Экология сегодня. Макеева М.Н - 16 стр.

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round us. Every form of life we call domestic has a genetic makeup that is artificial as a result of human activ-
ity", – he said.
The biggest danger to the public regarding genetic engineering, Manning feels, is when profit-motivated
companies rush to patent and market an untested technique. In contrast, McKnight-funded research remains in
the public domain, available to all who need it, and is carefully tested by scientists who live among the farmers
where the techniques will be used.
Manning found that Robert Goodman, a University of Wisconsin plant pathologist who oversees the Col-
laborative Crop Research Program, has his own doubts about the value of genetic engineering.
"We’ll eventually have the same problem with genetically engineered plants as we do with more traditional
approaches – the pests and diseases we are trying to repel are going to develop their own defenses", – Goodman
said.
The alternative is not to look only at a single gene, but at the entire sequence of genes in a particular plant,
as well as the sequence of genes in the organisms living in the surrounding soil and air. With this information,
scientists, rather than transferring single genes from one plant species to another, can manipulate a plant’s own
genes to stimulate certain interactions with the other organisms in its environment. Goodman predicts this prac-
tice, called "genomics", will render genetic engineering obsolete within a matter of years.
"By the end of the decade we’re going to look back at current genetic engineering technology, with its par-
lor tricks like sweeter tomatoes, as being primitive and almost arcane," – Goodman said. – "We are finally rec-
ognizing that nature is unimaginably complex. To survive, we need to learn to respect and harness that com-
plexity, because at a fundamental level, genetic improvement is integral to human society".
"No one ever said feeding a planet of six billion people would be without consequences," – Manning said.
– "But helping third world scientists feed their own people ensures sensitivity to culture and environment that
we missed in the first green revolution".
The McKnight Foundation Collaborative Crop Research Program, begun in 1993, seeks to increase food
security in developing countries. The total financial commitment is $53,5 million over 15 years.
Words and Expressions:
− famine-stricken – голодающий
− dire – страшный, ужасный, жуткий, внушающий ужас
− surplus – излишний, избыточный; добавочный
− monocropping – выращивание одной культуры
− to collaborate with – работать совместно, сотрудничать
− chickpea – нут, турецкий горох
− pod borer – стручковый сверлильщик (червь)
− weevils – долгоносик
− to strew – разбрасывать, разбрызгивать
− obesity – тучность, ожирение
− sticky – клейкий, липкий, вязкий, тягучий
− to contaminate – пачкать, загрязнять, марать, портить, отравлять
− scab-resistant – устойчивый к парше
− to eradicate – искоренять, вырывать с корнем, истреблять
− viral – вирусный
− to repel – подавлять, сдерживать
− gene – ген
− obsolete – устарелый, старый, немодный
− arcane – тайный, скрытый, тёмный, загадочный, потайной, секретный
− harness – использовать
Exercises on the Text:
Answer the following questions.
1. How will you explain the term "monocropping"?
2. Have you ever heard about the second green revolution?

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