Before I am blasted for imagining something common between genetically modified crops and the unfortunate nuclear disaster in Japan that occurred due to the tsunami, let me explain why I got these thoughts.
Until a few days back, probably no body imagined that nuclear installations can even be damaged the way they have been. I am sure a lot of elaborate controls and checks would have been put in place to counter any situation around the nuclear installations, based on great amounts of research and analysis. However, here was a completely unexpected force of nature that made all the calculations made so far incomplete, so much so some countries have decided to close some of their nuclear plants while others are re-evaluating safety of the installations.
Is this the case with genetically modified crops too? While proponents of GM research argue there is no stone unturned in ensuring GM crops are safe and don’t lead to unexpected imbalances in nature, do we really have all the information about nature to make this conclusion? Or will this leave us regretting in hindsight when we realize something we never imagined has happened - that is if we remain to look back and regret. Is tweaking with genetics the way we currently do less or more dangerous than playing with nuclear energy?
Just some open questions - what are your thoughts?
No doubt about that. When scientists don’t even know how plants suck water from soil (none of their theories are perfect), you can not expect them to know the bad effects of GM. When Endosulfan was introduced, it was marketed as the best solution to all the pest problem. Now we know the reality. So is the case with medicines and drugs.
Geneticaly modifying anything is trying to do some thing which nature do in thousands or lakhs of year.
human is in impression that he can surpass nature but this is imposible, so definatly GM crops will have some effect on nature…nature will handle it perfectly but GM crops can put bad / worse or no effect on human cycle (life of humans race on earth, which is a flash of light in this vast universe time scale)…
scientist can’t predict it perfectly so i don’t belive in there 100% assurance that GM crops are safe…
there was/is global melt down in 2008, now nuclear melt down in 2011 and the next melt down will be what ? will it be life melt down?
this is the contribution of the learned people, scientists and science to the world.
Good point. If what products were recommended yesterday are considered unusable today, that is a definite indicator our knowledge is just as of the ‘point of time’ and may never be complete enough. Who ever thought dodos would die?! We can’t use DDT and Gammaxane/BHC anymore?
Absolutely!
Science is indispensable, but we better bite as much as we can chew?
Added to this is the GM plants so developed by these so called scientists, at the behest of their companies have made them incapable of reproducing naturally. They simply refuse to germinate !!
So you are left at the mercy of these companies to buy the next generation of seeds, Next generation means some more of the plants original DNA manipulated. More problems !! so in a few cycle the original breeds itself gets eliminated.
This is much worse than human’s interference in “Artificial Selection” After thousands of years we have simply eliminated many natural species that used to live in forests without human intervention.
Any thoughts on Hybrids ?? Like F1, F2 etc etc. Here also in controlled conditions species are crossed with, that never would have occurred naturally. But no one raises any objections here. The seed market here also is controlled by a few.
you are right. those were the days with bullock carts horses and bicycles which never emitted any polluted smokes and climate was positive for humans. we will learn the drawbacks of current technology and by the tie it will be late and cannot be avoided.
Any thing against nature is dangerous, GM crops too. Fukishima reactor was not adopted with modern safety devices. The Koodankulam reactor has been built with necessary safety devices. Controlled Nuclear energy is the best source for electricity generation and also it is the need of the hour. One hand we need power and another hand we do not want nuclear power generation. All other modes are either depleting or dead costly. Let us hope the nuclear power effectively solve our power crunch.
R Vasudevan
