GM food is set to enter the world in a big way.I was reading up on Genetically Modified foods, particularly by Monsanto as it has arguably the most controversial GM history. In India Monsanto has been present for quite some years and I remember reading about their genetically modified boll cotton plants years ago.
Monsanto (or a sister company) came up with a weed killer that really socked the creepers. I mean whack! It wiped the field clean .. so clean in fact that more often than not the crop would also go ka-put on you. So they came up with engineered seeds which will resist their weed-killer. Pretty devious. You have to buy the other if u wanna use one. Anyways this is the least of their practices which have roiled the company in controversies. Monsanto guards their seed with exceptional vigour and farmers have to pay (me thinks) a certain sum each year to use their seed. i.e. you buy their seed once, grow the crop - and if you are gonna use seed of that crop again next year you have to pay them for it.
Anyways, I digressed quite a bit. The reason I started on genetically modifed things in the first place was because of the main question being posed currently. Can you patent life? Monsanto can demand royalty off their seed because they have patented that particular seed. Seed maynot be the first thing that comes to your mind when I say life, but engineered breeds of lab mice, pets are being patented. Sure you 'built' the thing its yours to claim.
Many people are fighting against this as they feel life should not be patented. Many envision a scenario where humans are engineered for a certain trait (may be anything) and patented. Once you have patented something you earn money off it .. pretty scary; yes. But if patents are not granted for seeds, lab-mice, whatever, then the GM wagon will slow down considerably. You spend tons of money on it you expect some return.
Obviously the counter argumet is 'why modify life in the first place?' I disagree with this view. Genetically modified products definitely improve output in whatever way they are designed to. Even before GM, we had modified products in the food chain. (chicken, fruit injected with hormones). Humans, through science have modifed the Earth as a whole in an irreparable way.. and it will continue. There is no way we can 'live as an observer' so to say.
Posted by anya at January 27, 2004 06:35 PM | TrackBackanya..links gandalya ahet! tuza blog add. adhi attach hot ahe..chk. that out!
Posted by: Mandar at January 28, 2004 12:44 AMlinks gandlya aahet? the 'read the rest of..' link works fine for me. try clicking on it without having this comment box open.
Posted by: aNYA at January 28, 2004 09:05 AMwell .. looks like i am having some technical problems. I looked at the site from home, and from my comp in school and it looked fine - but now from another lab i am seeing some problems - strange.
I cannot see the sidebar in its proper place - i.e. on the right hand side of the latest post - instead it appears at the bottom of the page. Anybody else having similar problems? If so pls tell me your browser, version and OS .. (I am using Internet Explorer 6.0 on Windows XP) thanks a bunch. lets hope i can sort it out soon.
I see the blog fine.
As a side note, the first organism to be patented was an oil eating bacterium, 'invented' by Ananda Chakrabarty working for GE. The patent application was apealed to the US supreme court untill it was finally granted in 1980. a google search gives some interesting links - http://www.google.com/search?ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&sourceid=deskbar&q=%22Ananda+Chakrabarty%22+GE
A very interesting article - http://www.gene-watch.org/genewatch/articles/14-3patenting.html
NPR is currently running a series on the whole genes, genome mapping, GM thingy... More on that here - http://www.pbs.org/wnet/dna/index.html
Posted by: Chinmay at January 28, 2004 02:26 PMokay - how many of you bothered to read the rest of this post by clicking on the 'read the rest..' link ..? just curious.
Posted by: aNYA at January 29, 2004 12:25 AMDon't know if it is something to feel proud about but yes i did go thru the WHOLE article.Looks fine in my comp too and i also use XP and I.E 6..
The whole debate as i see it is entirely ethical and i agree with you that there isn't anything illegal about GM food.Its just a logical step in man's search for knowledge.The only concern is that humans have a propensity for self destruction caused by something as abased as greed.....
Don't know if it is something to feel proud about but yes i did go thru the WHOLE article.Looks fine in my comp too and i also use XP and I.E 6..
The whole debate as i see it is entirely ethical and i agree with you that there isn't anything illegal about GM food.Its just a logical step in man's search for knowledge.The only concern is that humans have a propensity for self destruction caused by something as abased as greed.....
I read, but am not sure where I stand :D
Posted by: resh at January 29, 2004 04:49 PMHey, Thanks for stopping by :) You've got a pretty little blog here. Keep it going :)
Posted by: Spaceman at January 29, 2004 10:35 PM