For example, how many people here still believe that genetically modified crops are the answer to hunger in the world?
I'm not sure you and I use the term "genetically modified" the same way. But the way I use it, which includes cross-pollination (which is a form of genetic modification) and a range of other techniques to make plants more productive and more amenable to storage and shipment, i do believe that these techniques, while not the answer to hunger in the world, are part of the answer.
Humans have been manipulating the genetic makeup of their crops almost since there have been crops. Most of the plants we eat today -- almost all our varieties of apples, grapes, and other fruits, for example -- have been modified by mankind from what nature initially produced. Keep in mind that whenever you produce a different species of a plant, you have modified its genes. So, for example, crossing one kind of apple with another, whether by cross-pollination or by gene splicing, is genetic modification.
The techniques of genetic modification have changed, and it may be that you are only objecting to certain modern practices such as gene splicing, but the principle of genetic modification and the desire by man to change the genetic makeup of plants from what nature originally produced is ancient and, IMO, very worthwhile. |
