Final Thoughts...

The subject from this class that had the biggest impact on me was probably the discussions and studies on food studies and all the little bits and pieces that play into it, including agricultural policies, GMOs, factory farming and other controversies that we discussed. It came at a really good time because at the time of our GMO poster presentation, we were researching how to design a GMO in my biology class, and the various aspects and negative parts of genetically modified organisms that we had discussed in class really helped me to develop my report in biology.  That was the breaking point where I realized how important our discussions in cultural studies were, because they opened my mind to all these various points that my standard science classes would have simply ignored or only lightly touched on.  This is where I became interested in cultural studies, before this point, this class was just to fulfill my arts and humanities credit.  Before this point, I was all for hard science and all against personal interpretations and the politics that interfere and add complications to science.  If we hadn't discussed all the politics of food science and the negative aspects of GMO's, my understanding of the cons of GMOs would be limited to "we don't know what will happen in 40 years" and "potential allergies could arise from recombination of different genes in different food products."  GMOs really excite and interest me because I see all the positive potential that they have in curing a lot of ailments suffered in this world, but they also frustrate me because their figurehead is an evil corporation. Monsanto.  It helped me to understand all the negative aspects that keep the general public upset at genetic engineering and that sort of research.  This is a paradigm of attitude that I wish would be easy to change, but having such a negative front of genetic engineering does not help people change their outlook on the science of it. Genetic engineering of genetically modified organisms is controversial because there is little known about the effects that consumption of genetically modified food could have in the future, and a lot of people are unaware when they are consuming products with genetically modified organisms.  This directly demonstrates how ignorance is a root cause of fear and negative attitudes toward anything, not specific to just GMOs. In the future, I hope to apply this open mindset to all my science studies as I pursue my degree in neuroscience, so that I can understand all ethical and moral, as well as scientific and political, components of any controversial science study, because it engages my mind and stimulates my interest in the subject matter so much more and can help me to write more well rounded, comprehensive reports.  Being able to take multiple points into perspective will help me in other parts of my life too, not just in my science classes.  I have really learned that other people can strongly differ on their opinions of ANY subject manner, and they can defend it in a scientific way, even if it appears to be completely incorrect or ridiculous. Being respectful and mindful of others opinions will help me to be successful in the future because not only will it help me avoid offending anyone, it will just give me a broader understanding of others and the controversies that our society faces everyday with all the different political changes we have been undergoing in the past few years.  I am excited to see where this new mindset will take me because I think there is a lot to learn about a lot of different things.