U.S. military is studying an insect army to defend crops. Scientists fear a bioweapon.

U.S. military is studying an insect army to defend crops. Scientists fear a bioweapon.

A research arm of the U.S. military is exploring the possibility of deploying insects to make plants more resilient by altering their genes. Some experts say the work may be seen as a potential biological weapon.

In an opinion paper published Thursday in the journal Science, the authors say the U.S. needs to provide greater justification for the peace-time purpose of its Insect Allies project to avoid being perceived as hostile to other countries. Other experts expressed ethical and security concerns with the research, which seeks to transmit protective traits to crops already growing in the field.

Source


Another Source

Didn't see this breaking issue posted as of yet. Here goes a break from the "Mud Pit" madness.

DARPA's plan of deploying of these insects mark the end of GMO seeds. A GMO/Monsanto version 2.0 that is even worse or something less invasive? For now I'm looking more into it and of course agree with the premise of many questions need to be answered, as well as safety testing and more.

a reply to: dreamingawake

So a defence mechanism equals a weapon?

I didnt catch in your source where this is perceived as a weapon, please point me in the right direction?

a reply to: Alien Abduct

It's not my title, the media source concluded the title by the following quotes:

"They're talking about massive release of genetic modification by means of insects," said Gregory Kaebnick, an ethicist at the Hastings Center bioethics research institute in Garrison, N.Y., who has studied genetic modification. He wasn't part of the Science paper but said Insect Allies technology could end up being destructive.

Kaebnick questioned how well the viruses and insects carrying them could be controlled. "When you are talking about very small things — insects and microbes — it might be impossible to remove them" once they are introduced into farmers' fields, he said.

Dr. David Relman, a professor of medicine and microbiology at Stanford who has advised the Obama administration on bio-defense but is not part of the DARPA research, said the project could play into longstanding fears among countries that enemies might try to harm their crops.

Op Source

originally posted by: dreamingawake
U.S. military is studying an insect army to defend crops. Scientists fear a bioweapon.

Key Word : studying. Quite often when the MIC (Military Industrial Complex) makes an idea go public, they are actually observing the publics response in terms of fear / panic, to a device that they invented years ago and have finally perfected it.

If the publics response is null as most people are not interested, then the MIC's new gadget is rolled out surprisingly quickly.

originally posted by: Alien Abduct
a reply to: dreamingawake

So a defence mechanism equals a weapon?

I didnt catch in your source where this is perceived as a weapon, please point me in the right direction?

I think the bigger point here is , since when does the military study something for agriculture?
Thats not their domain..........

a reply to: ManBehindTheMask

Well said, this is one of the big concerns.

I'm thinking this happened 30 years ago and we are just now finding out about it.

This is the military after all.

a reply to: muzzleflash

Probably so. After all see "DARPA Funding GM Mosquitoes"

Makes me nervous when they mess around with mother nature. There is always the potential for things to go dreadfully wrong. That, or I'm just being paranoid, but it doesn't feel right to me.

a reply to: Night Star

Well look at the history of the military.

They lie about almost everything. They need wars and threats and everything is fear based.

How did chemical weapons turn out? Nuclear weapons?

Has any of this ever been "good"?

Look, if they'd all line up and shoot each other outside of town in a field somewhere maybe it'd be tolerable - but warfare is all about taking over cities and controlling the people and taking their resources.

There's no way to hide, they always get civilians involved and there is always collateral damage.

We live in such a primitive world.

Already posted gentlemen:

www.abovetopsecret.com...

a reply to: Rapha

What exactly makes you think the military needs the public to condone their actions, if they were worried the public might be upset they simply wouldn't tell us....

a reply to: dreamingawake

I saw this in the news. It didn't make sense to me. I've heard of using modified insects that were sterile to attack other insects but how can an insect inject genes into a plant? The only thing I can come up with is if they are infected with a virus that attacks plants.

Before they get too far into this stuff, they should try to come up with some kind of kill switch in things go horribly wrong. Making changes in a lab is one thing, releasing it into the environment requires safeguards.

From OP source:

The technology could work in different ways. In the first phase, aphids — tiny bugs that feed by sucking sap from plants — infected plants with a virus that temporarily brought about a trait. But researchers are also trying to see if viruses can alter the plant's genes themselves to be resistant to dangers throughout the plant's life.

