Homepage
Journal 2000
|
Homepage |
Journal 2000 |
There has been too much commotion on genetically modified (GM) produce.
I am writing in response to an article in the Boston Globe titled "Should
we worry over genetically altered produce?" written by Judy Foreman and
published on March 28, 2000. There are already many foods and ingredients on
the shelves that have been genetically modified. I don't think this should cause
as much fuss as it has, especially in Boston during the BIO2000 conference.
There are many other issues that we should be concerned about before thinking
about whether or not GM crops, which people are already eating, are harmful.
First of all, if someone were allergic to a variety of foods or
even to a certain food, he or she would be cautious of what foods to eat anyway.
Secondly, as many people do not realize, some of the foods we eat have already
been genetically modified more than once. As mentioned in the referenced article,
the corn we eat now has been modified so many times that it barely looks similar
to the original wild corn from many years ago. Finally, there has been no recorded
evidence that someone has been harmed by genetically modified produce and why
should they be harmed? It's not as if toxic chemicals are being inserted into
the produce. Only a few genes are being inserted to enhance the crop's resistance
to pests, diseases, and natural weather. This could pos~ibly lead to the use
of fewer pesticides and herbicides ultimately benefit our environment.
Genetically modified produce could essentially be helpful to less
fortunate countries that do not have the money to treat farmlands with millions
of gallons of chemicals to keep away pests. Many of these countries also have
extreme weather conditions. The tomato has been inserted with a gene from a
flounder that lives in cold water. The tomato can now resist extremely cold
temperatures.
Many people worry that the GM foods may contain pesticides. How
different is that from foods we eat now? All the food we eat has at some time
or another been treated with chemicals. The point of GM foods that are resistant
to pesticides is to use less of these harmful chemicals. Therefore, pesticides
would not be an issue. If a certain GM food proves successful and becomes naturally
resistant to a certain pest, then we would not need to use pesticides and would
not have to plant that GM food any longer.
Genetically modified produce should not be the cause of such disturbance
and demonstrations as it has been. It should be thought of as a positive agricultural
advancement, which will benefit the environment and millions of people.
By:Julie Gursh
In
my opinion, a recent vote by the Kansas State Board of Education to eliminate
the theory of evolution from its required curriculum demonstrates a clear lack
of accep- tance and understanding of scientific theory by individuals who voted.
It also appears to demonstrate a bold attempt by the board to mix the ideas
of the church and state into public education, which the Supreme Court of the
United States has ruled is illegal. However, the board did not allow each local
school board in Kansas the right to choose whether or not they would teach evolution
theory. In my opinion, tossing the issue into the hands of three hundred and
four sepa- rate boards would cause tremendous chaos when it comes to teaching
the idea of how life began. How can students be expected to understand that
there are ideas, which although not proven, deserve to be taught and explored?
In my opin- ion, it is important for teachers to drive home the point to students
that they should always be learning the various ideas that have been proposed
by learned scientists. The theory of evolution if one of the landmark ideas
that has been proposed in sciences, and to possibly remove it from a steady
curriculum, seems to indicate that those in power have a very narrow point of
view.
The evidence to support the idea that teaching the theory of evolution
is important, comes from the reaction of large numbers of people in the state
of Kansas, including the governor. These people perhaps felt that students should
be informed about both the ideas of creationism and evolution, and should not
be barred from learning about ideas by the decisions of a few narrow minded
people. Perhaps they also felt that it makes more sense to teach the theory
based upon science in the public schools, rather than an idea based upon faith.
There can be no disputing the fact that this is a sensi- tive issue but the
more that we learn in the scientific arena, the more we might come to actually
learning the truth about evolution vs creationism. It would be my hope that
most of the school boards in the state would recognize that the Board of Education's'
vote was ill advised. They have the opportunity to demonstrate to the rest of
the nation that citizens at the local level recognize the importance of open
minded, tolerant students.
Rachel Louise Carson was born on May 27, 1907 in
the small, rural town of Springdale, PA. She inherited her lifelong love for
nature from her mother and her intelligence from her father. In 1929, Carson
graduated from Pennsylvania College for Women, and in 1932, she received her
Masters Degree from Johns Hopkins University. Carson was an environmentalist,
a zoologist, an ecologist, a writer, a teacher and scientist. Before her death
in 1964 from cancer, Carson wrote many ar- ticles, pamphlets and books trying
to make people aware of the dangers around them. Carson inspired many generations
throughout her lifetime and still is, even after her death.
The publication of Carson's Silent Spring in 1962 was a turning
point in how people looked at the environment, how they looked at the earth
and made them realize both were slowly being destroyed. This book covers a wide
range of different subtopics but mostly talks about pesticides and their affects
on the environment. Carson talks about the affects of pollution and pesticides
on birds, plants, animals and humans.
The topics talked about in Silent Spring could have been
ten times worse if Carson had not taken the initiative and written the book.
The book starts off describing a quaint, ti little town, which seemed like a
dream and the perfect place tJ to live. By the end of the chapter, the town
had been almost deserted, the flowers and animals had died, and people got sick
and everything changed because of an "evil spell settled on the community."!
The town described by Carson was not real but based on real towns
allover the country. The people had done all this to themselves and did not
realize it until they started seeing the effects. The reason for the "evil
spell" was pesticides. The main pesticide doing the damage was n DDT, which
contains chlorinated hydrocarbons.
DDT is the most powerful pesticide the world has t1 ever known.
Unlike most other pesticides which can only destroy certain types of insects,
DDT was capable of killing , hundreds of different kinds. It was developed in
1939 and used heavily in World War II to kill malaria-causing insects. In 1945,
it was put on the market for civilian use and then n Rachel Carson's fight began.
In "Through a Narrow Window", one of the many interesting
chapters in the book, Carson talks about the indi- vidual cells of a body, the
minute structures within the cell, and then the reactions of the molecules within
the structures. She describes how even those little, minuscule, reactions are
"affected by the toxins and pesticides. "This process by which the
cell functions as a chemical factory is one of the won- ders of the living world."
(Carson, p. 203) This process was being distorted because of pesticides.
Another town is described by Carson in "And No Birds Sing",
but the difference is that this town is not a fic- tional one. It is real. Within
six years of spraying the pesticides throughout the town, the people began to
notice that the many different types of birds, which had visited all the years
before, had died one species after another. These birds were dying because of
chemicals sprayed by the government yet it is a Federal Law not to kill the
birds.
Rachel L. Carson's book sprouted widespread con- cern yet Vice-
President AI Gore said that in the 38 years since the book has been published
the response has been less than adequate. Yes, the use of certain pesticides
were dis- continued in the United States but the United States rou- tinely produces
the pesticides and sells them to other coun- tries. While DDT and PCB are gone
from the United States other chemicals are being used that are just as worse.
Silent Spring certainly caused people to wake up but was
it enough to make people take action? According to some people yes, but other
say no. It must have caused some people to think because so many people have
read the book. Carson was very brave in her attempt to change how things were
because she was heavily criticized for the book.
The book Silent Spring is a little outdated in the numbers
and in the scientific field, but the main idea is still there. Humans are destroying
the environment. Carson wrote the book on the immediate effects seen by her
and the people of the time. That was in 1962. What other problems have been
caused that we do not know about? Carson wrote about things that no one wanted
the general public to know. What about the problems we are facing today? Carson
was definitely a woman before her time and it is exemplified in her extraordinary
book, Silent Spring.
Carson, Rachel L. Silent Spring. Houghton Mifflin Company. New
York, New York. 1962. Pg. 2
Top
of Page