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RAUCH
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Jonathan Rauch is a writer for the Atlantic Monthly. In this essay he presents evidence
to the effect that genetically engineered food could provide enough nutrition to save future
generations from starvation. He argues that environmentalists who oppose genetically mod
ified food are actually working against the best interests of humankind and their pets.
Reprinted from the Atlantic Monthly (October 2003) by permission of the author.
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water quality.
total that has crept upward over the past few decades
as global population has grown. The increase has
been gradual, only about 0.3 percent a year; but
J O N AT H A N R A U C H C A N F R A N K E N F O O D S AV E T H E P L A N E T ?
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ma ke s e n vi ro n me n ta l i sts sh u d d e r. Bu t co n si d e r
in tandem.
J O N AT H A N
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All of that is the beginning, not the end. Bioengineers are also working, for instance, on crops
that tolerate aluminum, another major contaminant
of soil, especially in the tropics. Retum an acre
of farmland to productivity, or double yields on an
already productive acre, and, other things being
equal, you reduce by an acre the amount of vii^;in
forest or savannah that will be stripped and cultivated.
That may be the most important benefit of all.
Of the many people I have interviewed in my
twenty years as a joumalist, Norman Borlaug must
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Sandalow does.
s t u fl f . "
c o n s i d e r a b l e a m o u n t o f t r i a l a n d e r r o r t o fi n d o u t
J O N AT H A N R A U C H C A N F R A N K E N F O O D S AV E T H E P L A N E T ? 3 7 7
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STUDY QUESTIONS
1. Discuss the promise of genetically modified 2. Discuss the risks involved in producing genetfood. What environmental problems can ically modified food. Why are so many envirit solve? How can it help alleviate world onmentalists against it?
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Mae- Wan Ho, trained as a geneticist, is a leading social and environmental activist. She is
the author of numerous books and articles, including most recently Genetic Engineering,
"genes can replicate indefinitely, spread and recombine." For this reason the release of a
genetically engineered micro-organism that is lethal to humans could well spell the end of
humanity. Unfortunately the proponents of this terrifying technology share a genetic deter-
minist mindset that leads them to reject the inherently dangerous nature of their work. What
is particularly worrying at first sight is the irresistible power of the large corporations which are
pushing this technology.
From TIk Ecologist, Vol. 27, No. 4 (July/August 1997). Reprinted by pemiission of 77if Ecoloj>ist, www.theecologist.org.