Brave new (modified) world
In the movie “Jurassic Park,” one of the main characters, who studies chaos theory, says to the man behind the engineering of dinosaurs: “You wanted to know if you could, but you didn’t stop to ask if you should.”
An important distinction, especially when you consider the topic of genetically modified foods. Tampering with our food supply could very well be a most unwise choice. Dabbling with genetic material may be like handing matches to a child—they just don’t understand the full implications of their actions.
I fear the same goes for us when it comes to genetically modified foods.
What gives people the creeps—and rightfully so—are the sinister-sounding variations that can be done. Take a gene out of this species and insert it into that species. The idea is to “enhance” a species by giving it desirable genes that it may lack naturally.
What it really sounds like is something out of the children’s fiction book, “Where the Wild Things Are.” (It makes you wonder what will be left for fiction writers to write about!)
Anyone who disagrees with the practice of genetically modified foods or calls for caution is automatically dismissed as alarmist, and a threat to forward thinking.
This isn’t a matter of sailing off the edge of the world—where only your crew is affected if you had a pig-headed idea you were clinging to. Genetically modified organisms (GMOs) have the potential to be a global train wreck.
And I’d like to know: Are these scientists who are insisting on pushing forward also willing to take the responsibility onto their shoulders if their plans run amok?
