There's a golden rule that many an American lives by: Don't mess with Mother Nature. I know all about it; it's a tenet I live by each and every day. Those who read my weekly blog post would agree with a good many of my ideas, and probably hold similar views. Chief among them is the idea of not messing with success, and I think we'd all agree that Planet Earth has got a good thing going.
There are times when this type of thinking can get us into trouble. We often become so convinced of the righteous nature of our ideas that we refuse to look beyond our own point of view. A popular belief nowadays is the idea that if something comes from the earth it's good, and if it's manufactured by man it must be--even a little bit--bad. It's become instilled in the American psyche, and I'll admit it's a view I generally share. I find it's becoming so deeply ingrained that I--like many fellow countrymen--instinctively distrust anything and anyone that veers from the organic, all-natural path.
Imagine my surprise then to discover last Sunday morning, myself shifting my thoughts on the subject of GMOs. To refresh your memory, GMOs are Genetically Modified Organisms, a concept that leaves a figurative bad taste in the mouth. Like nuclear power, cloning and oil pipelines, it's got the taint of the human hand. It's about meddling, not being true to what NATURE intended, right? Well, maybe. But maybe not.
While snuggled with my pups on the couch last weekend watching my favorite show, CBS News Sunday Morning, I found myself literally sitting up, coffee cup forgotten, as I listened to the latest take on the GMO debate. The segment featured the plight of the papaya, which thrived on Hawaiian farms until ringspot virus hit in the mid 1990's and decimated plants within three years. That's when scientists stepped in, injecting a minute amount of the virus, vaccination style, into papaya seeds. The results were for the ailing fruit the same as what inoculations for the millions living among small pox or polio experienced: near eradication. Today, the genetically-modified fruit is once again thriving on Hawaiian farms. In this case, it was nature's virus that threatened the plant, and human innovation that brought it back from the brink of ruin.
So is there a case to be made for altering the genetic makeup of the food we eat? As the same report revealed, we've been doing just that for centuries--in the form of cross-breeding plants. Hybridization accounts for the makeup and appearance of nearly all the produce on our plates at mealtime. In fact, the juicy corn on the cob we can't wait to bite into looks nothing like the maze the Indians shared with the Pilgrims. Corn in that era looked more like wheat (pictured above).
But just because we've been doing it doesn't necessarily make it safe, right? Perhaps. Most Americans think GMOs are potentially hazardous. In fact, 57% polled saw imminent danger to us, while, interestingly, 88% of scientists could find absolutely no studies linking genetic modification to any increased health risk. Okay, studies are in their infancy. And one potential hazard involves modifying produce to the degree that it can withstand the herbicides that kill its neighboring weeds. To me, that's a very real concern, since we KNOW pesticides can compromise our health. I plan on digging further into this topic. And why not? It's the middle of winter, and I can't dig into my garden soil. Why not unearth a little food for thought?
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