GMO Blog

The debate is simple. Should we pursue the advances in genetic testing and selective breeding of organisms or should we consider this a dangerous means of unnatural replication of life that was not meant to occur. This is often a sensitive subject for some and it is an argument that has been going on for quite some time now. It is important to know exactly what is going on from both sides of the argument in order to gain a clear perspective on the issue so here is a brief description of what is happening and an example from articles we were instructed to read.

GMO's or Genetically Modified Organisms are being developed today for many different reasons including food production, crop protection, environmental control and health improvements just to name a few. An example of a GMO would be Bt corn which uses a genetic pesticide to repel damaging caterpillars.

Selective breeding is by definition to use natural breeding of organisms to receive a certain product that will be beneficial to humans. An example of selective breeding that has achieved great results is the selective breeding of cows to result with a Belgium Blue cow that is twice the size of a normal cow. This is economically beneficial to beef producers who will not have to feed two individual cows for the same amount of meat from a Belgium Blue

With these methods of modifying the creatures that inhabit our earth to make life easier for us, there are some concerns that go along with these new procedures. With selective breeding, it often takes a very long time to receive a product that serves an intended purpose. The cow example described above, took nearly one hundred years to have the resulting “super cow.’ There are some problems that arise in animal welfare as well. In an article that describes the breeding changes to food production chickens, breeders have managed to cause the chickens to reach twice their adult size in one third of the time. This is very economically beneficial to the farmers but imagine, if you will, a human six year old weighing 250 pounds. This is about the equivalency to the chickens that we will eventually consume in the near future.

As far as GMO’s go, there are a few problems that also result. One is the basic debate to whether or not this is a natural process and should be left alone for nature to repeat its natural course. Another reason for worry would be the adaptations process that organisms have developed over time can become endangered if met with wrong genetic makeup genetically superior beings. Most of the reason however, is that we are uncertain of what could happen. Right now it seems as though these changes will help us for the better but there will always be the question of “What could happen to the organisms being tested and utilized if our uncertainty takes us in negative directions?”

Why Ecosystem Services Matter

Basically, this pot cast is explaining the relation between the approximated value of ecosystems and how ecosystem services are being viewed as a monetary object. Peter Kareiva, chief scientist at The Nature Conservancy is the primary source for this information in which he states that cost benefit analysis and dollars are how decisions are made but there's no way that humans could estimate a specific price of ecosystem services.  He goes on to say that by the lack of concern for nature we often find ourselves and various difficult positions such as the killing of bees risking pollination or the destruction caused by Katrina which was the largely due to development on wetlands.  However, he personally states that he would prefer to have a value on nature rather than had not having one at all for this would be far to dangerous for our ecosystems. I personally think that in a way it is a distressing that we find ourselves trying to put a price on our earth instead of accepting it for what it is. But at the same time it is formidably keeping us from destroying our earth by thinking value of our world is totally absent. it would be very interesting to see what people will eventually say about he earths worth and I can only hope it allows for us to realize it is too far valuable to list.