GMO labeling
Ever since their entrance onto the consumer market in the last two decades of the twentieth century, genetically modified organisms (often referred to as GMOs) have been getting mixed reviews from the public. Genetically modified consumer products (primarily food) have pushed the barriers of some people's comfort levels. Born out of either a lack of knowledge or a sincere concern for public health or the environment, a consumer rights movement has been planted around the world pushing for labeling of genetically modified food products. This movement has matured in many places to a degree where interest groups have successfully lobbied governments into adopting criteria for labeling transgenic food products. In other parts of the world strong agriculture interests have clashed with the aforementioned movements. A simple label on a can of beans would seem to easily solve this problem; however, governments have found that GMO product labeling is more complex than that. Considerations such as costs, international markets and cultures must also be taken into consideration, not to mention the public's perception and their level of trust in this relatively new product.
Research in both medical microbiology and agriculture laid the groundwork for what is modern biotechnology. This is newer science, seen by many to have officially begun with the discovery of recombinant DNA technology by Stanley Cohen and Herbert Boyer in 1970 (biotech.ca 1). Recombinant DNA technology, aided by the use of restriction enzymes, allow humans to cut one part of a genome of one species that codes for a desirable trait and insert it into a different species in the hope of producing the same effect (biote...
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Works Cited
-¡ÝDetailed Description of new GMO labeling in the E.U.¡Ü Organic Consumers Association. 2001. 10/5/04.
http://www.organicconsumers.org/gefood/gmolabing080101.cfm
-Diani, Hera. ¡ÝInodnesians Demand GMO labeling.¡Ü The Jakarta Post. November 4th 2001. 10/2/04. http://organicconsumers.org/gefood/indonesia110801.cfm
-¡ÝEconomic Impacts of Genetically Modified Crops on the Agri-food sector.¡Ü European Commission Directorate General for Agriculture. 2003. The European Commission. 10/4/04.
-¡ÝHistory of Biotechnology.¡Ü Biotechnology in Canada. 2004. 10/5/04
http://www.biotech.ca/EN/history.html.
-Le Meur, Herve. ¡ÝRe: Have Ground Rules been set for GMO definition?¡Ü
lemeur@diligo.fr. November 26th 2000.
-¡ÝSticky Labels.¡Ü The Economist. April 29th 1999. 10/5/04 www.economist.com.
Modern biotechnology was born at the hands of American scientists Herb Boyer and Stain Cohen, when they developed “recombinant deoxyribonucleotide, (rDNA), [1] for medicinal purposes. Subsequently, biotechnologists started genetically engineering agricultural plants using this technology. A single gene responsible for a certain trait, from one organism (usually a bacterium) is selected altered and then ‘spliced” into the DNA of a plant to create an agricultural crop consisting of that...
The technological advances are increasing each year, and electronics are not the only things upgraded. The food eaten in the United States has also been touched by science in the form of GMOs. Although GMOs have been in the US food industry for almost twenty years, consumers should have the right to know what is in our food with mandatory GMO labeling.
...ht to the black people. Although King was killed too young, he had changed the American History course. He helped bend “the arc of history” closer to justice as it says on his book.
In the Medieval Period, knights dedicated their lives to following the code of chivalry. In Sir Thomas Malory’s Le Morte d’Arthur, a number of characters performed chivalrous acts to achieve the status of an ideal knight. Their characteristics of respect for women and courtesy for all, helpfulness to the weak, honor, and skill in battle made the characters King Arthur, King Pellinore, and Sir Gryfflette examples of a what knights strove to be like in Medieval society. Because of the examples ofchivalry, Le Morte d’Arthur showed what a knight desired to be, so he could improve theworld in which he lived.
After reading both “Self Reliance,” by Ralph Waldo Emerson and “The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave,” by Frederick Douglass, one might notice a trend in what both writers regard as the key to happiness or self-fulfillment. Emerson and Douglass both imply that acquiring knowledge is what people should strive for throughout their lives. However, their perceptions on the kind of knowledge should be attained is where their ideas diverge; Emerson is the one that encourages one to develop the soul whereas with Douglass, it is the mind.
Each different aspect of the code of chivalry held a separate role in society. Whether it be religious or barbaric, chivalry tended to hold a moral guideline among those who followed it. This moral guideline held them true to their duties to man, God, and women (Sex, Society, and Medieval Women). All of which are reflected in the three themes of Chivalry: Warrior chivalry, religious chivalry, and courtly love chivalry (Sex, Society, and Medieval Women). These three hold their individual roles, all stimulating a different part of the mind and creating a code held by all areas of life in those who hold it. The underlying question posed in this intense pledge is whether those who took the oath lived it out accordingly. To live out Chivalry is to go against the logic of the human mind. That is a hard task. Canterbury Tales provides one example of a man fighting against the odds. The kenight portrayed in the story can be compared to that of the quarterback of a football team. That knight truly took the leadership of his role and lived out all of its responsibilities. On the other hand, in midst of the popularity, a large majority of knights truly embraced only certain aspects of the pledge of Chivalry. They used their title and their pledge to court women and gain an upper hand on everyone else around them. The corrupt behavior of these knights is why the general consensus of a knight’s success in following the pledge of Chivalry is failure. The mind of a man still finds its origin in the Social Darwinism concept of a man’s mind. This idea plays the leading role in the failure of knights in the medieval period to live out their oath of Chivalry in every aspect of this oath.
