Even though the house I grew up in is surrounded by farmland, I know absolutely nothing about farming, Leaning about the history of cotton farming, especially why it prospered in the US and its relationship with the slave trade was a particularly interesting section of this book for me. It had never occurred to me to think about the reason behind why cotton plantations were so popular and profitable. I also was unaware that the US government has constantly been creating ways for cotton farmers to skirt around paying for labor. These chapters have been really eye-opening on the complex process of planting cotton. We’ve just barely touched on how the actual t-shirt gets made from the cotton.
I have a little background knowledge on genetically modified crops from an environmental science class I took in high school, but we didn't really cover the complexities of using these crops in farming. Fixing one problem just to create another to solve seems like it might just be a never ending cycle. I fear that searching for perfection in the science of genetically modified crops will be an unattainable goal. I think the benefits of GM crops heavily outweigh any possible negatives, but that’s only covering what we know so far about them. Can you modify a crop too much, so much so that it becomes invasive? I’ve seen plenty of futuristic horror movies about what happens why humans try to control nature. Now to be clear, I think we’re a long way off from some kind of futuristic crop apocalypse, but I know human greed can lead us to invent things that we shouldn’t. With technology becoming exponentially more advanced, science needs to be clear about it’s ethics in a quickly changing world.
2 comments:
Hmmm, I don't know... I think the cropocalypse is upon us! But seriously... I agree. Crops nowadays are so modified I genuinely don't even know what the original product was! Like, for example, the hybrid corn we eat now originally came from Teosinte (like a grassy corn) around 7000 years ago before it was domesticated. How far do we go? What's next, 3D printed meat? Ew.
I agree with a lot of what you’re saying, especially about how eye-opening the history of cotton farming is. It’s kind of crazy that something as basic as a T-shirt has this huge backstory involving slavery and government policies most of us never think about when we’re just grabbing something off a rack. I also understand your concerns about GM crops. It does feel like science sometimes fixes one issue just to create another like upgrading your phone and immediately discovering three new problems (iPhone IOS updates). Even though GM crops have clear benefits, especially for food production, I think it’s still important to question the long-term effects. I don’t think we’re heading toward a crop apocalypse anytime soon, but your point about ethics definitely matters as technology keeps advancing.
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