Since the late 20th century, we have been witnessing astonishing scientific and technological developments. Pertaining that these developments have started to interfere and change various aspects of our lives. This has reached a degree that plants, crops and food have been a subject for scientific experiments and research. While some people consider these scientific work and experiments on plants and crops as a game changer, some individuals not only approach to these studies with great skepticism, but also see them as playing with fire. This essay will discuss both views partially without taking a stance.
According to the proponents of the scientific experiments on nutrition substances, the most critical advantage is the possibility to increase plant and food’s both quality and quantity. They claim that advanced technology has already made remarkable contributions to our lives and therefore it ought to be used to make improvements in the quantity and quality of plants and crops that mankind’s survival depends on. According to projections of some organizations, the existing edible plants and food on Earth are very likely to become insufficient within 2 decades if the overall population continues to grow at the current rate. From their point of view, this vital complication might be resolved with scientific works and researches on plants and crops. The other point the supporters of these scientific studies and experiments make is eliminating diseases that plants and crops suffer from. A scientific attempt to cure a rare disease for tomato crops can be presented as a supportive example for their claims. To be more specific, tomato crops started to die due to an unknown disease in 2019 in Mexico and fortunately scientists were able to find a cure to the disease as a result of 6 months of their studies and efforts.
On the other hand, from the opponents’ point of view, there are numerous risks involved in scientific works on food resources and therefore these kinds of scientific experiments on our food are extremely hazardous. In this sense their biggest concern is unintended consequences that can occur as a result of the empirical works on the substances that are critically important for our survival. Because these works on plants and crops are a process of altering the genetics of these living organisms. When we take into consideration the fact that they are our supply materials, which human beings need to survive. Therefore, even the slightest unexpected alteration in the genes of these substances puts human life in great danger. According to their perception, the most severe diseases humankind suffers from today could be a direct or indirect result of scientific work on the natural products we consume.
This essay discussed the main camps of opinions regarding scientific works on plants and food without taking a side. As a result, I firmly believe that scientific experiments on the nutrition substances, which mankind heavily relied on for its survival, are critically important for the resolution of existing and potential scarcity problems and therefore ought to be proceeded with extreme precautions.