Food Is Important pt.2: Science Knows All?

Ah, this topic feels a gathering hurricane in my brain. It's chaotic and flying loose within grey matter, yet with a certain gathering force. Somewhere, somehow this whole thing will come crashing together in some brilliant display of typery...or bloggery. Not sure which. Until then, though, i'll have to be satisfied with short disjointed stories or mind purges. Bear with me.

This post is a retelling of a story i heard from Ray a few days ago. He didn't say where this happened, i'll have to get more info on it when he returns from his week long trip. It has my embellishments all over it, i apologize. I'm just going to dive into this one...

It seems that science has taken over our minds. It seems to decide things for us. We've bought into it completely and follow it like dedicated cultists.

Well why not? Look what we've got from it. Computers, cars, boats that can carry tons of cargo, airplanes that can fly people from one side of the world to the other, space shuttles that open up the possibility for exploration beyond our world. Heck, now we can simulate the taste of bacon without the presence of bacon! Or we can cure polio or measles. All it takes is a tiny injection. That's pretty cool, i think.

But, it's gotten to the point where people don't care about their health and they eat the synthetic foods that science has created and that science in turn told them it was bad because we can just hop over to the local doc and get fixed up. It's okay, you can eat that entire bag of Smarties. Go ahead. Science will save you.

Well, if science is this good for us, well surely we can use it to save other people in other countries. Specifically, third world countries where food is scarce. Science could bio-engineer high-yielding strains of rice for these people, saving them from their hard lives. Sounds like a solid plan. No genetic engineering, just straight up cross-pollination. A clean effort.

Okay, done. But why is it that instances of starvation are higher in the areas where these new strains are being used?

One thing that the scientists failed to mention to their recipients is that the new strain of rice has a shorter stalk than the normal variety. Not a big deal for affluent westerners, but to other people who have built their lives on surviving, it means the world.

Since there are few tractors in the developing world, people still need to use other sources of power. Namely, animals. Animals need food, too. Rice stalks will do. But if their crops don't produce enough food for their animals, what do they have that they can feed their animals with? Their own rice? Plus, some people still use straw to make the roofs of their houses or other practical items.

Also, the new strain demands more nutrients from the soil. Suddenly, farmers have failed crops of the new strain. They ask the scientists what's going on. Simple, the scientists say. You need this fancy chemical fertilizer. Oh, i happen to have some right here. It's not free, though...

Science is imposing it's culture on people who have figured out how to live on their own already. Sure, it's not the comfy lifestyle we're used to, but maybe they're used to their lives. Or maybe there are other, more constructive, less imposing ways to help out.