QUOTE(mumeichan @ Oct 12 2009, 07:33 PM)
In your opinion, both sides of the argument is possible. But in reality, the latter is completely ridiculous and impossible. First of all the "law of nature" is a fallacious fantasy crafted by delusional people who believe this world is being destroyed by 'evil' doings of mankind and many people buy these ideas cause they are simply ignorant towards basic science. They'd rather rattle like empty bottles than to spend some time in the library reading books.
What is so unnatural about "genetic engineering"? Even if you don't believe in dinosaurs and evolution, scientist has seen with their own eyes that genetic changes occurs very frequently in almost every organism. Sexual reproduction, viruses, pollination, spontaneous errors during genetic replication are all common example of how genetic structure and sequence keep changing. If you believe in evolution, then for us to have come to the kind of biodiversity (alot alot of different kind of living things) that we have today means there has been a great deal of genetic changes so far. If I were to stand in front of you and ask you "Do we look the same?" you'd definitely answer "No". The reason why we all look different is because in sexual reproduction, the genetic makeup are always altered abit. Yes, as a whole, my DNA is very very similar to yours, but that slight difference makes you look different.
People always retort, "Yea that's how it happens naturally but GE is when people play around with genes in labs". Hmm lets examine this problem. If a farmer were to take seed and plants it all over him farm and later harvest them, would you say that is something unnatural? Would you say that his crops is not natural since he planted them instead of plucking them from the forest? Obviously no! It doesn't matter if it is the wind, or the birds, or any other animal or humans who carry these seeds from one place to the other and let them sprout and grow. It is the same with genes, instead of having the mix themselves up in the cells of living things, we not have the tool small enough to see and move them around? We humans are part of the system, part of nature too. Whatever we do, be it plant fruits, rear cows, build houses, hunt whales destroy the ozone or end the world with a bunch of nukes, it's all natural. Nature doesn't always work to preserve what there is now, it's constantly changing. A volcanic eruption can kill many things but also give life to other, so as a flood or hurricane. You think hunting whales till they become extict is unnatural? Actually among animals themselves, competition and hunting drives many species to extinction it's just that we don't realize it because we can't be keeping track of every single unique DNA there is in the world and see which one goes extinct. Don't twist my words either, I am not saying everything that humans do is right or wrong good or bad, that is a totally different question. All I am saying is that we and whatever we do is part of nature.
Another fallacy is that genetic engineering is is harmful to health because it is 'unnatural". If you eat poisonous mushroom you'll die even though it's "natural". Even the bird shit that falls on your car is "natural", though I'll bet you'll get diarrhea from eating it. Just because it's something that exist already doesn't mean it is safe for health. GM food is very safe because they are just altering how it grows and what it produces. They can make it grow faster, bigger, contain more of a certain nutrient and so on. It's not some random mad scientist experiment. They identify exactly what gene causes what decide what gene they wanna put into the plant or animal. Just because your chicken got fatter or your carrot has more vitamin A doesn't mean it's gonna turn poisonous whether in the short run or long run.
lol i dont know what u have been reading.
1. how on earth do u equate farming (and propagation for that matter) to be on the same level as genetic engineering? im not sure if u know the difference between cross breeding and genetic engineering. cross breeding has been practised for centuries where farmers commonly cross breed crops to get a crop of superior quality. certain 'genetically modified' products have foreign DNA incorporated. the question about it being 'natural' is whether the product will come to be eventually without our guiding hands. the question is about creation, not destruction.
2. if you eat a poisonous mushroom u die. therefore u dont eat poisonous mushrooms. simple logic. but if u dont know if a mushroom is poisonous, u practise caution and test if it's safe to eat. just because the mushroom beside it is safe to eat doesnt mean this one is. im not sure where u got that from but GM foods are not deemed harmful because they are artificial. the main concern of food techies is that it is unproven to be safe when taken in the long run and that cannot be refuted.
p.s: reading further from your wall of text, i assume that you are also pro-cloning, and u also support the notion of creating a half man-half horse creature (centaur). i mean, with the mental ability of humans and a body of a horse, they could be created as the future generation to replace us. with a lower body of a horse, mankind could reduce the need for modern transportation and also reduce congestion and carbon emissions. i see it as win-win situation. oh even better yet, how about humans with the body of a horse AND wings that could fly? that way we could reduce the usage of cars AND planes. how great is that!
This post has been edited by b3ta: Oct 24 2009, 07:43 PM