Bioterror and biosafety
The Hindu
November 01, 2001
C.S. Prakash, Tuskegee, U.S.
Sir, - In the opinion column 'Bioterror and biosafety' (Oct.
19), Ms. Vandana Shiva exploits the recent anthrax cases to advance her
anti-science agenda. By painting a gloomy scenario against economic freedom,
she calls for an isolationist and backward policy for India.
The use of these biological agents by malicious individuals
to inflict harm and fear on an innocent public is evil. But for Ms. Shiva
to use this unimaginable evil and horror to rail against imaginary ills
of recombinant DNA technology, trade liberalisation and patenting system
is intellectual chicanery. Her argument is akin to saying that because
terrorists used planes and the mail system to cause destruction, we must
ban aircraft and the postal system - that is throwing the baby out with
the bath water!
Bioterrorists do not need sophisticated recombinant DNA
technology to spread germ or fear. Simple microbiology would suffice.
Civilised societies can protect themselves against terror
by continued development and dissemination of scientific knowledge. Effective
antibiotics to treat anthrax were developed after many years of research
and testing. This required a systematic use of scientific knowledge, a
patent protection system to stimulate innovation, and a free-market system
that rewards such risk- taking - all of which Ms. Shiva despises. The
real bioterror plaguing India has to do with poverty. Millions of people
die every year by natural, but preventable, causes through diseases such
as cholera, malaria, AIDS and TB. These diseases can only be fought through
economic progress and development of modern medical systems.
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