GM=Great Mistake. Cloning=cloning=clonin g=cloning (GM and cloning)

Name: thegarleon

Hello doyoo user, You have to be logged in to use these functions... Login or register Close window

Send message to member

Product:	GM and cloning
Date:	02/09/06 (299 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Short term gain

Disadvantages: Long term pain

If you are of a religious persuasion, you may believe that the world was created in seven days. Man has evolved over thousands of years to become the most dominant being on the planet. But are we just starting to take everything our ancestors have created for granted? By that I mean, are we in danger of letting our evolved little brains come up with something that could ultimately be our downfall ?

By nature we are a curious bunch. Some folk are even... scientific. I consider myself to be more realistic and even sarcastic. So lets have a look at Genetic Modification and Cloning Garleon style !

----- GM. Or how to feed the world-----

As I understand it. GM or Genetic Modification was first suggested as a way to breed resilient crops. These crops of cereals were made to be resistant to heat, need little water and be nasty to those little insect buggers. The initial idea was a fantastic one. Crops were modified or cross bread (every pun intended for the cereal crops) for use in the third world. These crops thrived and were a complete success... however those greedy people who created them, charged a fortune and the aid agencies could not afford to buy them for their intended purpose to feed the poor. So they sold them insted to rich farmers in the west who have since gone on to produce mountains of corn, wheat and other cereals that can already grow well. By genetically modifying these crops, something weird happened... the nasty little insect buggers EVOLVED. Yep good old mother nature did what she does best. She started to fight back.

We now have locusts who have become impervious to most known weedkillers over the years since crops started getting sprayed. However these bugs still love a nice bowl of cornflakes, so by making their food taste different, the locusts just licked their lips and... cntinued to munch in. Who would have thought it? What I am getting at is that just by modifying something you dynamically alter everything. If corn is not supposed to grow in the Nevada desert, then don't make corn that CAN grow there. By introducing an alien thing to an environment you open up a whole can of whoopass. The crops are resilient, the bugs become resilient and so on through the food chain. Just because a crop is said to be non harmfull to humans, doesn't mean that over a few generation WE may not become altered in some way. Before you know it we will have some smart ass scientist telling us that genetically modifying ourselves we will be able to tolerate the food we eat. Ok so a GM tomato may last a week on a supermarket shelf, and GM celery and gerkins may actually proove to be tasty, but ask yourself the question... WHY. Money. If you have the choice between a pack of organic toms at £1 a pack or GM meanies at 40p, which would you buy in the 5 seconds it takes you to decide? Hey I aint no eco warrior, but I would hate to think that in years to come, my Son would turn round and say "Dad, why didn't you do something to stop it?".

So in closing, GM is in my opinion a Great Mistake. Don't mess with something just to make money. If you are going to feed the world then that's a start. But please don't say it's for the greater good of man when all the GM food is sitting NOT rotting away in some warehouse in Brussels.


----- Cloning -----

I was saying to myself the other day, "Self, what do you think of cloning?". According to the scientists, in a few years we may actually be able to do that, TALK to ourselves. OK so some of us actually do it now, but I mean LITERALLY talk to a clone of yourself. The whole idea gives me the heebiejeebies. Like all unethical scientific pursuits, the basis of cloning was to benefit all mankind. We would be able to clone animals that grow quicker, are exact copies of a superior Master Pedigree animal and would therefore reach adulthood as fine specimens. We would then start cloning stem cells to help keep the dwindling organ market supplied and also cure all types of disease. Ya-de-ya-deya. heard it all before. OK, lets start with the first high profile animal to be cloned... Dolly. A sheep. !!!! Now come on, where do you think the research budget went there? Who could tell if Dolly was actually a clone? I mean, all sheep look SO different! Nah, seriously, what makes you think that they got it right first time? How many mistakes didn't we get to see? Even Leonardo Da Vinci get his pictures wrong and painted over them. The next time you see a scientist who tries to justify the need for cloning, ask them WHY.

I recently heard a fantastic discussion on the radio that went something like this... (Interviewer)"So why are you attempting to clone a human?", "(Scientist) "because it has never been done before. Man is so unique and has such a complex set of blueprints that to clone a person would be a fantastic achievement. To make a person that has the same DNA as another would open up whole new door in science" (Interviewer) " I have three clones at home. My children. They are unique. Their DNA is the same as mine. They didn't cost a fortune to make, but they do take a lot of money to keep!"

Brilliant. The Scientists whole arguement fell apart right there. I would love to hear a serious arguement for Cloning. But in my opinion the only reason that keeps getting thrown at us is to help cure this or provide organs for that. Bah, why not fire the money into curing cancer or aids then?

We have been warned by fiction and science fiction for years about cloning. I am sure you all know that if you photocopy a document, then copy that and so forth, eventually the flaws start to show. Just watch films like Multiplicity starring Michael Keaton. The film may be a comedy, but it does highlight this problem of third generation copies and their flaws. In other books I have read where clones are involved they all turn mad or die prematureley. Then again I did once see a film about a giant monkey in New York, so maybe not all films and books should be seen as a guideline for the real world.

I could go on for ages on both these subjects but I am afraid I would just be ranting. There you are folks, my tuppence worth on GM and Cloning.

Thank you for reading

Summary: Don't mess with mother nature because she will spank yer butt !