to mess with or not to mess with?
Posted by Meg
This morning, I was listening to BBC World Service and their weekly science program (whose name escapes me) was on. While the first unintentionally hilarious bit was a scientist with a lisp talking about speech and language evolution, the next part was about food. Apparently there is a new strain of stem rust, UG99, spreading at an alarming rate through the wheat crops of the East. It originated in Uganda, and has been spreading steadily through Africa, the Middle East and now South Asia. Already a huge problem, the concern is that UG99 will spread northwards next into Northern Asia, Russia and eventually Europe.
The Global Wheat Trust Initiative is working on finding a solution to the problem. Other wheat problems have been solved before. Norman Borlaug engineered dwarf wheat that wouldn’t fall over and die under it’s own weight. I heard about it on the West Wing and it’s in Wikipedia: it must be true. But, all of these lovely, famine stopping, hunger preventing measures are gasp genetically modifying food.
Where is the line with GMO (genetically modified organisms)? What constitutes a problem that’s worth being solved with modification? What happens if everyone doesn’t agree on a standard? What happens when the wind blows, and seeds from crops that we and weren’t modified mix? Who’s idea was the Grapple? (Seriously, worst fruit EVER!) I think about it a lot (because I think about food constantly), but it’s more than just a meal. If you are what you eat, what are we becoming?
All that thought made me hungry. Despite having had the Famous Avocado from Café Recess on the Hill for lunch (the best sandwich in DC, no contest), I could go for another tasty morsel.