发展转基因作物与关怀,尊重

发展转基因作物与护理,尊重——詹姆斯•埃尼斯得梅因登记,7月14日,注册2009 http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20090714/OPINION01/907140335/1036/Opinion最近指出,教皇科学院,在梵蒂冈的一个独立机构,最近批准了转基因植物食品安全所必需的。不是所有的同意,内外教会。科学家的国际评估农业知识、科学与技术的发展,全球,去年联合国支持的智库,拒绝转基因作物作为解决饥饿。有人说宗座科学院,举行研讨会转基因植物在梵蒂冈在5月中旬,排除反对者在教会他们担心转基因生物技术允许企业农业控制农业和粮食生产的穷人。积极推动转基因种子和作物,批评人士说,推出小土地所有者的风险,使得剩余的农民依赖seed-keeping的生产公司和废除传统的方法。所以在广泛的天主教社区,转基因生物仍然是一个悬而未决的问题。在许多情况下,并不是科学或技术本身的问题,但其应用程序和真正的好处,如果转基因植物遍布世界各地的本地食品生产系统。全国天主教农村生活会议,在得梅因了转基因植物的问题,因为他们的商业介绍在1990年代末。在讨论中耕农民和天主教主教,我们来到依靠一组原则,指导我们作为一个有信仰的人了解这项技术的使用。眼中的教会,那些帮助人类创造的世界实现上帝计划。 Technology, including genetic modification of plants, is at base a tool for doing good. But while the making of transgenic plants is morally neutral in itself, concrete applications are subject to moral judgment. Both the promise and risk of genetically modified crops are uncertain because the technology is still relatively new and requires long-term study of environmental and human-health impacts. Each application of the technology must be evaluated on its merits and judged in light of current practice. In general, widespread commercial application of the technology should be pursued with great care. In principle, genetically modified seeds and crops are acceptable for a just food production and distribution system, but only as they serve the common good. According to the Union of Concerned Scientists, genetically modified herbicide-tolerant crops have not increased yields significantly, so the claim to food security seems overblown. The benefit appears to be little more than reducing a farmer's time in the field. Higher seed costs accrue to the very few seed companies with patenting rights. The Pontifical Academy addressed the question whether technology for genetically modified organisms should be developed so as to better serve the needs of small-scale farmers and the poor. The promise is that their production will improve, with transgenic plants engineered to better deal with pests, drought and other agricultural challenges. The reality is that genetically modified seeds are part of a global, industrialized agri-food system that is biased toward large producers and mega-farms. By applying precautionary principles to transgenic plants, we believe this technology has a role to play in food production and security. Failure to abide by precautionary points will: - Accelerate the decline of agricultural biodiversity in local areas, where vast crop varieties have already been lost in the past century to monocultural practices. - Allow a few dominant seed companies to control the supply of seeds worldwide, reaping a greater share of the food dollar at the expense of farmers and primary producers. - Deny farmers of the world their just benefits to the development of genetic resources by their experimentation and local application. - Threaten the livelihoods of smallholder farmers and indigenous people who depend on open access to resources, such as the traditional saving of seeds for future sowing. Proponents of transgenic crops should not over-promise, should be respectful of alternatives and should engage critics in a responsible way. Similarly, critics should state their objections without exaggerations and engage proponents in a responsible way. --- (James Ennis is executive director of the National Catholic Rural Life Conference. Contact: jim@ncrlc.com )