"Useful Mutants, Bred with Radiation" by William J. Broad

For more than half a century, scientists - like Pierre Lagoda of the International Atomic Energy Agency - have used radiation to scramble the genetic make-up of crops to produce "valuable mutants like red grapefruit, disease-resistant cocoa and premium barley for Scotch whiskey". This process has apparently been used for much of the produce people consume on a daily basis.

In these organic-minded times, the fact that we've been consuming genetically-altered produce is a little disheartening. Most people would agree that foods with artificial additives or alterations are most likely harmful to our health. Furthermore, radiation-induced produce doesn't exactly sound too appetizing. In the article, Broad makes it clear that Dr. Lagoda is well aware of these concerns: "the wide public fears about the dangers of radiation and the risks of genetically manipulated food", but still he "prides himself on being a good salesman" of the process. Still, I was skeptical.

At first glance, the title "Useful Mutants, Bred With Radiation," still doesn't do much to win over the reader about genetic engineering. In the midst of words like "Mutants" and "Radiation" , the sole word "Useful" doesn't have much bearing. The title didn't convince me that these crops could be beneficial, nor that the article would show that. The huge image of a flaming, dried up orange didn't seem to help either. The image itself took up about 25% of the front page of the Science section and had no caption. If I had never read the title of the article, I would have thought it was some new star discovered in some far-off galaxy.

After, reading the article, however, I was convinced that genetic engineered plants has its benefits. It explains that no trace of radiation is left over from the seed to offspring. The only changes made to the plant are positive: improvements in "yield, quality, taste, size, and resistance to disease". Furthermore, this process of altering plants has been especially promising in developing countries such as "Bangaldesh, China, Costa Rica, Egypt, Ghana, India, Indonesia, Japan, Kenya, Nigeria, Pakistan, Peru, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Thailand, and Vietnam". Furthermore, the article combats the public's concerns with story after story of tragic crop failure redeemed by new, genetically empowered crops.

The implications of genetic engineering, of course, are still uncertain. Many may argue that genetically altering plants are encouraging scientists to genetically alter animals or even humans. Cloning has been a huge topic in scientific circles today. I think animal cloning has already been accomplished. Unfortunately, I definitely don't know enough about the science world to say too much about genetic engineering. I'm probably way over my head. But genetically altered plants does leave a question about whether this is an ethical concern or not. I personally feel that a process that creates disease-resistant crops and greater crop yields is ultimately ethical. The process allows for more mouths to be fed in a shorter amount of time and at a lower cost. What a blessing! The fact that we can accomplish such a feat is a gift from God. But like all gifts, it can definitely be abused.

**Edited after session because I forgot to check Blackboard before I started the blog. My apologies.