of crops, insects, and rodents could impact human health in a variety of different ways, some of which may not even be known; such as reverse transcriptase occurring after injection of MMR vaccines; enzymes take genetic information from diseased animal cells in the vaccine and reverse transcribes cancer causing retroviruses into human DNA for life. There are too many unknowns to even suggest this is safe such as how will the plants evolve, how will these genetic changes impact human genomes, will further altered plant nutrients continue to be assimilated by human microbiome, how will the genetically engineered viruses within the insects interact with other microorganism in the environment outside of intended crop targets, can these GMI mutate into super-insects? Most importantly since crops will be constantly inundated with modified viruses could this eventually alter genetics and immune systems of humans and/or animal life depending on the crops?
Furthermore this technology could be used by defense programs to introduce debilitating viruses into enemy farmlands to cripple agriculture. Due to this possibility DARPA could be engaged in dual research by developing a bio weapon under the guise of agricultural advancement. Let’s face it, this wouldn’t be the first time there was something done under the guise of another with misleading statements in grey areas, or withholding information from the public, smoke and mirror tactics are not something new. This project may spur rival nations to develop their own brand of agriculture, weaponized insects to deploy at will.
Currently experiments are being conducted in closed greenhouse and laboratories funded by DARPA. If this is to succeed, going by current standards they SHOULD have to prove that these insect virus treatments can produce a beneficial gain to agricultural processes. They SHOULD have to prove that the program can be done with precision guided to “specific right plants” and the “ specific right uses safely”, proving this SHOULD take many, many years, decades even. DARPA will have invented the means to unleash unintended genetic consequences or advanced insect driven bio-weapons into the environment once completed. The future of GMOs appears to be headed this way: complete corporate control over agriculture, new disease, and genetic defects which many consider to be warfare on the future of humanity.
