Political Cartoon

Article response

In almost every meal I eat I have there is one type of meat or another. Breakfast is an exception, but lunch and dinner are almost always going to have meat in them. It’s not just me who is like this in the United States; millions of people consume meat every day. The amount of meat it takes in order to feed this many people are immense. The way that we have found to process this amount of meat is through factory farms. However this process has been ripped apart by people who are opposed to the idea. They say it is inhumane and unethical for us to continue this process. My standing changes about this subject every day, however what I can say is that I feel that the farming method is necessary but the problems with this system need to be looked at.

            Animal cruelty is one of the main issues with industrial farming. One of the solutions for this problem in changing the animal’s genes would be so that the animals don’t feel pain.  Now most people agree that this is a great Idea and would work but this goes against many people’s ethics as people. There is another way to do this however which would lead to less opposes by the public. Scientists have engineered a way to sense the pain but not to be able to feel the pain in a negative way. This method would lead to a more humane way of housing and killing the animals. It also allows the animals to know when they are being hurt; this would lower the amount of people with ethical issues.

            In America meat consumption has been at an all-time high with 50% increase in consumption.  This rate in consumption has had its toll on our system old ways of raising livestock are no longer viable. Through the eyes of the public there have been many speculations on industrial farming. Most of these speculations have been negatively described towards industrial farming.  The fact of the matter is that we are going to have to keep industrial farming in order to feed our country. Biologically altered animals that would not feel the pain in a negative way would be one of the best routes to a constructive and efficient system.

            There are many boundaries that I would not cross when it comes to biologically messing with animals. However when it could help allow animals to be more humanely killed and raised I don’t object. It makes sense to me that when there is a liable way to help fix these issues it should be done not opposed. This article reinforced my ideas about genetically modifying animals. I believe that doing this is a sacrifice and then when you are meddling with animals genetics you should be careful.

DNA

Project Innocence

A New Orleans man named Bobby Ray Dixon was charge a life sentence for crimes he never committed. Bobby Ray Dixon was charged of committing Rape and murder. He was charged with a lifelong sentence that he would only serve thirty years of before he was supposed to be exonerated. The reason why I say this is that Bobby Ray Dixon died five weeks before he was supposed to let go free. Bobby Ray Dixon was threatened with the death penalty if he didn’t confess. So on a confession that didn’t match the evidence he was sentenced and thrown in jail.

DNA technology has gone a long way in the last 30 years. We can easily test anything at a crime scene such as blood, sperm, hair, and fingerprints.  Newer lab technologies include creating profiles for each crimes DNA information. This allows cases to be reopened in order to look at the DNA evidence, making it much easier for people who seek to be exonerated to do so. In 1990 DNA technology was available only if you had a lot of it to test and had access to a high tech laboratory. Now even the littlest bit of DNA is enough to test in anyway. More importantly DNA is better recorded, tested, and used now than it was 20 or so years ago. So as you could imagine this makes using DNA for crime cases the most reasonable way to convict someone.

This story as well as other stories I have heard or read have really opened up my mind to the world of exonerated people. Before we learned about DNA testing I had never realized that this many people are put in prison are innocent. However it has made me realize that our justice system isn’t very well structured and doesn’t like admitting to a mistake. DNA evidence has really made me realize how important science is in crime cases. It is inevitable truth that will always ether prove innocent or guilty.  

Lucy

Lucy had an interesting story; it was about the relationship that Lucy shared with humans as well as the change that apes go through when they have to live in the wild again. The story was especially touching with Lucy because of how different she was than a regular chimp. Lucy was had the mental capacity to lie and name objects based off her experiences as a human.  Lucy had many people who were highly involved in her life, those people were her original owners, but then Janis who was most important.

Lucy was very human like. Lucy was able to lie, which most apes aren’t capable of. Lucy also named things after something that had a similar feel, color, smell, or sound. The transition for Lucy was very hard; she lost hair and was very uncomfortable with herself around other apes. The transition that I speak of happened when she was released back into the wild. Lucy couldn’t adjust to her new life for a long time. Lucy took two years to adjust to the island. Lucy however always remembered Janis when she came to the island to visit.

We can learn a lot from Lucy. Lucy was very loving and caring. She taught humans that these animals were able to communicate their love with understanding and language. Lucy was special because of how she reacted when she was left on the island. Lucy has made me think deeply about animals like chimps, apes, and gorilla’s. I have a dog named Sam who acts differently around me when I’m sad or angry. So this feeling that this ape gives off must be very inspirational. The thing that I will think further about is why humans choose dogs and cats to share close relationships with when an animal such as a chimp could be way easier to train, and could understand you way better than any dog or could.

hello

hello, my name is Isaac and i created this blog in my sophomore year at Animas high school I enjoy baseball and mountain biking.