Publisher's Synopsis
Inventions affect our cultural values, ethics, and laws; they affect the way we behave in society. Throughout the ages, technological advancements have made our lives easier in many ways, but our accomplishments didn't come without sacrifice. No one knows how the technology of today will affect our future. What new sacrifices will we have to make as a society to uphold and continue this technological growth? We only see the benefit of the technology when it is being used for good, but the real cost of the thing is to take the good and the bad alike - the unforeseen quid pro quo. When a new technology comes into play, it brings along many mind-boggling predictions about how it will affect our lives and our future. Genetically modified organisms (GMO) or genetically modified foods (GMO foods) has become one of the most talked about issues of today. There are rising concerns about food allergies that are the symptoms of many new diseases, some minor and some very frightening, which have seen a track record (an increase) alongside the growth and popularity of genetically modified organisms and genetically modified foods and crops. The underlining difficulties of providing food for the masses is charted in the history of conventional farming methods, such as using the old plow and pickaxe to till the soil for growing crops. The ability to achieve exponential crop growth has been seriously affected by climate changes that have impacted the environment in many ways and have affected many lives. Plant diseases have caused a series of significant hardships for many nations around the world. Since the 1900s, concerns about the scarcity of food became a well-known fear. There were many harmful threats about a potential food shortage in the near future. Threats such as the Irish potato famine, pest problems, climate change, and the growing population led many to believe that the shortage in food supply was close at hand. In 1946, President Harry Truman gave a speech addressing the food crisis in Europe and Asia, urging all Americans to conserve and do what they can to help starving people all over the world (The Food Crisis, 1946). According to the Journal of World Affairs, food prices were at an all-time high in 2008, and food rebellions occurred in countries such as Egypt, Haiti, Cameroon, Indonesia, and Bangladesh. However, in the years 2010 and 2011, it appeared that the concern has shifted from food crisis to product price variability and market inadequacy (Kharas, 2011). It would seem as though genetically modified foods technology is being used by GMO foods activists to carry forth a wicked agenda: to force the technology into a laisser-faire type development, while using the general public as guinea pigs. The opposing party of GMO technology seem to think that this will boomerang and destroy the quality of everything we seek to preserve. If this should happen, our food sources will be reduced to a lower quality (which will be irreversible), and our lifespan will also be reduced, and we shall become even more inferior. Bible records show that many of our ancestors lived past 200 years old. Such extremes in longevity were possible because during those times, the earth was not overpopulated and polluted as it has become over the last thousand years. The work our ancestors did was much harder than it is today; therefore, the primitive man would have had to use all of his muscles and flex all his joints, and perhaps this has something to do with longevity. The water was clean and full of the necessary minerals that were good for the body. The food from the earth were electric - full of essential vitamins, minerals and proteins to stimulate the body, the mind, and the spirit. The air and the soil were pure and richly enhanced with the necessary portions of oxygen, nitrogen and other elements that are good for stimulating the senses. Man had not yet discovered the wicked chemicals and inventions that caused pollution to the environment.