Genetic Engineering Awareness Week Essays - Genetic Engineering

Genetic Engineering Awareness Week What are you Eating? Campaign for Food Safety and Awareness General Education Honors Project Project Proposal March 31, 2000 Table of Contents Introduction___________________________________________________________ 3 The Project___________________________________________________________ 3 Significance___________________________________________________________ 4 Evaluation____________________________________________________________ 5 Team Budget__________________________________________________________ 6 Bibliography___________________________________________________________ 7 Supplemental Bibliography_______________________________________________ 8 Team Signatures_______________________________________________________ 9 The technological changes and innovations during the last 20 years have created a remarkable array of new creations. All living organisms are compromised of a substance called deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), which contains genes that are the ?blueprint' for that organism. Scientists discovered that DNA was interchangeable between organisms and created new breeding methods such as crossbreeding, gene injection, and DNA modification techniques. This allowed scientists to take desirable traits from one organism and give that characteristic to another. A genetically engineered product is one that was developed by modifying DNA. (www.aphis.usda.gov/bbep/bp/overview.html) There has been an increase in generically engineered crops over the years and they continue to rise. In 1996, 4 million acres of land worldwide were planted with these crops versus having 98 million acres with genetically engineered crops in 1999 (Frankmore, p.A-38). In 1998, 77% of the world's genetically engineered crops were produced in the United States (Batie, 1999). Currently the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) does not require the labeling of genetically engineered products (Kessler, 1992, p. 1747). However, legislation is now being introduced into congress to determine how these products should be dealt with. In 1998, the United States patent office received 289 applications for patent approval for new genetically engineered crops (Batie, 1999). It is often hard to understand complex technological and scientific concepts when one does not have prior experience in the field. Genetic engineering is a division of biotechnology. It is something that one encounters in their everyday life, but at the same time it's hard to understand what a genetically engineered product is, and what effects it could have on your life. While is has been well documented that the European Union is opposed to genetically engineered foods which they nicknamed ?Frakenfoods', the thoughts and beliefs of American consumers has not yet been examined (Batie, 1999). The main goal of the biotech community should be to take the complex topic of genetically engineered crops, and make it understandable to Americans to allow them to formulate and make educated decisions on the subject. Due to the high complexity and scientific nature of genetic engineering, people aren't aware of this topic. However, the spectrum of genetic engineering reaches beyond the realm of science, as it is part of each area of general education. For example, it affects globalization because it could have an impact on population rates, provides nutrition, affects people differently and have social and economic impacts. Biotechnology crosses the area of pluralism as it has an effect on public policies and opinions. It is part of the area of aesthetics as it could change the landscapes and food appearance. Mathematics is involved in the use of forecasting future trends and profits. New genetically engineered products have the potential to drive a large amount of businesses out of business. For example, a genetically engineered product called BgH can increase milk production by 40% and would tend to force about 30% of all dairy farms in the US out of business once introduced into the market (Pe rlas, 1994, p.40). In the case of new genetically engineered ?golden rice' which contains high level of beta-carotene (Vitamin A) to combat blindness in malnourished Asian countries. Instead however, Asians experienced a Vitamin A toxicity which resulted in abdominal pains, nausea, vomiting, dizziness and deformities of the body as well as problems with the depletion of its scarce water resources by using more then the traditional amounts (www.purefoods.com). Genetically engineered products have the potential to be highly destructive creating gene mutations, superweeds, health risks, and unknown effects from lack of research and evidence on safety issues. Consumers should be aware of the foods that they are eating and possible long term effects. Bibliography Batie, S. (1999). Agricultural Biotechnology: Can it Pass the Consumer Test? Michigan State University Department of Agricultural Economics. Retrieved from the World Wide Web on March 11, 2000: http://www.aec.msu.edu/agecon/search In 1997, the United States Patent Office received 289 applications for patent approvals for genetically altered plants. In 1999, 65 million acres of cropland were used to produce genetically altered crops,