Food is an essential part of everyday life without it one could not survive. Every day we make choices on what we put in to our bodies. There are countless varieties of food to choose from to meet the diverse tastes of the increasing population. Almost all food requires a label explaining the ingredients and the nutritional value allowing consumers to make informed decisions on what they are consuming. However, many may not be considering where that food is coming from or how it has been produced. Unfortunately, there is more to food than meets the eye. Since 1992, “ the U.S. Food and Drug Administration ruled, based on woefully limited data, that genetically modified foods were ‘substantially equivalent’ to their non-GM counterparts” (Why to Support Labeling). GM food advocates have promised to create more nutritious food that will be able to grow in harsh climate conditions and eventually put an end to world hunger in anticipation of the growing population. There is very little evidence to support these claims and study after study has proven just the opposite. GM crops are not only unsafe to consume, but their growing practices are harmful to the environment, and multinational corporations are putting farmers out of business.
Between the establishments of the first colonies to the Declaration of Independence, American literature evolved and flourished. A large, diverse pool of writers in the population supported its vast variety of genres including political pamphlets, epics, etc.
Watson, J. D., Gilman, M., Witkowski, J., Zoller, M. (1992). Recombinant DNA. New York: W. H. Freeman and Company.
Chivalry is the basis of how all knights reacted and prided themselves in. It is still used to some point today, but it is on the downfall because of how today’s people act. Whether its from, how you are required to treat a women in their society, to how you uphold your honor through your word, and finally through courage. Chivalry can come in many other different forms, but these are the main goals. Clearly, you can see how Chivalry was a life goal to Knights of Arthur’s day, and how these two amazing stories express this.
Science and technology are rapidly advancing everyday; in some ways for the better, and in some, for worse. One extremely controversial advance is genetic engineering. As this technology has high potential to do great things, I believe the power genetic engineering is growing out of control. Although society wants to see this concept used to fight disease and illness, enhance people 's lives, and make agriculture more sustainable, there needs to be a point where a line is drawn.
When Maurice Keen set out to write a book on the components and development of chivalry, he did not know it would be “the last word on a seductive subject,” as stated by one Washington Post reviewer. Instead, Keen was merely satisfying a curiosity that derived from a childhood fascination of stories filled with “knights in shining armour.” This juvenile captivation was then transformed into a serious scholarly interest by Keen’s teachers, the product of which is a work based upon literary, artifactual, and academic evidence. Keen’s Chivalry strives to prove that chivalry existed not as a fantastical distraction, as erroneously portrayed by romances, but instead as an integral and functional feature of medieval politics, religion, and society. The thirteen chapters use an exposition format to quietly champion Keen’s opinion of chivalry as being an element of an essentially secular code of “honour” derived from military practices.
The Canterbury Tales, written by Chaucer, and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, written by an anonymous author, are both sophisticated fourteenth-century examples of medieval romance. Medieval romances captured the heart of their audiences as narratives and stories that featured a protagonist, often a knight, and dealt with religious allegories, chivalry, courtly love, and heroic epics. The concept of the knight emerged from the remnants of the Anglo-saxon literature and ideals and influence of the Christian religion and church. There is a distinct difference between the famous pagan heroic like Beowulf and the romantic medieval tales like Sir Gawain and the Green Knight of the Canterbury Tale. The Anglo-Saxon hero Beowulf exemplified qualities expected of warriors who could attain kingship by their heroism and battle deeds. They possessed the qualities of valor, military prowess, generosity, and honor. The hero fights for the survival of their tribe and nation, and it is in battle that the mettle of the epic hero is ultimately tested. The romantic conventions , influenced by Christianity and French ideals, created a new chivalric knight who sets out on a trial or adventure. They possessed similar qualities to their epic hero counterparts – valor, loyalty, honor, and skill in battle – but differed in knowing temperance, courtesy towards women, and courtly skills. The hero is no longer fighting for his people but for his ideals. By the 14th century, The Tale of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and The Canterbury Tales have began to criticize the notion of chivalry which had become old and obsolete in their society; the idealization of chivalry practiced by knights could longer withstand the complexities and indeterminateness of situa...
Chivalry, in its most all-encompassing definition, can be described as “a form of behavior knights and nobles would have liked to imaged they followed, both based on and reflected in the epics and romances, a form of behavior which took armed and mounted combat as one of its key elements.” This definition opens many doors as to a true depiction of chivalry; however it is efficient at enabling discussion of chivalry from almost every medieval source. It is jus...
An act of chivalry is described as the qualifications or character of the ideal knight. Knights were expected to uphold this code of conduct. In the English literature Le Morte d?Arthur, French for ?The Death of Arthur?, by Sir Thomas Malory, the characters display acts of chivalry from beginning to end. Though the code of chivalry contains many qualities or acts, nevertheless bravery, loyalty, and courtly love are demonstrated more throughout this literature.