PHILOSOPHICAL AND ETHICAL ASPECTS OF USING GENETICALLY MODIFIED AGRICULTURAL PRODUCT

PHILOSOPHICAL AND ETHICAL ASPECTS OF USING GENETICALLY MODIFIED AGRICULTURAL PRODUCT

Shimchuk T.A.

Kemerovo State Agricultural Institute

Shimchuk T.A.
In the article, written by Tamara Shimchuk it is possible to realize negative aspects (sides) of new biotechnologies usage in agriculture. The author reveals negative results of usage of genetically modified food from the world producers. Author thinks that the future belongs to the agriculture without GMO and organic agriculture because it produces natural products.

Our epoch is the epoch when humanity totally depends on scientific outlook and technological environment. Revolutionary success of biotechnologies is apprehended in such conditions as a regular victory of science and technology.

What are agricultural biotechnologies? Agricultural biotechnology is a process of getting new kinds of agricultural crops with usage of high technologies. Genetic improvement history of some kinds of animals and plants has started since domestication of wild plants and animals for producing foodstuff. And modern agricultural technologies are its logical result.

Nowadays biotechnological crops are cultivated by farmers in thirteen countries of the world. European society published results of fifteen-year research of the quality of biotechnological production and its influence on the humans’ health. Experts gave prove to conception of “equivalence of food substances”. It was broadcasted in Europe and in the USA for improving promotion of genetically modified food in the market.

Genetically modified organisms (GMO) are made by methods of genetic engineering. This is a science which enables to input a fragment of DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) into  genom of plant, animal or microorganism from any other organisms in order to add it some properties.

The first product of new biotechnologies was created in 1982 in the USA and in 1992 in the Chine. It was tobacco. In 1994 new sorts of long-life tomatoes with rich taste were created by bioengineers of the USA. German and Swiss bioengineers cultivated “golden rice” with Beta-carotene. Nowadays mass-production of biotechnological crops of soy, corn, cotton, and pumpkin is organized in the USA.

For example, tomatoes have got a gene of freezing tolerance from the Arctic dab (flatfish); a potato plant have got a gene of bacterium which poison is fatal for Colorado potato beetle, rice have received a Human Being gene which is responsible for consistence of female milk and makes herb more battle (nutritious).

Geneticists exercised their arts having tried to grow seeds valid for one occasion only. Such seeds are not able for reproducing of themselves. Specialists forecast disappearing of many kinds of plants and animals in the closest future.

There is a danger in the shops, in beautiful packaging of genetically modified products. International Organization “Green Peace” put the list of the world leading companies on its Website. In this list there are baby food, cereals and chocolates Kit-Kat, Mars, Milky Way, Nestle, sauces, ketchups and cookies. All this production is in wide promotion in Russia and it fills shelves of our shops.

Thus, it is necessary to give real esteems for all the sphere of new biotechnologies danger in order to understand philosophical and ethical problems of GM-technologies. It is necessary to give real esteems for all the sphere of new biotechnologies danger in order to understand philosophical and ethical problems of GM-technologies.

Do we need transgenic products? This question is disputable. Supporters of GMP affirm that genetic engineering will save incoming population of the Earth from famine because genetically modified plants can exist in less fertile soils and it produces rich harvest and it can be kept for a long time.

For many people the question of genetic engineering has moral character. Scientific interest pushes genetics for creating such mutants as, for instance, shining in the darkness rabbit who received from jelly-fish a gene responsible for fluorescence. A lot of people consider such experiments to be violence at nature. Such playing a Creator’s role is dangerous and unpredictable by its results starting since harmless Michurin’s experiments and finishing by genetic engineering.

British scientist Arpad Pusztai concerned to a question of transgenic products by scientific point. He made experiments feeding rats with transgenic potato. By the results of this experiment he established that usage of this product harmed rats’ immune system, causing anomalous changes in intestines, affections of liver, kidneys and cerebrum. Such affirmation from Pusztai produced a big wave of protest and he was discharged from Rouett Scientific and Research Institute.

None topic nowadays produces so many fierce disputes all over the world as the topic of genetically modified production. The lack of information because of absence of full and wide scientific discussion by this problem produces more and more new myths. One of rare books which enlightens this confused question was published recently. This is a work of American author Frederic William Engdal by name “The seeds of destruction: mysterious underlying reason of genetic manipulations”. It was represented just on the 24-th of April in the Forth International Bookstore in Saint-Petersburg.

In this book Mister Engdal gathers scrupulously the whole known information about the world of genetically modified organisms (GMO) in chronological order. He found out direct communication among postwar genetics, the eugenics of the Third Reich and genetic manipulation which comes into official politics of the USA. On the slide number 3 you can see that the USA is the worldwide leader in production of GMO.

Possession of GMO technologies patent and all-round bringing into use norms of WTO (World Trade Organization) leads giants of biotechnologies onto monopolistic positions in the world production of foods. And it casually destroys the biological variety of our planet. The politics of the world corporation directions is directed to training of the most perspective scientists and researchers of developing countries for biotechnologies. Because they hope that these scientists who support GMO will outspread biotechnologies in agriculture coming back to their countries. Western biotechnologies companies try to promote its production to the “third world” countries as an “aid”.

