Science is responsible
for all of our medicine and luxuries today, such as light bulbs, TVs, cars and
much more, but are extraneous experiments such as the glowing tobacco plants
from Chet Raymo's piece necessary for our society to flourish? Scientists have
to learn their boundaries and not experiment on things just for the heck of it.
They need to tread with caution, because “the unexamined quest for knowledge is
hemmed with peril” (Raymo 216). Not only
do scientists need to be cautious, but the consumers who use their products.
For example, after Marie and Pierre Curie discovered radium, people went wild
with it and performed “radium dances”, they used it in “health spas”, and drank
“radium-spiked liquid” (Raymo 213). These people drank and coated themselves
with this chemical which they were just introduced to, they did not take the
time to look into any possible side effects.
Whenever
I decide to try out a new product or food I like to look into the negative and
positive benefits of it. For example I recently discovered stevia which is a
type of sugar from the stevia plant. This sugar contains zero calories, but it
is not an artificial sweetener like Splenda. At first glance, stevia sounds
like the perfect solution for dieters and people who are trying to eat
healthier, but as I looked into the product I realized that maybe I shouldn’t
be dumping stevia into all my foods. Stevia was banned in the United States in
the 1990s, but the FDA reapproved it in 2008 (INH). After its approval,
companies such as Sprite and Coca-Cola immediately leapt at the opportunity to
use it in their drinks. Did they jump onto this trend too soon? Stevia intake
has been linked to liver mutations, fertility problems, and distruptions in
energy metabolism (INH). After some research, I have come to the conclusion
that stevia is okay to be consumed in proper amounts, but it should not be over
used, like radium was at first.
Sources:
http://institutefornaturalhealing.com/2012/07/is-stevia-bad-for-you/
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