The Poetry of William Carlos Williams

The Poetry of William Carlos Williams Free Online Research Papers The poetry of William Carlos Williams uses imagery that refers to everyday experiences and concrete images that describe material objects. Goodblatt and Glicksohn propose that comprehending a metaphor is like problem solving, â€Å"in its more creative form,† and that this involves â€Å"an act of perceptual and semantic restructuring† (Goodblatt and Glicksohn 428). They also state that a single metaphor â€Å"should be understood within a large context† (Goodblatt and Glicksohn 428). Williams, expressed a similar sentiment by saying that there â€Å"’are no ideas but in things† (Goodblatt and Glicksohn 428). Considering this perspective, the following analysis focuses on the imagery that Williams uses in â€Å"Poem,† which offers a typical example of Williams’s utilization of metaphor and imagery within a short lyric form. Williams is most renowned for his depiction of life in his hometown of Rutherford, New Jersey, where he gained fame as one of America’s most distinguished poets, and also practiced as a family doctor for 40 years. Unlike many of his peers, Williams never employed â€Å"complex symbols or rarefied literary allusions,† but rather tended to focus on subjects that surrounded him, that is, his hometown, â€Å"its landscapes and its people† (William† 9). It may have been the scientist in Williams that inclined him toward the use of â€Å"concise concrete images† and the utilization of â€Å"homely words of everyday speech,† but there is no denying that this characterizes his poetic style† (William 9). Considering this, the first question that the reader asks on reading â€Å"Poem† is what, precisely is Williams trying to say. The image is concrete; the text of the poem is concise: As the cat Climbed over The top of The jamcloset First the right Forefoot Carefully then the hind Stepped down Into the pit of The empty Flowerpot (Williams). This poem works as an extended metaphor. The cat is carefully climbing over the jamcloset, placing each foot precisely. The reader’s first task at problem-solving is to determine the meaning of â€Å"jamcloset,† which is familiar or readily defined. This word does not appear in Webster’s or other dictionaries. This suggests that Williams intended for this work to conjure an image. â€Å"Jam packed† is defined as something that is crammed with things to the point that nothing can be added. Perhaps Williams means for this word to conjure an image of a closet jammed with things, with a cat carefully negotiating the top. On the other hand, the word â€Å"jam† could refer to a fruit spread used on toast, in which case, the word â€Å"jamcloset† suggests a pantry and there is the suggestion that the cat is after a taste of jam. In either case, the emphasis of the poem is on the cat’s eventual destination. The reader can see the cat stepping so carefully, first one foot and then the other. The short lines and smooth flow of words mirror the careful and feline movements of the car. Only in the last stanza does the reader realize that the cat has moved so carefully into the â€Å"pit of an empty flowerpot.† This turns the image of the precise and careful cat into something comical. The first assumption of the reader is that the cat is moving precisely to obtain a specific purpose; something that the reader would judge as a useful intention from a human perspective. This, however, is not the case, as the cat ends up squashed into the flower pot, which Williams makes clear was the animal’s intention all along. As this suggests, this imagery says more about the human reader that it does about the cat. Human beings are goal oriented. The deliberate, purposeful movement that Williams describes naturally conjures a feeling in the reader that the cat must have a specific goal, whether this is capturing a mouse or pursuing some other goal that makes sense within the feline perspective. What Williams appears to be telling his readers is that the world obeys its own rules. The cat is fascinated by and wants to sit in the flower pot. It does not make sense from a human point of view, but there it is and that is the reality of this situation. Implied within the assumed perspective of the reader and image of the flower-potted cat is also the realization that this has meaning and relevancy. The world does not have to have goals, purpose or meaning from a human perspective in order to be meaningful. It just is. Children understand this, and a child would probably delight in the flower-potted cat and understand the world can look different and interesting from such a perspective. Adults tend to lose their joy in seeing the unexpected and exploring the unknown by trying on viewpoints that are new and different. As this indicates, however, Williams’ use of imagery suggests meaning at multiple levels with concise, brief poetry. In â€Å"Poem,† the poet offers an image that suggests more than is stated implicitly. The cat, so carefully placing first one foot and then the other delicately into the pit of the flowerpot, not only conveys the inquisitive nature of the animal, but also the fact that the cat represents an aspect of existence that adult humans often avoid. By surprising the reader with the cat’s destination, Williams subtly suggests that adults are too predictable. We, like children and cats, should attempt to see the world with fresh eyes, and perhaps try wiggling into new perspectives that may seem alien at first, but afford the viewer with new experiences. Perhaps, we should not smile at the seeming lunacy of the cat until we have sat in a flowerpot atop the â€Å"jamcloset† and seen what there is to see from this perspective. Goodlatt, Chanita Glicksohn Joseph. â€Å"Metaphor comprehension As problem solving: an online study of the reading Process.† Style 36 (2002): 428. â€Å"William Carlos Williams: Doctor and Poet.† Literary Cavalcade 57 (8) (2005): 9. Williams, William Carlos. Poem (As the cat). No date. Accessed May 9, 2006. . 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