Cutting it short
Beware of dogs. The dog, a human’s best friend after brewer’s yeast, tends to think with its nose and its tongue. If it finds a tasty morsel of unknown origin it will first smell it then lick it. Such contact may lead to dangerous consequences. Dogs, however, are unaware of all this. Humans on the other hand have since time immemorial used their hands to interact with the environment. To begin with they built tools to reshape the environment and these tools reshaped the toolmakers themselves.
In a way the toolmakers were genetically modified, by the tools they created. But humans still think with their hands. If they come across a substance of unknown or suspicious origin they will first pick it up, peer at it, examine it cautiously and then check it out thoroughly before using it. A dog could lick poisoned meat and die. Humans would put it through a series of tests first, come to the conclusion that it is poisoned and reject it. There is a certain difference between the degree and level of intelligence that dogs and humans possess.
The caution that humans exercise while dealing with the unknown is reflected in the Precautionary Principle, included in the inter national Biosafety Protocol which has just been adopted by 140 countries at Montreal. This principle is increasingly becoming the basis of international agreements. It is based not on the scientific evidence that something is dangerous, but on the precaution based on lack of scientific evidence to certify something as one hundred per cent safe.
It is on the basis of this Precautionary Principle that countries seek to curb the trade in genetically modified organisms or gmo s as they are known. The effect of gmo s upon the environment and humans is still unknown. This is because these plants or animals have been created in the lab and they possess characteristics that do not occur naturally. Some of them are pest resistant but could kill off non-target species. Several monarch butterflies died while trying to pollinate gm maize in usa . Some of them are herbicide resistant but could transfer this ability to weeds. A tomato for example contains the gene of a chicken and can resist fungal attacks. As a result it has an extended shelf life. A fish is genetically programmed to grow faster than others but may wipe out local species by destroying their food base. Nobody knows for certain.
It is this fear of the unknown
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