Response to Real Texts Reading on Biotechnology

The reading we were assigned from Real Texts brought a lot of things to my attention. It was pertaining to biotechnology and the way genetically modified (GM) foods have been making their way into the diets of Americans. Scientists, large factory farmers, and businesspeople are all over this idea of enhancing food to have higher crop yields and produce more for less money. Philosophers back up the idea of GM crops by stating that they "ensure that the world's poorest people do not go hungry", when in reality many developing countries do not have the money or resources to benefit from GM crops.

Gordon Conway and Gary Toenniessen's work "Feeding the World in the Twenty-First Century" was an eye-opener as well. The authors touch on the industrial world and its problems with overproduction, as well as underdeveloped countries and how much they suffer due to lack of resources and money. It was astonishing to find that more than 180 million children under the age of five are severely underweight, and that 17 million of these children die each year as malnourishment contributes to at least 1/3 of these deaths.

All in all, the reading covered information about GM crops and their pros and cons depending on the audience. Various types of people are affected by GM crops such as scientists, philosophers, politicians, sociologists, and businesspeople. For example, a person held accountable for a country's finances must be influenced so that solutions are manageable to pay for. On the other hand, a person who writes about ethics must believe that solutions account for long-term affects on people's health.

 

The picture above depicts tomatoes becoming genetically enhanced as they are injected with hormones/chemicals to make them larger.