Playing God In The Garden

3 Pages 818 Words

When a new product hits the market, whether it be a children’s toy, a food item, or a piece of clothing, opinions are formed almost instantly, and quality and value is quickly recognized. Michael Pollan’s article, “Playing God in the Garden,” featured in the New York Times Magazine, October 25, 1998, describes potatoes in a new way. Burdened for years by the Colorado potato beetle, a “handsome and voracious insect that can pick a plant clean of its leaves virtually overnight,” spud plants needed their own way to fight this powerful killer (Pollan 459). Monsanto, a chemical producing giant, has derived a way to force potatoes to produce insecticide through their DNA, without the aid of unnatural elements Pollan 459). Some members of the agricultural community shun this breakthrough in biotechnology , while others want to promote it and spread it worldwide.
Monsanto calls its new potato plant the New Leaf Superior, exceptional in that it contains not only nature’s input, but human knowledge as well. This is the fourth year that biotech crops have been in the works, spreading roots to over forty-five million acres of American farmland (Pollan 459).
The new leaf potato is a remarkable product and breakthrough in the way food can be manipulated. However, the way it has been handled and presented is atrocious. Labels that usually mention nutritional facts or ingredients are robbed of any such label mentioning that the product is a biotechnological exploration. The new leaf potato is a violation of human security, thus making it an unfavorable technological advancement.
The chemical being implemented into these potatoes’ DNA is referred to as Bt, or Bacillus Thuringiensis. Organic farmers have been using this chemical as an insecticide for years (Pollan 461). Installing it into the life code of a major crop such as potatoes may usher the bugs directly into immunity, thus depriving the organic farmers of a majo...