[CH] GM rethought
David C. Yoshiba (av8d-ysb@asahi-net.or.jp)
Mon, 4 Oct 1999 15:04:07 +0900
Last Thursday local time any residual faith I had any "scientist" tinkering
with the very molecules of what makes up the universe disappeared. We are
told by those with a vested interest that nuclear energy is safe. We are
told by those with a vested interest that GMOs are safe. In both cases, the
"scientists" are playing with the fundamental building blocks of something
very important--to everyone and everything on this planet. Those building
blocks are being rearranged and were told that it is for our benefit.
On that day, some individuals managed to something very stupid. As gleened
from local news sources, these people went so far as to ignore even the
unofficial manual at a nuclear fuel factory--an apparently illegal
operations manual that bypassed legally established safety conventions but
cut operating costs for the company. It appears they were more or less just
tossing their ingredients around in slop buckets. The results made headlines
globally. Not only did the immediate results make headlines, but so did the
reaction of the company that performed this feat of idiocy. They waited as
long as they could before doing anything about it.
What is going to happen when some company that produces GMO accomplishes
something of equal grace in its chosen endeavor? Keep in mind there are
people and corporate profit involved there, too. The operations in Tokaimura
were able to slow and eventually stop the chain reaction by draining out
some water from the machinery involved. A GMO has to start killing
things--probably lots of things.
To readers in, say, North America, this may sound like hyperbole. My college
is only about 3 miles from the building in Tokaimura where corporate profit
took front seat to the welfare of 310,000 people. Everyone in the area where
I work was under government order not to venture outdoors. It will be some
time before we find out what the real effects are to be. Where will the
mistakes with GMOs be made? From where I sit, we have the choice of being
concerned about the future, or in the future, terrified about the present.
Keep your seeds. Buy seeds that you can trust. Do whatever, but do not buy
GMO seeds, be they of our beloved chiles or not.
Climbing off the soapbox.
David Yoshiba