October 19th, 2007; 1:59 PM
Current mood:
contemplative
I saw a movie last night with friends. Sometime in the previews a movie came up called "Rendition". One of my friends plugged her ears and began humming so that she could block out the preview to that movie. She didn't want to see it and didn't want to even hear any part of the preview. I guess we all have our own preferences. But it seemed like an amusing reaction at the time. -Very comical to me. Later on we started talking a bit about that preview and it struck me that it was such an odd anomaly to her character. She is such a caring and thoughtful person. Someone that I hold in high regard. So it's actually very strange to me that she doesn't want to spend too much time thinking about the topic of rendition. We also started talking about GMO's and on that topic, yet again she surprised me. I am not inherently in favor of or in opposition of GMO's...in fact our conversation last night only spurred me on to do more research on the topic, so that I *could* have a personal opinion on it. But as it stood last night...the only thing I really had to say was that I didn't like the term "Frankenfood" because I don't like scare tactics of any kind. I know that usually scare tactics appear to come from the more conservative side....but in this case I find that they are being employed by liberals more. And it just doesn't sit well with me no matter who it comes from. I would much rather prefer that arguments for or against GMO's be made from empirical evidence. I want claims to be substantiated by facts and not just personal slants, gut instincts, hunches, emotions, or peer pressure. But my friend thought that it was fine to use the term "Frankenfood" and that it was fine to use it even if it was a scare tactic. I just don't agree. It seems that any logical arguments against it can still be made without the use of well...um..."name calling". It was an interesting conversation. And I hope to revisit the topic again once I've had a chance to do more research. The main problem I have in my research is finding a source or sources that don't already have a slant. That don't have an agenda...or reason to be on one side or the other. I've also found it somewhat difficult to find a source that shows links to their claims and supporting evidence. Because...I guess fundamentally I am a "questioner"..that is who I am and what I do. I don't really have blind faith or trust in anything. ...Now someone reading this that didn't actually know me might think (mistakenly) that I am across the board in favor of GMO's -I'm not. I actually buy all organic produce from a local CSA. But the reason I do that is in part to support an idea that I find to be noble. I like the concept of a community banding together to help support local farms. And then to grow healthy organic food that is so flavorful and nutritious is also great. I do admittedly do it in part because my mom's health is so precious to me. And although I certainly don't think that a Safeway apple will kill her...I'm going to do everything that I can to ensure that she is getting the best quality food I can. And basically there *is* a lot of conjecture as to the safety of GMO's. ...and well....until it is proven one way or the other..I'm not taking any risks with my Mother's health. But that does *not* mean that I am inherently against them. -I'm not. In fact I can see many potentially good things about them that directly correlate to alleviating human suffering. I think we all know that our world population is growing exponentially. And yet..we still only have the same (if not less with global warming) surface area on which to grow our food. So the question then becomes...how in the future will we be able to feed everyone? I know that we should reduce the rate at which we are reproducing. Birth control is a good thing. But beyond that I also think that we should look to technology and not be afraid of it. I think that producing more grain on the same amount of acreage is a good thing. I also see organic produce as a luxury for the rich. I'm not Mamma-lot-a-bucks...but nor am I a starving person in subsaharan Africa. So...I can afford to chose. Not everyone can.
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