Which GMO species are invasive? And how do you know which genetic coercion methods pose a greater danger of mutating a non-invasive species into an invasive one?
Specifically - it is impossible to know until they play out in particular eco-systems, just like with any other species. There is a reason why many organizations worldwide are working to forbid transporting certain species in and out of different habitats.
Potentially - all of them.
>And how do you know which genetic coercion methods pose a greater danger of mutating a non-invasive species into an invasive one?
Most mutations are deadly to the organism... and even among those that are not, it is possible that something similar has happened before and the eco-system has dealt with it (by rendering the mutations harmful to the ecosystems ineffective)... and the range of what is produced, even with mutations is limited. Sometimes, the mutations are dangerous and effective... but they are much rarer to the point that we can ignore it. GMOs are combination of already "effective" traits by design a lot of these combinations would not have occurred before.
If taking a species to a different island where it is not native to is bad enough, creating specific ones which have never existed anywhere ever is a major ecological disaster waiting to happen. This should not even be a discussion... but it's a thing only because the organizations that are working to fix the problem of invasive species are not even close to powerful as those who want to push GMOs for profit... and therefore there is a lot of pro-GMO PR in the media.
This would apply to artificial selection as well - perhaps even more so since you've no real control over what mutations are happening. Every new evolutionary competition edge a species receives is followed by an "invasion" phase where their newfound superpower allows them to take over for a few hundred thousand generations.
> If taking a species to a different island where it is not native to is bad enough, creating specific ones which have never existed anywhere ever is a major ecological disaster waiting to happen. This should not even be a discussion...
Actually, it should be a discussion, because the above argument is a false analogy. Invasive species are problematic because the surrounding ecosystem cannot curb their spread and out-competition of preexisting species. Modern crops don't have the capability of surviving outside of a human cultivated environment. Left to their own, they'd be choked out by weeds and changing soil conditions. Now if someone were to attempt to make a weed-proof AND bug-proof crop that can ALSO survive and thrive in non-cultivated terrain, THEN I'd be worried.
"Now if someone were to attempt to make a weed-proof AND bug-proof crop that can ALSO survive and thrive in non-cultivated terrain, THEN I'd be worried"
Me too, but most industrial farmers would probably celebrate.
But I doubt this can happen any time soon. Ecology is complex.
