Friday, April 27, 2007
Canada and SFM (Sustainable Forest Management)
I do not believe that Canada is upholding our end of the bargain in regards to Sustainable Forest Management practices. It is my belief that Canada has good intentions, as we should for the fact that Canada accounts for 30% of the world’s boreal forest; however, we must implement realistic measures in order to maintain our beautiful forest. Not only does the forest provide an aesthetic value, but also produces a great deal of jobs and economic value. In regards to data collection, we must collect true data with which we can examine current trends, as well as extrapolate future trends. Currently, statistics are taken from federal forests such as, land operated by the Department of National Defence or the First Nations. This data is then consolidated for provincial statistics. Therefore, true data is not collected and no analysis can be conducted. This current process appears to serve no valuable function, as it is a mere logistical practice. There is no way to accurately track current management trends when data is not collected. Furthermore, I believe the Canadian government should have stiffer punishments for companies who commit illegal acts (both federal and provincial laws and legislations). Furthermore, I believe Canadian logging businesses should have to acquire more licensing requirements to ensure they are both abiding by Canadian laws as well as conducting business in a moral and ethical manner. No matter how we look at the issue, socially, morally, ethically, or environmentally, it is my belief that Canada has yet to “get in the game” with respect to Sustainable Forest Management. This issue is especially important to us, Canadians, as we depend on the forestry industry in our society.
Friday, April 20, 2007
GMO's & Should they be labeled?
I think that a “genetically modified organism” (abbreviated to GMO which can be more specifically named: genetically modified food) is a concept with which the human race should embrace as it offers new advances and new products that could revolutionize our world. Genetically modified food offers more nutrients in some foods, new resistances to pests, longer shelf-life, and the list goes on.
Before a country can impose a law in which all products that are genetically modified must be labeled, the general pubic must be educated in such an area. Many individuals are unaware of what genetically modified food actually means. A concern out there is that GMO’s are unnatural. But what is natural? Nucleotides are natural, aren’t they? All living organisms on earth contain the exact same nucleotides: adenine, cytosine, guanine, and thymine. Each of these nucleotides is combined with a ribose sugar and a phosphate group and this complex is then coupled with its respective partner (A-T, and C-G). The amino acids that are created are repeated in different orders to form varying proteins. Therefore, if we insert a protein that is indigenous to a certain organism, and insert it into another, we are merely adding a protein (set of amino acids) that the one organism was not fortunate enough to obtain by itself. Once individuals are educated in such an area, we may impose laws dealing with labeling GMO’s.
I do not believe that GMO’s should have to be labeled by law. This law is good in theory as it allows the consumer to know, not only where the food was grown, but how it was grown as well. However, labeling GMO’s would become quite excessive as even cross-pollination in flowers is a form of genetic modification: it does not only take place in the lab, but at farms as well with cross-breeding and cross-pollination. If we were to label every single GMO, the market would be flooded with such labels, and their purpose would, in essence, be obsolete. We could save a great deal of time, resources, money, and unnecessary concern by not labeling GMO’s.
For benefits and controversies concerning GMO’s, visit the following site: http://www.ornl.gov/sci/techresources/Human_Genome/elsi/gmfood.shtml. For more information on how GMO’s are unique, how they are modified, and the role different individuals have in the process, visit the following site: http://www.ag.uiuc.edu/~asap/expanded/gmo/gmo.html.
A very innovative GMO is called “golden rice”. This rice contains more nutrition, more specifically Vitamin A. This product is then sent overseas to Third World countries where both a lack of nutrition and a significant amount of cased pertaining to child blindness are predominant concerns. There are disputes over the rice’s benefits, but progress is being made in aiding those who are in need of our help (via GMO’s). If we are producing such products today, what may the future hold? For more information on the story of “golden rice” visit the following site: http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn7196.
Visit the following site to read “GMO Labeling: Threat Or Opportunity?”: http://www.agbioforum.org/v1n1/v1n1a07-phillips.htm.
Before a country can impose a law in which all products that are genetically modified must be labeled, the general pubic must be educated in such an area. Many individuals are unaware of what genetically modified food actually means. A concern out there is that GMO’s are unnatural. But what is natural? Nucleotides are natural, aren’t they? All living organisms on earth contain the exact same nucleotides: adenine, cytosine, guanine, and thymine. Each of these nucleotides is combined with a ribose sugar and a phosphate group and this complex is then coupled with its respective partner (A-T, and C-G). The amino acids that are created are repeated in different orders to form varying proteins. Therefore, if we insert a protein that is indigenous to a certain organism, and insert it into another, we are merely adding a protein (set of amino acids) that the one organism was not fortunate enough to obtain by itself. Once individuals are educated in such an area, we may impose laws dealing with labeling GMO’s.
I do not believe that GMO’s should have to be labeled by law. This law is good in theory as it allows the consumer to know, not only where the food was grown, but how it was grown as well. However, labeling GMO’s would become quite excessive as even cross-pollination in flowers is a form of genetic modification: it does not only take place in the lab, but at farms as well with cross-breeding and cross-pollination. If we were to label every single GMO, the market would be flooded with such labels, and their purpose would, in essence, be obsolete. We could save a great deal of time, resources, money, and unnecessary concern by not labeling GMO’s.
For benefits and controversies concerning GMO’s, visit the following site: http://www.ornl.gov/sci/techresources/Human_Genome/elsi/gmfood.shtml. For more information on how GMO’s are unique, how they are modified, and the role different individuals have in the process, visit the following site: http://www.ag.uiuc.edu/~asap/expanded/gmo/gmo.html.
A very innovative GMO is called “golden rice”. This rice contains more nutrition, more specifically Vitamin A. This product is then sent overseas to Third World countries where both a lack of nutrition and a significant amount of cased pertaining to child blindness are predominant concerns. There are disputes over the rice’s benefits, but progress is being made in aiding those who are in need of our help (via GMO’s). If we are producing such products today, what may the future hold? For more information on the story of “golden rice” visit the following site: http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn7196.
Visit the following site to read “GMO Labeling: Threat Or Opportunity?”: http://www.agbioforum.org/v1n1/v1n1a07-phillips.htm.
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