GMOs are again brought up in this weeks readings with particular emphasis on the complexities and possibilities, be them positive or negative, that they may provide. The whole concept of natural experimentation within agriculture has been challenged due to the mass production of products and the introduction of seeds and crops which have specific resistances. According to Pollan the whole natural part of seed variety and biodiversity has been expedited and challenged by GMOs and their rapid expansion into the agricultural world. Agrobusiness and the mass "acceptance", or rather forceful application, of GMOs within the farming world has led to a whole new era in agriculture with the ability of the crops to be as efficient as possible and grow in conditions that might not have normally been possible. While maximum production and resistance may seem beneficial, especially in an economic sense, one might argue that the science of genetically modifying our food is too new and unexplored. With GMOs comes a stigma partially due to the lack of long term study and information on them. People aren't sure if there will be a negative feedback associated with the continued use of GMOs be it on their own health and well being or on the long term effect they might have on crop biodiversity.
When considering GMOs and their massive presence in the agricultural world it is also important to think about the accessibility of food and how it goes from the agricultural fields into our restaurants and grocery stores. People far too often ignore the thought of where their food might come from and the way it was produced and transported. With the advent of refrigeration and the cheap and mass access to transportation, food has certainly been taken for granted. The absolute amount of energy that goes into the production, transportation and then distribution of food seems to be rarely considered yet poses a big problem in relation to the environment as well.
Food as a whole is constantly taken for granted within our modern world where it is so easily accessible, and with the continued experimentation and production of it it certainly poses an interesting question to what the future holds.
I think of these three articles, the energy statistics provided in the third article from Canning and the USDA. was the most striking and really brought home just how much energy we use in food. This article also focuses mostly on a systems approach, not even focusing on variations in individual energy use to store food or what is wasted. When you think about all of this energy that's being pulled out of the ground from fossil fuels and put into this system that creates, packages, and stores our food, why is it that anyone wastes any food at all? I wonder just how much energy you're throwing away in throwing out one apple. I definitely agree that as a whole, it is taken for granted.
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