Genetic Engineering Brings More Harm Than Good :: Genetic Engineering Essays

Until the recent demise of the Soviet Union, we lived down the stairs the dailythreat of nuclear holocaust extinguishing human being spirit and the entirebiosphere. Now it looks more likely that total destruction pull up stakes beaverted, and that widespread, but not univers on the wholey fatal, damage impart stretch forth to occur from radiation accidents from power plants, agingnuclear submarines, and perhaps the expressage use of tactical nuclearweapons by governments or terrorists.What has gone largely unnoticed is the unprecedented lethal threat ofgenetic engineering to spiritedness on the planet. It now seems likely, unlessa major shift in worldwide policy occurs quickly, that the majorecosystems that support the biosphere argon going to be irreversiblydisrupted, and that genetically engineered viruses may very well leadto the eventual demise of almost all-human life. In the course of themajor transformations that are on the way, human beings will betransformed, both i ntentionally and unintentionally, in ways that will defend us something different than what we now consider human.Regardless of the dangers, we are rushing total speed ahead on almostall fronts. Some of the most powerful multinational chemical,pharmaceutical and agricultural corporations learn staked theirfinancial futures on genetic engineering. Enormous amounts of money arealready involved, and the United States government is currentlybullying the rest of the world into rapid acceptance of corporatedemands concerning genetic engineering research and marketing.In the 1950s, the media was full of information ab bug out the great newscientific miracle that was going to make it possible to kill all ofthe noxious insects in the world, to wipe out insect-born diseases and endure the worlds starving masses. That was DDT. In the 1990s, themedia is full of information about the approach shot wonders of geneticengineering. Everywhere are claims that genetic engineering will feedthe star ving, help eliminate disease, and so forth. The ideas andevidence presented below are think to help evaluate that centralquestion.Some scientists believe that, since genetic codes line up theappearance, personality, health, and aging process of human beings, ifthat genetic information in the chromosomes could be decoded and thegenetic mechanism were understood, we could potentially control andimprove our health, quality of life, and the biochemical processes inour bodies. In other words, we could control our own fate. Also, wedbe commensurate to improve the genes of other animals and vegetables so thatthey could serve humankind better. At initial sight, these ideas seemreasonable and attractive. However, careful analysis reveals that theyare based upon an improper theory--the theory of gene determinism.Genes are often described as blueprints or computer programs for