Genetic engineering... one of the most debated feats of science. Possibly one of the most useful discoveries... and possibly one of the most dangerous.But what IS genetic engineering? Scientifically, genetic engineering is the modification of a living being's development.By taking genes from one living being and adding it to another, the being the genes are added to inherit the traits from the donor being. For example: if the gene controlling an orange's color was added to an apple, the apple might become orange in color ...view middle of the document...
There is also the possibility that genetically engineered food isn't as nutritious as organic food.As it is, this debate has been on quite a large scale, with people going both ways. To try and simulate this, I asked 20 people what they thought of genetic engineering, and whether or not they thought it was a good idea. Out of this, 15 of them said no, and 5 said yes.The people who said no more or less said the same thing: "Genetic engineering is messing with the very basics of life. It's too close to humans trying to play God, and humans are imperfect... there's bound to be mistakes. It's just too dangerous."The people who said yes also said similar things: "Although it's dangerous, genetic engineering could help end world hunger. What if we could mass-produce food like corn and grain? It would help the hungry world-wide."While I myself fall into the former category, I do see the merit to genetic engineering. It COULD help with things like world hunger... but it could also cause more trouble than it's worth. Perhaps I'll re-evaluate my position on it some time in the future, when scientists have honed their skills and can prove that genetic engineering has no negative effects. But until then, I plan to steer clear.
