當你走進超級市場時，看到櫃台上又大又紅的蕃茄，是否令你食指大動，想要大快朵頤一番？但是你能確定你手上的蕃茄不是實驗室裏的新產品？自從人類登上月球後，宇宙在人類的眼中似乎變得渺小了，登天不再是件難事。貪心不足的人們，便想要更進一步奪取造物主的職權。
從一隻羊複製第二隻一模一樣的羊，近幾年的遺傳學確有長程的進步。其中有一項發明，更是傲人，它牽扯到咱們的民生問題，就是基因工程食物。何謂基因工程食物呢？基因是由DNA（去氧核醣核酸）的線段組成。基因工程食物是把任何動植物的基因放入不同種生物的基因裏。例如：把人的基因放在豬的基因內；魚的基因放在蕃茄裏；昆蟲的基因放在馬鈴薯裏頭……，凡此種種的基因工程改造。為什麼要有這種麻煩的食物改造呢？因為基因工程食物可以存放久一點，不會很快就壞掉，當然也比平常的蔬果「大」一點。乍聽之下，似乎動人心弦，但如果我們把眼光放遠一點，從多方面去考量的話，基因工程的食物可能就不會讓每一個人接受了。
科學家曾證明，這些基因工程食物的營養成分，跟非基因工程食物是差不多的。但是基因工程食物會使人體的抗生素減少，毒素很容易就會囤積在我們體內。此外，有些人對某一種肉類過敏，假使他們吃到含有那一類的動物基因後，可能會有不堪設想的後果。
身為佛教徒的我，希望飯桌上的蔬果是純凈的。我想素食主義者也會持有相同的立場。至於猶太教與回教都有特別的飲食規定，相信信奉回教的朋友們，絕對不會想要吃到和有豬基因的蘿蔔。
這些基因工程植物具有比平常植物更多的抗體，所以當農夫在灑農藥時，農藥只產生一點點作用，那農夫們就得多花點錢多買幾罐農藥來噴灑，避免農作物被害蟲吃掉，大家都知道農藥對健康不好，而且大量的噴灑農藥將會造成環境污染。
這些基因工程植物，對自然生態是個大傷害。假設基因工程植物與正常不同種植物授粉時，會導致變種的產品。像以上的例子，其破壞整個生態系統的速度一年約有百分之一，長此以往，其後果真令人難以想像。還有另一個可能的問題是產生新病毒：含有病毒性的基因，與其它無病毒性的基因結合時，可能會創造新無名氏病毒。這種情形發生在實驗室裏還可以控制，一旦讓這新病毒溜到實驗室外，要防止就難了。對新的病毒，我們卻沒有新的抵抗力，就可能導致人類或動物的大量死亡。
基因工程是新生兒，也是新寵。在此之前的科學都是依著大自然的法則進行。基因工程可說是改造最基層的法則。也許它對農業生產有些貢獻，但是對我們下一代卻隱藏了不可限可說是改造最基層的法則。也許它對農業生產有些貢獻，但是對我們下一代卻隱藏了不可限量的危機。
從以上的例子，大概已經有人在腦海裏想像出變種的世界。花園裏的花長得像豬一樣，或是看到街上的人被顆大西瓜追著跑……等圖片。為什麼沒有人去限制這項發展呢？在這講究民權、自由的時代，我們沒辦法去限制別人的創造發明，但我們有權利選擇要與不要。所以我們希望所有產品能正確地標示出是否含有基因工程的食物，這是消費者僅有的權利，也是向「基因工程」說「不要」的最有力武器。
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When you walk into the supermarket and see the huge, red tomatoes on the display counter, don’t you just want to gobble them down? But are you sure that the tomatoes in your hand are not the product of the latest laboratory experiment? Ever since man reached the moon, the universe has seemed small to us; ascending to heaven no longer seems hard. Insatiably greedy, people now want to take a step further and usurp the Creator’s role.
As can be seen from the successful cloning of a sheep, the field of genetics has made great progress in recent years. One outstanding invention affects our lifestyle very directly, namely: genetically engineered food. What is genetically engineered food? Genes are made up of strands of DNA. Genetically engineered food involves inserting the genes of one kind of plant or animal into the genes of another species of living thing. For example, human genes may be inserted into the genes of a pig; fish genes may be put into tomatoes; insect genes may be placed in potatoes, and so forth, bringing about various kinds of genetically engineered changes. Why would we want to go through all the trouble to alter food in this way? Because genetically engineered food has a longer shelf-life; it doesn’t spoil as fast. And genetically engineered fruits and vegetables are a bit larger. That sounds great, but if you look at the longterm effects and consider the issue from more angles, you might not be so inclined to accept genetically engineered food.
Although medical experts have confirmed that genetically engineered food has about the same nutritional value as ordinary food, genetically engineered food reduces the antibodies in our bodies, making it easy for toxins to accumulate. Furthermore, if people who are allergic to the flesh of a certain kind of animal ingest food containing the genes of that animal, there may be very serious consequences.
As a Buddhist, I hope the fruits and vegetables on my table are pure; I believe other vegetarians share my point of view. Jews and Muslims also have regulations concerning diet. I am pretty sure our Muslim friends would not want to eat grapes containing pig genes.
Some genetically engineered foods have more antibodies than ordinary food, so the usual pesticides have little effect. Farmers must spend money to buy more pesticide to spray on the crops. We all know that pesticides are unhealthy and that using them in large quantities pollutes the environment.
These genetically engineered plants are very harmful to the ecosystem. If genetically engineered plants are used to pollinate ordinary plants of another species, the result will be a mutation. This would cause the destruction of the ecosystem at the rate of about one percent annually; the longterm consequences can hardly be imagined. Another potential problem is that new viruses may be created. Fusing virus-infected genes with virus-free genes could create a new, unnamed virus. While this could be controlled in the laboratory, if the new virus spread outside the laboratory, it would be hard to control. Since we don’t have any resistance to it, the new virus could cause the deaths of a large segment of human and/or animal populations.
Genetic engineering is science‘s newborn baby and new pet. Prior to it, science always operated in accord with Nature’s laws. It could be said that genetic engineering involves altering the most basic of these laws. While it may help to improve our farm products, it also brings hidden dangers of immeasurable scope to our next generation.
The above examples have probably conjured up visions of a mutant world, where the flowers in the garden resemble pigs, or a watermelon is seen chasing people down the street. Why haven‘t restrictions been placed on developments in this area? In this era when people’s rights and freedom take first priority, we have no means to limit other people‘s inventions and discoveries. However, we do have the right to choose what we want. Therefore, we hope that all products can be properly labelled as to whether or not they contain genetically engineered food. This is only right that consumers have, and it is the most powerful weapon we have for saying “No” to genetic engineering.
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