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"There's enough on this
planet for everyone's needs but not for everyone's greed" -- Mahatma
Gandhi
Genetically Modified FoodThe issue around Genetically Modified Food (GM Food, or also known as Genetically Engineered Food -- GE Food) has really hit the mainstream media in a number of countries around the world, including most of Europe and many Asian countries, but noticeably not really in the US.While there is a possibility that GM Food can actually benefit us, a lot of scientists today suggest that this is not the case at this time. The reason for this is because GM food is being rushed through without adequate time to test the technology and assure people that it is safe. One common point made by supporters is that this is the same as what farmers have been doing for thousands of years with crops -- mixing and matching, getting the best our of each species etc etc... However, often missed out in this is that farmers have traditionally used similar species, not completely separate ones like genes from fish being added to certain types of tomatoes... Corporations such as Monsanto are aggressively trying to promote it (60% of all processed foods contain genetically modified ingredients, and most people do not know about this...) but there has been a huge backlash from scientists as well as activists. Long term safety of the technology is uncertain and the way the public is being shut out of the debate is a huge cause for concern -- if this was to be "beneficial for humankind", then surely one of the main places to discuss this is in public. But, prevention of labelling in the name of "free" trade and patenting of hundreds or even thousands year old indigenous knowledge (what some call biopiracy) suggests other interests are at play while raising also issues to do with Intellectual property rights... The "solution to world hunger" is currently a very expensive technology. This solution has been criticsed due to technology like Terminator Seeds (which prevent germination of seeds so that the farmer is always forced to buy new seeds each year, rather than save them efficiently) and the strong argument that world hunger is actually a political problem, where "many people in the world are suffering from malnutrition and hunger because they cannot afford to buy food, not because it is unavailable." Some companies promoting GM Food have come under harsh criticism. Perhaps the most well known is Monsanto. They have been accused of various unfair corporate practices from censorship to "close relationships" with the Food and Drug Administration in the US, developing the Terminator technology with just profit in mind and so on. The amount of public protest has perhaps taken most people by surprise. In Europe especially, wherever test fields growing genetically modified crops exist, activists have been destroying them, sometimes dumping them in front of their government offices and so on. In fact because of the public complaints, the media has caught on and a number of European nations have been trying to introduce moratoriums (although, not always successfully as some nations have complained that this is against the ideals of free trade) etc... Major supermarkets in UK and Spain for example have said that they will ban GM ingredients in their own branded food. While the acceptance of GM Food is important an issue, so is the way it is being handled as it can be an indication as to how many other issues will be handled. Just campaigning against GM Food because it is "playing with God's creation" or supporting it just because it sounds scientifically modern are not always helpful in themselves... All the other issues as mentioned above, and as provided by the web sites below are part of the whole debate. Because it is good for one group, or even country, doesn't mean that the entire world will share the same views. More InformationThere is increasingly a huge amount of information out there on GM Food:
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