Afraid of progress

Rational arguments don't seem to matter too much. Last week, a gentechnology research area of the University of Ghent was destroyed because it contained gene-modified potatoes. I was glad to see that I was not the only one who didn't understand this. First: this field was a research field, run by scientists. Second: this research, when successful, can save millions of human lives on a globe that is bound to suffer from a major food crisis. In this case, rich people are destroying something that can save poor people's lives, simply because they are afraid of progress. I agree we need to be careful with gene technology before we put it into production. But that is what this research is all about. Should we let nature decide that the potatoes become food for insects and fungi? Humankind survived because it did NOT leave everything up to nature. Unless you consider human creativeness as a product of nature. Thanks to cross-fertilisation and domestication of plants, we are capable of discussing this new possibility today.