Eat Your GM Greens, They're Good For You

(Summary)

In an interview with The Sunday Times, Dr. James Watson, elaborated on his attitudes about genetics and GM foods. Last week Dr. Watson, the co-discoverer of the structure of DNA, made some harsh comments about the Prince of Wales work against GM foods in the UK.

Watson believes the negative press and opinions of many European citizens are the products of misinformation and ignorance. People have a knee-jerk reaction against work on genes and change in general. The common complaint about the introduction of new species, according to Dr. Watson, is unfounded. Alien species have been introduced into every habitat on earth. He also mentions that natural selection has produced bug-resistance in plants and seeds, and plants without these properties have died out.

Dr. Watson also berates organic movements like Greenpeace, mentioning the fact that people are constantly altering nature, and that people do not really understand what going organic would really mean. The advances that have been made with biotechnology are immeasurable, and there have always been worries of unintended consequences. Dr. Watson believes that these worries are no reason to stop progress and the potential benefits we could receive will far outweigh the potential problems.

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