Genetically Engineered Food Crops: Benefits Outweigh Risks
Genetically engineered (GE) food crops have caused heated debate in the food industry for many decades and have caused many consumers major concern. According to Dr. Carroll Rawn, a biology professor at Seton Hall University, genetically engineering food entails taking genes from a certain crop and inserting those genes in the DNA of another. This process changes the nucleotide sequence of the crop and, therefore, its characteristics. The debate lies in the question of whether these changes are beneficial for the productivity and quality of the harvest. Jeremy Rifkin argues in his article, “Science and Technology: O Brave New World,” that GE foods are not beneficial for the environment by stating, “Virtually every genetically engineered organism released into the environment poses a potential threat to the ecosystem” (247). On the other hand, the internet article, “New Research Confirms Environmental Safety of GE Crops,” argues, “A comprehensive review of international research conducted on areas of potential concerns related to genetically engineered (GE) crops concludes that such crops do not provide unique ecological risks and may contribute to ecological benefits such as increased biodiversity.” Increased biodiversity means an increased number and variety of crops farmers are able to produce, which has many benefits, specifically feeding starving people around the world. Thus, it is clear that, while genetically engineered food crops do introduce some dangers to consumers and the environment, their benefits, specifically pest, herbicide, and disease resistant capabilities and the new opportunities they provide through biodiversity, clearly outweigh the...
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Castration is one of the options that has been put forward as a type of punishment/treatment for convicted sex offenders. Castration can be divided into two separate categories: chemical or surgical. Surgical castration is the removal of a man’s testicles, for the purpose of lowing his testosterone levels, leading to lower levels of sexual desires (Stone et al., 2000). Chemical castration is an injection of an antidrogenic, which works to inhibit the brain from producing hormones that stimulate the testicles to produce testosterone (Harrison, 2008, Stone et al., 2000). Like surgical castration the intension of chemical castration is to lower testosterone levels, and limit sexual deviance (Stone et al., 2000). One could argue that castration would make a good punishment for sex offenders, however it does not address the psychological aspects of sexual assault. The act of rape is much more than the forced penetration of a penis in a vagina and using castration as a treatment or punishment for sex crimes does not address the offender’s mental issues or the legal implications of doing so.
Rifkin, Jeremy. "Biotech Century: Playing Ecological Roulette with Mother Nature." The Presence of Others. Ed. Bedford. St. Martin's: 2000 244-253
The practice of castrating violent criminals can be traced back to Germany in the 1930s, and throughout Europe. It has shown to be one of the most effective deterrents for sexual assault, however inhumane it seems, if one child is spared from violation it is worth the controversy. Statistics state that more than half of all sexual offenders have been convicted more than once. Had we recognized the severity of the offense the first time and dealt with it accordingly, our number of victims could have been reduced by more than half.
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The Internet is being used by almost all the people on Earth, 7.1 Billion, (Wikipedia) and gains new users every hour. The users of the internet visit Google and Facebook the most and they share all sorts of information with these companies, such as their name, birthday, address and even banking information! Unfortunately for these users, these companies are not protecting their content and information. They use their information to sell ads, make profit, and even present the users’ content free of charge! These hideously terrible problems that are mainly caused by Google and Facebook are caused for the relentlessly obvious reason that many users refuse to read the privacy terms of such companies, regarding their importance.
This has created a large amount of debate on local, national, and international levels about the safety of genetically modified foods to human health. There are many angles that have been taken from different groups on this issue. Some believe it is harmful to our health, with one source stating that, “mice eating GMO corn had fewer and smaller babies (Jagelio 2013).” Without testing on humans how are we to know these harmful effects aren’t impacting our health and reproduction. Other groups see GMOs as being both beneficial and having no impact on human health.
Chemical castration is a treatment that lowers the testosterone levels of a male sex offender so they have less of an urge to sexually assault another victim. Many doctors do not agree with this type of procedure because it goes against human rights, also doctors cannot perform anything that can be torturous to a human being. One in four girls and one in six boys have been sexually abused before the age of 18. Most sexual assault perpetrators usually reoffend just two years after their first offense. Some studies show that the chemical castration medication had worked on some offenders, while others were not successful. The study shows that less than ten percent out of six hundred and twenty-six offenders who were chemically
Genetically modified food’s, or GMOs, goal is to feed the world's malnourished and undernourished population. Exploring the positive side to GMOs paints a wondrous picture for our planet’s future, although careful steps must be taken to ensure that destruction of our ecosystems do not occur. When GMOs were first introduced into the consumer market they claimed that they would help eliminate the world’s food crisis by providing plants that produced more and were resistant to elemental impacts like droughts and bacterial contaminants, however, production isn’t the only cause for the world’s food crisis. Which is a cause for concern because the population on the earth is growing and our land and ways of agriculture will not be enough to feed everyone sufficiently. No simple solutions can be found or applied when there are so many lives involved. Those who are hungry and those who are over fed, alike, have to consider the consequences of Genetically Modified Organisms. Food should not be treated like a commodity it is a human necessity on the most basic of levels. When egos, hidden agendas, and personal gains are folded into people's food sources no one wins. As in many things of life, there is no true right way or wrong way to handle either of the arguments and so many factors are involved that a ‘simple’ solution is simply not an option.
Many researches have shown both favoring and disfavoring arguments regarding castration on sex offenders. Although many opponents of castration have argued that castration has been very effective on sex predators and should be used as a deterrent to minimize rape, many studies on the other hand have proven that both chemical and surgical castration not only fails in reducing in its entirety the libido and subsequently the sexual desires of sexual predators but also, studies have found out that sex offenders after been castrated, still rape.
Rifkin, Jeremy. Biotech Century: Playing Ecological Roulette with Mother Natures Design, The Presence of Others. 3rd Edition. Eds.
Rifkin, Jeremy. “Biotech Century: Playing Ecological Roulette with Mother Nature’s Designs”. The Presence of Others. Ed. Moller. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2000. 244-253.
As we advance in technology every day, more options for doing regular every-day things are becoming more available. One certain argument that has surfaced is online teaching through online classes. Online teaching offers students a chance to learn from teachers from far away while in the comfort of their home. Although everyone sees the idea as a brilliant one and many students entering college are jumping on the chance to take these online classes, it has many drawbacks, such as how poor time management and self-discipline is for most students in college, the miscommunication between the students and the teacher, and the learning process that comes with being taught through a computer screen.
Now a days students who attend college have many other obligations they must fulfill in order to be successful. The opportunity of taking online classes allows them to be able to get an education as well, while not interfering with their usual routine. Online education comes with many benefits that can help a student’s life be more successful in many
Education in modern society can be taught in a completely different method than in the past. College students, or even high school students, are given the choice of being enrolled in an online course for certain subjects rather than a traditional class. Many students contemplate over the decision to enroll in an online course because of the differences compared to in-class instruction. When making the decision of which style of learning to enroll in, students need to take in consideration the necessary requirements, amount of access, and the methods of teaching for either an online or traditional style course.
When a student chooses to learn in an online environment versus a traditional classroom environment, there is one difference that becomes immediately apparent: the student does not have to physically attend a lecture on a campus. This offers the student flexibility in their schedule. They may choose to complete coursework “at 2:00 in the morning, wearing pj’s and a pair of fuzzy bunny slippers..” or “while on a business trip to China.” (Bethel University, 2014, p. 5).