Anyone have any ideas about the islamic point of view?
Shirin,
What's GM food?
genetically modified... i believe..
i donno about Islam part though.
ethically speaking, nothing wrong.. world population is balooning and one more green revolution is necessary to feed it.. last green revolution had problems that it used pesticides and incecticides a lot and many species disappeared.. this revolution will leave with even fewer species and when u r tampering genes, unpredictable consequences.. so one does not know if that risk is necessary..
What could be the Islamic point of view on this one?
sorry, duplicate post!
[This message has been edited by Shirin (edited April 12, 2000).]
Islamic dietary principles take into consideration much more than the easiest way to fill your stomach. The food needs to be healthy and comply with certain principles. Halal meat is not simply that which has been butchered in a certain way.
Some people do believe that GM food is the answer to the world's food shortage problems, but there are many other factors to consider.
By monkeying with genes we are opening up a Pandora's box of problems tha we cannot even imagine. We do not know the long and short term repercussions of such manipulation.
Second, is it really necessary? Can the problem not be solved in other ways and will GM give the results we need?
Third, there are huge economic interests behind these issues. No company will do this for charity and the possibility is that this technology will only make the rich nations richer and the poor poorer. Or are there still people who believe in charity by rich countries?
A specific problem is of course the introduction of genes of other species into foods that we eat, eg. pig genes into tomatoes to make the skin more resistant to transportation.
I would imagine you are all interested in the future of your food...