**********

When aphids suck sap from plants they can't metabolize all the sugar they ingest and secrete a sticky honeydew substance as a result. Black fungus called “sooty mold” grows on the honeydew secretions causing further damage to the plant leaves.

***SNIP***

females are all born with the ability to reproduce live miniature offspring called nymphs, without the need to mate. As a result, they will rapidly reproduce all summer long. This is why it can sometimes appear that an infestation has taken place overnight. In the Fall, both males and females are produced which subsequently mate to create eggs for over-wintering. Some of these females have wings, while all of the males do.

yougrowgirl.com...

Now if they could only train the aphids to not suck the life out of plants while delivering a 'good' virus.....

And then they would have to genetically alter the aphids so they don't "secrete" a sticky substance...….




I could see this getting out of control like about EVERY other plant/insect/animal species introduced to 'help' us.

a reply to: Alien Abduct

So a defence mechanism equals a weapon

from the link

The military research agency says its goal is to protect the nation's food supply from threats like drought, crop disease and bioterrorism by using insects to infect plants with viruses that protect against such dangers.

As virus protect crops they can also be used to destroy or alter crops. Not too much thinking outside the box to reach that conclusion

originally posted by: ManBehindTheMask

originally posted by: Alien Abduct
a reply to: dreamingawake

So a defence mechanism equals a weapon?

I didnt catch in your source where this is perceived as a weapon, please point me in the right direction?

I think the bigger point here is , since when does the military study something for agriculture?
Thats not their domain..........

Defence is though. And armour isn't a weapon is it?

I read this to mean, someone will use one to destroy crops so they are building something to stop it.

When will the elites implement the GA Guidestone's small c commandment of ".... no more than 500,000,00 on the Earth"? That might seem cynical but HRC called the free people who prefer the Constitution deplorable. Add in the Prog's are full on war against freedom loving Constitutionalists right now and we have a pattern that has an origination.

originally posted by: TheConstruKctionofLight
a reply to: Alien Abduct

So a defence mechanism equals a weapon

from the link

The military research agency says its goal is to protect the nation's food supply from threats like drought, crop disease and bioterrorism by using insects to infect plants with viruses that protect against such dangers.

As virus protect crops they can also be used to destroy or alter crops. Not too much thinking outside the box to reach that conclusion

That would be considered a biological weapon. The United States doesnt develop biological weapons as per the Geneva Protocol. Neither the source in the OP, the OP, nor you nor anyone else thus far in this thread have provided any evidence to back your claims that the U.S. military is developing this insect project as a biological weapon.

So I say if you guys wanna make a claim then back it up with some evidence.

a reply to: Alien Abduct

The United States doesnt develop biological weapons as per the Geneva Protocol.

Ya reckon?

en.wikipedia.org...

Throughout its history, the U.S. bioweapons program was secret. It became controversial when it was later revealed that laboratory and field testing (some of the latter using simulants on non-consenting individuals) had been common. The official policy of the United States was first to deter the use of bio-weapons against U.S. forces and secondarily to retaliate if deterrence failed.

originally posted by: TheConstruKctionofLight
a reply to: Alien Abduct

The United States doesnt develop biological weapons as per the Geneva Protocol.

Ya reckon?

en.wikipedia.org...

Throughout its history, the U.S. bioweapons program was secret. It became controversial when it was later revealed that laboratory and field testing (some of the latter using simulants on non-consenting individuals) had been common. The official policy of the United States was first to deter the use of bio-weapons against U.S. forces and secondarily to retaliate if deterrence failed.

Perhaps if you took the time to read your own link, let me help you,

The United States biological weapons program officially began in spring 1943 on orders from U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt. Research continued following World War II as the U.S. built up a large stockpile of biological agents and weapons. Over the course of its 27-year history

In 1969, President Richard Nixon ended all offensive (i.e., non-defensive) aspects of the U.S. bio-weapons program. In 1975 the U.S. ratified both the 1925 Geneva Protocol and the 1972 Biological Weapons Convention (BWC)—international treaties outlawing biological warfare. Recent U.S. biodefense programs, however, have raised concerns that the U.S. may be pursuing research that is outlawed by the BWC.

Reading comprehension is your friend....

TL;DR: Abduct was correct we haven’t had an offensive BW program since we ratified the BWC....