Switzerland Places Ban on the Humiliation of Plants
A new amended law in Switzerland protects the dignity of vegetation.
A law protecting the dignity of plants? Laugh if you will. I’m down on my knees in respect and awe. At last the Western World is realizing the dire importance of taking other species into account.
Recently, the Swiss Parliament asked a panel of philosophers, lawyers, geneticists and theologians to determine the meaning of dignity when it pertains to plants.
Lo and Behold, the team published a treatise on “the moral consideration of plants for their own sake.” The treatise established that vegetation has innate value and that it is morally wrong to partake in activities such as the “decapitation of wildflowers at the roadside without rational reason.”
Over a decade ago, an amendment was added to the Swiss constitution in order to defend the dignity of all creatures — including vegetation — against unwanted repercussions of genetic engineering. The amendment was turned into law and is known as the Gene Technology Act. However the law itself didn’t say anything specific about plants, until recently, when the law was amended to include them.
The obvious question at hand: how does this new ruling affect the production of genetically modified organisms?
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Beat Keller is a molecular biologist at the University of Zurich. Keller recently asked permission of the government to conduct a field trial of a genetically modified wheat bred with a resistance to fungus. In order to actually gain permission to go ahead with the trial, he needed to hash out the potential threats to the dignity of the wheat.
The majority of the panel agrees that genetically modified plants are ok, “as long as their independence, i.e., reproductive ability and adaptive ability, are ensured.” In other words, no forced sterility and terminator genes.
And Keller did, in the end, get to plant his GMO grain.
“Where does it stop?” asks Yves Poirier, a molecular biologist at the laboratory of plant biotechnology at the University of Lausanne. “Should we now defend the dignity of microbes and viruses?”
And even though I think it’s a great law, where does it stop? How humiliated is a boiled potato? A peeled carrot? Corn turned into a lowly, tortilla chip meant for dipping?
Source: Wall Street Journal
Photo: Wikimedia under a Creative Commons Lisence
Chris, Guinnevere doesn’t eat, she photosyntesises. You know, like her plant buddies.
Hail Jesus
So while we can pass laws that “established that vegetation has innate value and that it is morally wrong to partake in activities such as the “decapitation of wildflowers at the roadside without rational reason.” The world allows a set of scissors to be jammed into a squirming, living, breathing infant (without pain meds mind you) and then have it’s brains sucked out until it’s skull collapses. And usually it is you tree-hugging, earth-loving hippies that are holding the “I have a choice” placards. God’s wrath has been held back long enough, while you are down on your knees in respect and awe you need to find what is worthy of true worship, and it is not the roadside dandelion.
So does this mean I can’t pee in the woods anymore?
Let’s all take a breath and admit how silly this discussion is. Protecting plants that we need for human or animal consumption is one thing but “for the dignity of the plants?” Let’s come down to earth for a minute and admit that this is nonsense.
Wow, this is frankly mind-bogglingly stupid. Good lord, what is next? The dignity of plastic? The sanctity of boogers? HAHA! OMG! The growing number of people in this world who have their heads shoved MILES up their own ass is astounding. We have killed God and raised up PLANTS to the position of a deity. Satan is alive and well on planet earth, indeed.
The only thing I love about this is it is a huge slap to the face of arrogant vegans. Now they have to give an account for disrespecting veggies when they BOIL them, or FRY them ALIVE! HAHA!
Guinnevere is one of the finest examples of abject stupidity I have ever encountered. Raising the existence of plants over that of human beings… remarkable. Some of the most grotesque sophistry ever vomited on an audience, issueth forth from her gaping maw.
Leave it to brain-dead retro-pseudo-wannabe-hippies like Guinnevere and Meg Hamill to actually believe that the Swiss give a rat’s ass about the “dignity” of plants. The Swiss law is an utter and complete lie disguised as eco-friendly nonsense. The goal of the Swiss is to curtail genetic mutation experimentation, and NOT to get all warm and fuzzy with the plants. The Swiss have industries in farming that the corporate bigwigs want to protect, so they come up with “plant dignity” laws so they can stop new individuals and small companies from experimenting with new farming techniques and genetically modified plant stocks. This is nothing more than the vile interference of corrupt corporations attempting to shut down the little guy. The powerful Swiss fat-cat CEOs want to protect their agri-biz and are using this law to do it.
Way to go, Meg Hamill and Guinnevere in applauding the greedy, disgusting machinations of corrupt corporations. Way to think it through. What gullible sheep you are, mindless pawns who are easily controlled by a vitriolic Big Brother. Next time, USE YOUR HEAD! Learn to recognize the cruel and crushing maneuvers of money-grubbing corporations to shut down independent, grass-roots business efforts of the people. The small business lead by one (good) man this law shut down was attempting to modify wheat to be more hardy and grow in regions not previously farmable. Land that poor people own that this modified wheat could have helped FEED! This law is nothing more than a scummy corporation shutting down an attempt to bring cheaper, organic food to underprivileged people.
Good job Guinnevere and Meg, what will you applaud next… children in Africa starving? Pull your head out of your ass and recognize when you are being manipulated by a greedy corporation.
This is the problem with stupid, naive hippies. They think the world is this really simple place where everything is what it seems. Instead, the economics and ecology issues this world is facing is fraught with complex political issues and BILLIONS, TRILLIONS of dollars at stake!
You knuckleheads applaud biofuels, but don’t realize that the production of biofuels drastically raises the cost of corn, resulting in MILLIONS of people starving because they can’t afford to feed themselves or their children! The tiny bit of carbon biofuels saves is WORTHLESS compared to millions of little children DYING OF HUNGER!
Good god, when will ignorant, gullible, arrogant hippies like Guinnevere and Meg finally realize that things are incredibly complicated and won’t be solved by wearing hemp clothing and singing folk songs?! When will they realize that they are being DUPED by all this eco-shit by money-hungry corporations selling “green” nonsense to line their own pockets at the expense of poor people around the globe?!
It seems to question why but I know as a grower of plants that the control of vegetation outside of agriculture is beyond reason at times. The destruction I have witnessed is deplorable. All in the name of biodiversity and conservation. Yikes. Let me guess, nature made a mistake and I must correct it. How about-the vegetation is all wrong-its going bad we need to bomb it back to 1491. Integration doesn’t happen until we get rid of the plants we call weeds. I am not talking about a flower garden either. My favorite quote from a phd forester at a native plant conference-”never mind there is no scientific difference between native and non native we must kill these evil plants.” No wonder the Swiss came up with this.
This makes me want to eat a salad!
Has any of you geniuses considered that this law was introduced to stop Monsanto (you know the company that brought us the terminator seed and wants nothing less than total world food domination)from operating in Switzerland? It’s the genetic dignity that is the operative term here only a less then intelligent person would dwell on the boiling part.
Wow, talk about anthropomorphism gone wild.
“The dignity of life”? I suppose it takes arrant hubris to wash one’s hands with anti-microbial soap too.
What planet have you moonbeams come from? This nitwittedness is now invading the U.S.A. because our socialist, nutcase president Obama just set up a department for animal rights. I am really getting fed up with all you crazies trying to run everyone’s life protecting plants and animals, yet you see nothing wrong at all with aborting a human being in the mother’s womb. You have your priorities ass backwards.