https://www.ted.com/talks/pamela_ronald_the_case_for_engineering_our_food#t-1223130
This TED talk is for all of you out there that are interested in genetically engineered food. I imagine there are quite a few of you that are going to do your research paper on this topic. I wanted to choose a TED talk because I personally think that listening to an educated person talk to you about a topic they are passionate about is way more interesting than reading an article. Whenever we hear “GMO” when it comes to our food, most of us automatically assume the worst. Before this video I honestly thought that all foods that are genetically modified were bad for the environment and bad for our health. In this TED talk, Pamela Ronald makes a strong case for the pros of genetically engineering our food. For example, rice paddies are often flooded in asian countries, and farmers were desperate for a rice that would survive the wet environment. Ronald mentions a rice species that has been genetically engineered to be able to endure flooded farms, and, ultimately, save tons of people from hunger and losing their jobs. Ronald compares some genetic engineering to vaccines we would get to fight off illness and disease. In one case, genetic engineering saved the Hawaiian papaya from extinction. So GMO’s can’t all be bad, right? I found that her TED talk to be very informative and interesting as it provided a different perspective on something we associate with being terrible. I hope some of you out there find this to be helpful!
That's pretty interesting to know, I agree before reading your blog I didn't really know much about GMO, and thought that GMO was bad. I guess in some ways in order to help special circumstances of some environments (the rice paddies) we need to find a better solution by using GMO. In order to cope with our growing populations we have to find more efficient and sustainable ways to growing our crops, and GMO will be necessary. I agree that it can't be all that bad, I think this research will help pave the way for even better solutions.
ReplyDeleteI really like this topic! I remember first being introduced to GMO's in my APES class last year and remember being absolutely amazed and fascinated with the fact that we can evolve our plants and foods into a perfect product. But then there are always negatives to a side! I agree that TED talks are definitely more interesting and more engaging to listen to than to read a article on a laptop screen. I am considering talking about GMO's for my topic but I am trying to stay away from a science perspective, and take a look at the more political side of foods, but great suggestion Kaitlyn!
ReplyDeleteI used to always think that genetically modified foods were terrible things to consume but that isn't always the case. As you and the TED talk pointed out, modifying certain foods can be a beneficial action and isn't always a harmful thing to do. Everything has their good and bad aspects and even though sometimes an unnatural food can sometimes be unhealthy to eat, genetically modified food are sometimes improved, sometimes fruits in taste - for example - to assist kids to eat more healthily while they build habits. Sometimes genetically modifying fruits and vegetables helps them to be grown in unusual places and somehow help them grow more to allow for a greater amount of produce to feed the population. But yeah, GMO food isn't always such a terrible thing.
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