Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 48

Essay Example The risks and benefits, the rights and wrongs, or the pros and cons of genetically modified food and science are global concerns in both public and private arenas (Adolphs, Hamilton and Nerlich, 58). In today’s technological world however, GM crops and products play an important role in driving modernization and as such they are here to stay; as long as focus is not placed on future technological advancement instead of today’s risks and disadvantages, and if research, assessment, controls and policies are adequately and stringently evidenced then the benefits, will eventually negate the risks. Martin Teitel, in his article entitled ‘Unsafe at any Seed?’ argues against GM food claiming the argument that GM foods are better for the environment, farmers and consumers â€Å"should be taken with a grain of salt† (1). He further purports that this new technology has grown too quickly with insufficient testing, has entered supermarket shelves too soon, and necessitates further research and an objective commission to verify and validate the safety of such foods prior to entering the market. This paper will argue in agreement of Teitel’s paper in some respects but will not concur with others. Although Teitel has put forward some pertinent points that are significant if biotechnology is to continue and develop, his argument falls short in that he fails to consider the debate from two perspectives – that of the opponent and that of the advocate of GM foods – and has remained steadfast on the side of opponents at the risk of sounding dogmatic and ill informed. The situation is not as black and white as Teitel paints it; within the developed world scientists are at odds in their convictions on measurement of risk, both for health and the environment. Many are convinced that assessments are not necessary or are too harsh, while

Separation of Powers between the Three Branches of Government Essay

Separation of Powers between the Three Branches of Government - Essay Example It was, however, Charles Louis de Montesquieu who clearly defined the three branches of government and laid down the basics of the concept of separation of powers. Some countries being underpinned by the concept of separation of powers, like the United States, have written constitutions that clearly laid out and allocated the various powers and functions of the government to the different branches (Barnett pp. 105-106). This is not so in the United Kingdom. The UK Constitution does not consist of a single, written document but rather of various uncodified laws scattered in several documents like statutes, court decisions and treaties and unwritten ones like customs and conventions. A strict separation of powers normally divides separate powers and functions and allows them to the three branches government: the executive; Parliament, and; the judiciary. In the UK, the components of the three branches of governments usually share powers held by other branches in a mixed government fash ion. Eric Barendt, however, author of the book Separation of Powers does not believe that the UK necessarily has a weaker constitution because of this disparity. He believes that â€Å"the separation of powers should not be explained in terms of a strict distribution of functions between the three branches of government, but in terms of a network of rules and principles which ensure that power is not concentrated in the hands of one branch.† The UK government, like other democratic governments, has three major institutions, all exercising various functions and powers and sometimes sharing the powers of the other branches: the executive, the legislative and the judiciary. The executive department is made up the Crown and the central government, the latter of which is composed of the Prime Minister and his/her Cabinet Ministers. The central government is accountable to Parliament, which can choose to dissolve it and force a new election of a new set of officials if it believes that circumstances warrant it.