Science And Industrialization

Policy Digest: Environmental Issues

Neil deGrasse Tyson, astrophysicist and Cosmos star, took a stand on genetically modified foods in a video posted online recently. In response to a question by a French reporter, Tyson came out strongly in support of food biotechnology, saying he is “amazed how much objection genetically modified foods are receiving from the public.” In the video, viewed over half a million times, Tyson makes the point that practically every food we eat has been improved by mankind:
Science And Industrialization

When I Think of Genetic Engineering, Crippling Humanity Doesn’t Come to Mind

When I think of the future of genetic engineering, I imagine new and innovative varieties of food. I envision crops that practically grow themselves come rain or come shine. I hope for foods that are specifically tailored to an individual's nutritional needs, apples that don't turn brown when sliced or perhaps even a grocery store tomato that actually tastes good.
Government And Business

Vigilante GMO Gardening?

Gardening seems like the most crime-free activity in the history of mankind. It’s not only slow and relaxing; it’s hard to imagine little old ladies with giant floppy hats getting themselves into any trouble worth being arrested for. But things are not always as they seem in the garden.
Government And Business

Anti-GMO Activists ♥ Russian Authoritarianism

Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev recently told a group of leaders from rural settlements that when it comes to food technology, he will be calling the shots. Sneering at the success of biotechnology in America, he declared his decision that farmers and consumers will not be able to import or grow the most technologically advanced crops.

Further Reading

Ayn Rand | 1957
For the New Intellectual

The Moral Meaning of Capitalism

An industrialist who works for nothing but his own profit guiltlessly proclaims his refusal to be sacrificed for the “public good.”
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Ayn Rand | 1961
The Virtue of Selfishness

The Objectivist Ethics

What is morality? Why does man need it? — and how the answers to these questions give rise to an ethics of rational self-interest.
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