I don't know if you've thought about it this way, but our political 'leaders' are merely samples from the larger pool of population available.
Is it that those who enter politics become 'bad'?
OR
That only 'bad' people enter politics?
What we see in governance/administration, in my opinion, is only a reflection of deep unprofessionalism plaguing India. It largely stems from people not loving their jobs and work. Everyone thinking of occupation only as means to livelihood--from teachers to engineers to doctors to lawyers. Why do we expect politicians to be any different? :)
Europe has banned GM-food? Good! They don't need it anyway. Their population, rather than going up, is going down! What will they do with surplus food? ;)
TC.
PS: I don't know anything about your profession, but genetic modification has been used already on people in attempt to treat disorders like cystic fibrosis (a disease largely affecting the lungs).
Very unfortunately, I'd not clicked on the linked article, so I didn't realize your post was about GM-brinjals. I thought you were only joking about the corruption rampant among our politicians and bureaucrats.
That's the reason major portion of my comment was centered on possible causes of corruption.
With regard to banning of GM-crops in Europe, I was matter-of-factly as well as sarcastic. Sarcastic because obviously they have banned those crops without any real research, only bowing to populism. But I was matter-of-factly, because though their action constitutes an unethical kneejerk reaction, it won't harm the common public much precisely because of reasons I mentioned above. I was not being sarcastic when I said that!
The cystic fibrosis example I gave was not to establish the safety of GM, but to tell you that even humans have been successfully genetically manipulated, which is in line with your wish in the first paragraph of your post (genetically modified politicians!).
And unfortunately, that link is not opening from my cell phone. :( But I think I'd read a related news. I think some institute in one of the south Indian states has given a nod to marketing of BT-brinjals, and some central government minister has assured that the government has not yet given the permission, something like that!
I've largely addressed all the issues you'd raised on my post itself. Here, just wanted to clarify that I'd just not been able to understand the context of your post!
Genetically modified crops are those in which a synthesised gene from bacterium Bacillus Thuringiensis, or Bt, is inserted.
This gene has the code for certain proteins that are toxic to some insects.
So the Bt gene makes GM crops resistant to some insects.
Bt cotton, Bt corn, and Bt potatoes are being grown in the US, Canada, Argentina, South Africa, France and Spain.
PROS AND CONS OF GM CROPS GM crops are resistant to some insects, thus bringing down use of pesticides. Then, genetically modified seeds believed to give a higher yield though that claim is being contested. But several reasons why we should be wary of GM crops. Such plants could produce highly toxic chemicals that cause cancer and Parkinson's disease. And Bt brinjal known to produce a protein in the vegetable cells that induce antibiotic resistance. This is seen as a major health problem. Rats fed with Bt brinjal had diarrhoea and a decrease in liver weight, and liver to body weight. Also, Bt brinjal appears to have 15 per cent less calories than normal brinjal. Farmers actually end up using a cocktail of pesticides as secondary pests increase on GM crops.
The context of my "post" as a comment in ur blog. 1.What we eat affect our decision and behaviour (over consumption of food (ice cream for eg) due to saturated fat) http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09091412-ice-cream-may-target-the-brain-before-your-hips
2.The comment on morally challenged was a passing remark in context to the above and the things that come up on research http://www.harvardscience.harvard.edu/culture-society/articles/unfeeling-moral-choices-traced-damaged-frontal-lobes
3.Mention about biscuits : to illustrate health threats from common commercial eatables stuff . a mother might think twice before giving yday food to child but not about a six month old flour,sugar, harmful oil combination to the child.. And the electricity part to show how its all about just commerce. http://ask.doctoroz.com/topic/trans-fats
4.There was a research 2 years back which showed diet colas led to weight increase. this was to point out that we might many times endup with opposite results..
5.the cigarettes was to point out, commerce can easily influence even the medical community if allowed.
6.I misunderstood your comment on genetics. So the rigidity reference.
