when you talk to your plants, be careful what you say

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/us-military-gm-plants-spy-gentically-modified-research-development-sensors-environments-a8071646.html

US military to develop genetically modified plants to spy in environments ‘unsuitable for traditional sensors’

New synthetic biology programme makes use of natural capabilities to gather intelligence

What a bummer! I try to talk to my plants to encourage them. I think of them as teammates.
John S
PDX OR

I'm not so worried about the government eavesdropping on the private conversations I hold with my gardens, but I am not at all sanguine about synthetic biology that might be able to hybridise with natural biology.

What would happen to us if suddenly some of the food that we ate regularly was hybridised with synthetic biology that we aren't designed to digest? Would the unusable parts simply be passed, or would we accumulate synthetic garbage over time, like marine animals filling up with plastic?

-CK