Good post, Steven. I was agreeing with you until:
A lot of the opposition to genetic modification is coming from the Luddite wing of the environmental movement, which dreams of sending us back to an agro-utopian society that never existed.
I contend that the opposition comes from politically powerful farmers' groups in other countries. The best example is in France, where small truck farms seem to be like the CIO in the 30's. Here in the US, paradoxically, the farmers and ranchers who led the world in efficient food production, have the least political power of any agricultural group in the world. While ADM may have a good lobby for corn-based alcohol, virtually every other small producer segment of food production is being left in the dust relative to other potential importing countries.
Apples to Japan, wheat to Europe, or rice to China, US producers face nearly insurmountable, and often frivolous, objections from importing countries whose own food producers don't want to face our competition. Irradiated food or genetically altered seed, the root of the objection is economic, not Ludditic or safety related. Which is not to say that creating irrational fear in the populace is below their sense of ethics. [<G> or ours, either, witness current social security and health care issues]
Still, good post, Steven. I enjoyed it.
jim |
