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Yang1CharlesYangMrs.LeagueHonorsAmericanLiterature,4thperiod8November2014SpeechtocontroversyofGeneticallyModifiedFoodGeneticallymodifiedfoodsarefoodsderivedfromgeneticallymodifiedorganisms.GeneticallymodifiedorganismshavehadspecificchangesintroducedintotheirDNAbygeneticengineering,usingaprocessofeithercisgenesisortransgenesis.Geneticallymodifiedfoodswerefirstputonthemarketintheearly1990s.Typically,geneticallymodifiedfoodsaretransgenicplantproducts:soybean,corn,canola,andcottonseedoil.Lastyear,theDepartmentofAgricultureawardedthesafetycertificatetotwokindsoftransgenicrice,andthistriggeredalarge-scalediscussion.Manypeopleopposeditandrefusedtoeatgeneticallymodifiedfoods.Theyobjectedtogeneticallymodifiedfoodsonseveralgroundssuchas:geneticallymodifiedfoodshavenotbeenasuccess,thereisnotestinhumanbeing;geneticallymodifiedfoodsmaybechangehumangenesinfuture;geneticallymodifiedfoodswillaffectotherplantsaroundthemandchangeotherspecies,thenmoreandmorespecieswillvaryordisappear;geneticallymodifiedfoodshavetheadvantageinbothpriceandoutputsothatfewcompanieswhohavetransgeneproprietarytechnologywillcontrolfoodmarket.Accordingtoarecentsurveyofstudent'sopiniontowardsgeneticallymodifiedfoodshereinWaltonHighSchool,almost90percentofthembelievethatthegeneticallymodifiedfoodisnotsafetotheirhealthandrefusetopurchase.ButtheYang2funniestthingisalmost85%ofthemshowlackofunderstandinghowthegeneticallymodifiedfoodpossiblydamagetheirhealth.Peoplearedeeplymisunderstoodandevenhaverepellentpsychologybecauseofthelong-timenegativepublicopinion.Peopleeatgeneticallymodifiedfoods,thenthefoodsareabsorbedlikenormalfoods,thereisnotheorytosupportthatgeneticallymodifiedfoodswillchangehumanbeing’sgenes.Actually,moreandmoregeneticallymodifiedfoodsappearinourlives.Whenyouhavedinnerintherestaurant,maybeyoueatthegeneticallymodifiedoilandgeneticallymodifiedcornandgeneticallymodifiedrice,butyoujustdon’tknow.Doyouwanttoseeaworldwithhungers?Thereisaseverefoodsupplyissueinthedevelopingworldwherewewilleitherthriveordie,inordertomeetthedemandforfoodandconfrontingtheclimatechangeweneedtoincreaseuseofgeneticallymodifiedcrops.Itissciencewhichbringsustheonlysolution.Nowwithlessandlesscultivatedlandarea,geneticallymodifiedfoodwillplayamoreandmoreimportantroleiftheuseoftransgenictechnologycansolvetheworldfoodshortageproblem.Thegeneticallymodifiedcropsuselesspesticidewhichissaferthannormalcrops.Farmershavewitnessedtheadvantagesofgeneticallymodifiedcropsfirsthandthroughincreasesintheiryieldsandprofit,anddecreasesintheirlabor,energyconsumption,pesticideuseandgreenhousegasemissions.FarmersgrowinggeneticallymodifiedriceinfieldtrialsinChinareporthighercropyields,reducedpesticideuseandfewerpesticiderelatedhealthproblems.AccordingtoastudybyresearchersinChinaandbytheUniversityofCalifornia,DavismeasuresonaperhectarebasisthatthequantityandcostofpesticidesappliedtotheconventionalriceYang3was8to10timesashighasthatappliedtotheinsect-resistantgeneticallymodifiedrice.Geneticallymodifiedfoodintheworldnowisanewthing;anewthingpeopleneedtimeforpeopletopromoteitsacceptance.Scienceandtechnologyisadouble-edgedswordwhichimplieseventheperfectionhasitsdisadvantages.Geneticallymodifiedfoodandnutritioninsidearenotharmfultopeoplebutthesamehealthyasnaturalfoods.Thespreadofpeople’sworriesisunderstandable.Ittakestimetoacceptanewthing;ultimatelywewillseethebenefitsofit.“Alltruthpassesthroughthreestages.First,itisridiculed.Second,itisviolentlyopposed.Third,itisacceptedasbeingself-evident,”asArthurSchopenhauerwouldsay.Ofcourse,inourcountry,thenewgrainlawimposessomemorerigorousrule.Forexample,thegeneticallymodifiedorganism’sresearch,experiments,productions,sales,importsandexportsshouldbefollowedtothecountry'slaws,andeveryindividualpersonandunitarenotallowedtoimplygeneticallymodifiedtechnologyatprinciplegraincultivarswithoutauthorization.Weshouldgiveourrefrigeratorandtrusttogeneticallymodifiedfoods.Youcantakethebiotechnologyoutofthecountrybutyoucannottakethecountryoutofthebiotechnology.Istronglybelievethatbiotechnologyisanessentialpartofthetoolboxtofeedtheworldsustainablyinthefuture.Weneedcropsthatareresistanttonewdiseases,thatcancopewithachangingclimateandthatenableustofeedanincreasinghumanpopulationwhileminimizingtheenvironmentalimpactofagriculture.Yang4WorksCitedUCDavis.“No-tillagriculturemaynotbringhoped-forboostinglobalcropyields,studyfinds”=11062October22,2014CharlesYang.“SurveyofGMOs”