The Supreme court representative said on TV it was clear money was involved. I just thought it was too much even with our history of corruption. Its not like Europe is corruption free..Shouldnt we go into why its being banned, before introducing it. I am sure if some film had been banned in Europe that would have caused more debate than this issue...
modified version of what I had posted in Ketan's blog
Why did he go for the extra icecream? Why couldnt he realise he had had enough. It was easy to feel contempt towards him. But I had recently read, saturated fat did it to our brains. It stopped the nerve signal from the stomach to the brain, that its enough. And that would last for 3 days. http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09091412-ice-cream-may-target-the-brain-before-your-hips
Aargh these scientists, dont they allow us to ever feel good about ourselves, by looking down on someone else. I am sure they will have an explanation for that too. Probably the lower levels of Endorphins. They even have an excuse for the morally challenged. Some part of brain which is smaller or has lesions or whatever.. http://www.harvardscience.harvard.edu/culture-society/articles/unfeeling-moral-choices-traced-damaged-frontal-lobes
Aargh humans have just complicated it so much..Life would be so simple if one were any other creature..We are just a bunch of test tubes, have a certain set of genes, a certain environment, and mix it with what we eat, the result would be predictable.
For a control freak (Yet to figure out which factor I can blame for that)this is a nightmare. Anyway one cant control the genes one is born with, and the environment one is raised in, (maybe to a certain extent when u grow up). But one can control what we eat. So excuse me, when I get paranoid about food.
When I was a kid, biscuits and colas were just food. Now I realise, biscuits were created because in US after electricity was invented, they didnt know what to do with the wax (candles) and so diverted it to the confectionary industry. (Thats your transfat). And while we can digest the butter, its not easy to digest the hydrogenated oil s(transfat) since our body doesnt recognise the hydrogen in it. (Sorry liver). Whats hydrogenated oil? Because the normal stuff would get spoiled after a few days, the oil is hydrogenated, i.e its "spoilt" so that it wont get further spoilt!! (Dr.Oz Discovery Health).http://ask.doctoroz.com/topic/trans-fats
And lets not go into the Preservatives, Artificial Colors etc. And the sugar effects..Hopefully I dont have to go on a cola rant.
As for the too much sugar, the sugar substitute was supposed to be a good idea. But wait not any more..For someone who went for sugar substitutes to control weight, its could have the adverse effect. The logic : The taste buds taste sweet, but there's no calorie load that comes with it. There's a mismatch here. It seems it changes your brain chemistry in some way http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/OnCall/story?id=4271246&page=1&page=1
One might say the problem is not with the products, but with over consumption. Huh, the same could have been said couple of decades back about Cigarettes and Nicotine. Oh I forgot , cigarettes were RECOMENDED BY DOCTORS ON TV in the 60s in USA and even to pregnant women (to sooth their nerves). So much for the medical community being our watchdog. http://www.bestoldcommercials.com/camel-igarettes-doctors-choice-of-smoke/
Whats the percentage of literacy in India. How many know the basics about expiry and best before dates, leave alone reading the ingredients list. When corruption is rampant, how many quality checks are really true. Capitalism is not a bad idea. But when the directors just care about the sales target and performance bonuses, should we just believe everything new thats offered to us. If there is anything more dismal than sex education and legal education (which are taken care of by the movies, at the moment), its food education. How many Indians are aware of the BPA factor when in comes to using plastic bottles and tiffin boxes, for starters..
I dont know how logical this is, but somehow I cant help viewing the Genetically Modified Brinjal as another example of the corrupt commercialism. Atleast Indians should have a choice of knowing what they are eating.
Because the output depends on the process, and the process depends on the input. And lets have some control over the input, what we eat.
I don't know if you've thought about it this way, but our political 'leaders' are merely samples from the larger pool of population available.
ReplyDeleteIs it that those who enter politics become 'bad'?
OR
That only 'bad' people enter politics?
