Another excellent, thoughtful piece. Thank you Melanie. If you ever find a copy of the Report of the Royal Commission on Genetic Modification (2001), and have the stamina to read it, you’ll find very similar lines of thought. Of course, gene editing wasn’t invented then and in the following 20+ years many very useful medicines, including cancer treatments and vaccines, have been produced using this technology (think of the rapid development of the Covid mRNA vaccines), but for me, your example of Round-Up Ready soybean resistance emphasizes what we don’t need. After all, Aotearoa is not a cropping nation really. Thank you for taking me back to why the RCGM said decisions should be taken on a case by case basis.
Genetic modification and herbicides like Roundup certainly have unintended consequences. In 1970 1/3 of the world suffered severe hunger. That rate fell to about 12% by 2015. Obesity is now a much larger problem :) During the period, world population more than doubled! Because of obesity the demand for insulin has skyrocketed. It seems that whatever the problem, genetic modification has played a role in lessening the impact at least in these cases. While thoughtful regulation is always useful, the yearning for the past approaches are no longer options for burgeoning population. I always enjoy your writing.
Another excellent, thoughtful piece. Thank you Melanie. If you ever find a copy of the Report of the Royal Commission on Genetic Modification (2001), and have the stamina to read it, you’ll find very similar lines of thought. Of course, gene editing wasn’t invented then and in the following 20+ years many very useful medicines, including cancer treatments and vaccines, have been produced using this technology (think of the rapid development of the Covid mRNA vaccines), but for me, your example of Round-Up Ready soybean resistance emphasizes what we don’t need. After all, Aotearoa is not a cropping nation really. Thank you for taking me back to why the RCGM said decisions should be taken on a case by case basis.
Genetic modification and herbicides like Roundup certainly have unintended consequences. In 1970 1/3 of the world suffered severe hunger. That rate fell to about 12% by 2015. Obesity is now a much larger problem :) During the period, world population more than doubled! Because of obesity the demand for insulin has skyrocketed. It seems that whatever the problem, genetic modification has played a role in lessening the impact at least in these cases. While thoughtful regulation is always useful, the yearning for the past approaches are no longer options for burgeoning population. I always enjoy your writing.