The movement for creation of agricultural zones without GMO and usage of chemical pesticides is broadcasting in European countries now. The usage of chemical pesticides is another problem in the sphere of consumption of agricultural products. France became a world leader in the sphere of chemical pesticides’ treatment by data for 2000 year.

Day by day the humanity becomes more and more attackable and unprotected in face of inhuman and dangerous biotechnologies. However scientists and engineers-volunteers seek the ways of control the quality of agricultural production using different apparatus. For example, it is possible thanks to nitrate-meter of different modifications (slides 13-14). Owing to this apparatus it is possible to esteem the amount of nitrates in vegetables. It is possible to use it at home or to take it everywhere. The method of ionometry is lying in the base of nitrate-meter working technology. It helps to determine the quantity of nitrate-ions in electrical line. It is enough to switch on this apparatus and to embed the metallic test prod of electrode into the soil or into the vegetable’s slice. The nitrate-meter works on battery energy.

Unfortunately there are no any apparatus for measuring the amount of GMO in foods and its danger for health. And there are more and more genetically modified products in supermarket shelves.

The future of humanity is not in success of genetic engineering but in organic agriculture because it uses organic fertilizers and cultivates pure (natural) seeds. Only such biotechnologies give life and health. The seed which was put on genetic modification tries to come back to its first condition if not to interfere it. But it needs from 10 to 15 years for such restoration. It is necessary to try to attain cultivating seeds as they are in our gardens. These seeds will accumulate their useful properties through the natural processes. We should more trust to the seeds which are sold by the old ladies in the market than to genetically modified seeds in beautiful boxes from the world producers of “super sorts-killers”. From the last seeds it is possible to receive such called “Frankenstein products”. Danish scientists gave them such name.

We have to believe that humanity will find powers and good sense to overcome threatening dangerous of degradation of all human kind because GMO assaults genofond of all living organisms of our planet including human being.

ВЛИЯНИЕ ФОСФОРНЫХ УДОБРЕНИЙ НА ПЛОДОРОДИЕ КАШТАНОВЫХ ПОЧВ И УРОЖАЙ ЯРОВОЙ ПШЕНИЦЫ МОНГОЛИИ

Энхтуяа Б

г.Дархан, Монголия

Резюме

Изучено влияние на урожай яровой пшеницы суперфосфата, актированный фосфоритной муки и фосфоритной муки на каштановой почве Монголий. Внесение разных форм фосфорных удобрений повышало урожай яровой пшеницы и подвижного фосфора в почве.

Исследования проводили в 2001-2005 гг. в полевом опыте, заложенном в Центрально земледельское зоне Монголии на каштановой почве. По механическому составу легкосуглинистая. Опытная культура – яровая пшеница сорта “Орхон”. Агрохимическая характеристика пахотного слоя почв опыта представлена в табл.1. Содержания гумуса (по Тюрину) в слое 0-20см при закладке опытов составляло 1.28%, ниратного азота(по Ионномером)- 5.43мг/кг, подвижного фосфора (по Мачигину) 2.1мг, обменного калий (по Пламенном фотометре) 10.3мг/100г почвы.

Изучение влияние на урожай яровой пшеница из разных фосфорных удобрений на каштановой почве ЦЗЗ раньше не проводилось. Поэтому в задачу данных исследований входило: выявить сравнительную эффективность суперфосфата, актированной фосфоритной муки, и фосфоритной муки на плодородие каштановых почв и урожай яровой пшеницы.

Удобрения вносила в дозе 60кг/га почвы: азот- в виде гранулированной аммиачной селитры (34% N), фосфор- в виде гранулированной простой суперфосфат (19.5% P₂ O₅), актированной фосфоритной муки( 20.2% P₂ O₅ ), и фосфоритной муки (8.0% P₂ O₅ ), кали в виде хлористого калия (60% К₂ O).

Внесение различных форм фосфорных удобрений повышало содержание подвижной фосфор в почве после закладке опыта и особенно выше фосфоритной муки на 1мг, затем суперфосфата 0.6мг и актированной муки 0.5мг/100г и почвы. В засушливых годах содержание подвижного фосфора в почве на каштановых почвах влияние актириованной фосфоритной муки близки к супер фосфату и фосфоритная мука превосходит его.

1. Агрохимическая характеристика почвы

2. Влияние фосфорных удобрений на урожай яровой пшеницы

По результатам изучения влияния различных фосфорных удобрений на содержание фосфора в каштановых почвах в засушливых годах наблюдалось повышение подвижного фосфора в почве на 0.5- 1.0мг/100г и на урожай яровых пшеницы сорта “Орхон” наблюдалось повышение урожай зерна на 10.3-26.8 процентов по сравнению с вариантом без удобрения.

«Агроэкологические проблемы техногенного региона»

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