What we see in governance/administration, in my opinion, is only a reflection of deep unprofessionalism plaguing India. It largely stems from people not loving their jobs and work. Everyone thinking of occupation only as means to livelihood--from teachers to engineers to doctors to lawyers. Why do we expect politicians to be any different? :)
Europe has banned GM-food? Good! They don't need it anyway. Their population, rather than going up, is going down! What will they do with surplus food? ;)
TC.
PS: I don't know anything about your profession, but genetic modification has been used already on people in attempt to treat disorders like cystic fibrosis (a disease largely affecting the lungs).
i accept that we get what we deserve..but i was expecting some degree of concern from the babus and netas..
ReplyDeletei am not against genetics just the food part where it seems they can be carcinogenic..
i think we are just being a dumping and testing ground ..the article is more informative than my rant..:)
Wise Donkey,
ReplyDeleteVery unfortunately, I'd not clicked on the linked article, so I didn't realize your post was about GM-brinjals. I thought you were only joking about the corruption rampant among our politicians and bureaucrats.
That's the reason major portion of my comment was centered on possible causes of corruption.
With regard to banning of GM-crops in Europe, I was matter-of-factly as well as sarcastic. Sarcastic because obviously they have banned those crops without any real research, only bowing to populism. But I was matter-of-factly, because though their action constitutes an unethical kneejerk reaction, it won't harm the common public much precisely because of reasons I mentioned above. I was not being sarcastic when I said that!
The cystic fibrosis example I gave was not to establish the safety of GM, but to tell you that even humans have been successfully genetically manipulated, which is in line with your wish in the first paragraph of your post (genetically modified politicians!).
And unfortunately, that link is not opening from my cell phone. :( But I think I'd read a related news. I think some institute in one of the south Indian states has given a nod to marketing of BT-brinjals, and some central government minister has assured that the government has not yet given the permission, something like that!
I've largely addressed all the issues you'd raised on my post itself. Here, just wanted to clarify that I'd just not been able to understand the context of your post!
Cheers!
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteFrom the link
ReplyDeleteWHAT ARE GM CROPS
Genetically modified crops are those in which a synthesised gene from bacterium Bacillus Thuringiensis, or Bt, is inserted.
This gene has the code for certain proteins that are toxic to some insects.
So the Bt gene makes GM crops resistant to some insects.
Bt cotton, Bt corn, and Bt potatoes are being grown in the US, Canada, Argentina, South Africa, France and Spain.
PROS AND CONS OF GM CROPS
GM crops are resistant to some insects, thus bringing down use of pesticides. Then, genetically modified seeds believed to give a higher yield though that claim is being contested. But several reasons why we should be wary of GM crops. Such plants could produce highly toxic chemicals that cause cancer and Parkinson's disease. And Bt brinjal known to produce a protein in the vegetable cells that induce antibiotic resistance. This is seen as a major health problem. Rats fed with Bt brinjal had diarrhoea and a decrease in liver weight, and liver to body weight. Also, Bt brinjal appears to have 15 per cent less calories than normal brinjal. Farmers actually end up using a cocktail of pesticides as secondary pests increase on GM crops.
The context of my "post" as a comment in ur blog.
ReplyDelete1.What we eat affect our decision and behaviour (over consumption of food (ice cream for eg) due to saturated fat)
http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09091412-ice-cream-may-target-the-brain-before-your-hips
2.The comment on morally challenged was a passing remark in context to the above and the things that come up on research
http://www.harvardscience.harvard.edu/culture-society/articles/unfeeling-moral-choices-traced-damaged-frontal-lobes
3.Mention about biscuits : to illustrate health threats from common commercial eatables stuff . a mother might think twice before giving yday food to child but not about a six month old flour,sugar, harmful oil combination to the child..
And the electricity part to show how its all about just commerce.
http://ask.doctoroz.com/topic/trans-fats
4.There was a research 2 years back which showed diet colas led to weight increase. this was to point out that we might many times endup with opposite results..
