What do you think about when people talk about GMO crops? It is easy to jump to the obvious concerns about what it may be doing to our food, which ultimately impacts our health. This is well covered in the media. What you dont often think about are all the potential side effects it has on the world we are trying to be good stewards of. Here is a good example of that even though the article is not about GMOs. When I was a kid, we used to play in the corn fields behind our house before those became a subdivision. Milkweed was everywhere and we all knew what it was. Well, this is the host plant for the Monarch butterfly. Now that we have GMO crops that have pesticides injected into the genetic makeup of the plant so that it can resist the pesticide, farmers can spray loads of chemicals on the crops and kill everything around it except the plant. Sound good? Well now youve destroyed what was once a big part of the habitat for this beautiful butterfly and their populations are significantly declining. The reason this makes a story is because it is one of earths most beautiful specimens that people are familiar with. But if we are destroying the habitat for this one that we are so familiar with, think about all the other insects, plants, and microorganisms which also get eliminated and for which an article like this will never be written. The side of this argument that justifies us screwing with nature to enable our reckless use of chemical pesticides so that we can feed the world is flawed. These examples of the impact our decisions are making on our world are only the beginning and we have to know that they will ultimately add up to some huge issues for our environment and our future generations. Dont forget about the circle of life and these plants and animals that are being impacted may not mean much to some people. However, Im 100% sure they are in the circle of life for something that does significantly impact their life in one way or another.
Posted on: Sun, 25 Jan 2015 02:12:55 +0000
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