5.the cigarettes was to point out, commerce can easily influence even the medical community if allowed.
6.I misunderstood your comment on genetics. So the rigidity reference.
The Supreme court representative said on TV it was clear money was involved. I just thought it was too much even with our history of corruption. Its not like Europe is corruption free..Shouldnt we go into why its being banned, before introducing it. I am sure if some film had been banned in Europe that would have caused more debate than this issue...
modified version of what I had posted in Ketan's blog
ReplyDeleteWhy did he go for the extra icecream? Why couldnt he realise he had had enough. It was easy to feel contempt towards him. But I had recently read, saturated fat did it to our brains. It stopped the nerve signal from the stomach to the brain, that its enough. And that would last for 3 days.
http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09091412-ice-cream-may-target-the-brain-before-your-hips
Aargh these scientists, dont they allow us to ever feel good about ourselves, by looking down on someone else. I am sure they will have an explanation for that too. Probably the lower levels of Endorphins. They even have an excuse for the morally challenged. Some part of brain which is smaller or has lesions or whatever..
http://www.harvardscience.harvard.edu/culture-society/articles/unfeeling-moral-choices-traced-damaged-frontal-lobes
Aargh humans have just complicated it so much..Life would be so simple if one were any other creature..We are just a bunch of test tubes, have a certain set of genes, a certain environment, and mix it with what we eat, the result would be predictable.
For a control freak (Yet to figure out which factor I can blame for that)this is a nightmare. Anyway one cant control the genes one is born with, and the environment one is raised in, (maybe to a certain extent when u grow up). But one can control what we eat. So excuse me, when I get paranoid about food.
When I was a kid, biscuits and colas were just food. Now I realise, biscuits were created because in US after electricity was invented, they didnt know what to do with the wax (candles) and so diverted it to the confectionary industry. (Thats your transfat). And while we can digest the butter, its not easy to digest the hydrogenated oil s(transfat) since our body doesnt recognise the hydrogen in it. (Sorry liver). Whats hydrogenated oil? Because the normal stuff would get spoiled after a few days, the oil is hydrogenated, i.e its "spoilt" so that it wont get further spoilt!! (Dr.Oz Discovery Health).http://ask.doctoroz.com/topic/trans-fats
And lets not go into the Preservatives, Artificial Colors etc. And the sugar effects..Hopefully I dont have to go on a cola rant.
As for the too much sugar, the sugar substitute was supposed to be a good idea. But wait not any more..For someone who went for sugar substitutes to control weight, its could have the adverse effect. The logic : The taste buds taste sweet, but there's no calorie load that comes with it. There's a mismatch here. It seems it changes your brain chemistry in some way
http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/OnCall/story?id=4271246&page=1&page=1
One might say the problem is not with the products, but with over consumption. Huh, the same could have been said couple of decades back about Cigarettes and Nicotine. Oh I forgot , cigarettes were RECOMENDED BY DOCTORS ON TV in the 60s in USA and even to pregnant women (to sooth their nerves). So much for the medical community being our watchdog. http://www.bestoldcommercials.com/camel-igarettes-doctors-choice-of-smoke/
continued
So what does all this mean, to me, at the moment.
ReplyDeleteWhats the percentage of literacy in India. How many know the basics about expiry and best before dates, leave alone reading the ingredients list. When corruption is rampant, how many quality checks are really true. Capitalism is not a bad idea. But when the directors just care about the sales target and performance bonuses, should we just believe everything new thats offered to us.
If there is anything more dismal than sex education and legal education (which are taken care of by the movies, at the moment), its food education. How many Indians are aware of the BPA factor when in comes to using plastic bottles and tiffin boxes, for starters..
I dont know how logical this is, but somehow I cant help viewing the Genetically Modified Brinjal as another example of the corrupt commercialism. Atleast Indians should have a choice of knowing what they are eating.
Because the output depends on the process, and the process depends on the input. And lets have some control over the input, what we eat.