The Rural Voice, 2001-08, Page 12WANTED
2001-2002
Contestants for the
BRUCE COUNTY
Queen of the Furrow Competition
Must be: between 16 and 25 years old
a resident of Bruce County
and in attendance at the Plowing Match
August 31st.
Call Jane Gowan at (519) 934-2170
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Competition includes:
2-3 minute speech interview
Plowing (Tractor and Coaching Provided)
BRUCE COUNTY
PLOWING MATCH
• Plowing Match • 4-H Achievement
• Queen of the Furrow Competition
• Farm Machinery Demonstrations
Friday, Aug. 31
Coaching Day -
Thursday, Aug. 30
at the Farm of
Mr & Mrs. Dave Gowan
Lot 26 Conc. 13 Arran Twp., N. of Tara on
Bruce Cty. Rd. #10, Lett on the 12th Conc.
BEEF BBQ 1
AT NOON
Prizes will be awarded at annual
meeting. Prize money will be mailed
atter results are tabulated.
FOR TRACTORS
PLEASE CALL:
Roger Thome at
(519) 934-2202
Bob Hammell, President
R.R. #2 Wingham, (519) 392-8242
Bonnie Thorne, Secretary
P.O. Box 364, Tara (519) 934-2202
8 THE RURAL VOICE
Jeffrey Carter
Knowledge and wisdom are different
Children like to tear things apart.
It's human nature. Some, for
instance, might have a fascination for
alarm clocks. It's easy to pull off the
back and look inside. Yet there's a
danger in going further. Once
individual pieces
begin to be
separated from
the whole, it's
tough to put them
back.
Typically. such
childhood
adventures
conclude with the
springs and
wheels and other
bits and pieces
being thrown in a
box and shoved
under a bed. Next
morning, there's a consequence
dad and mom are late for work.
When it comes to tearing things
apart, most scientists are a bit like
children. That's not to say scientists
should stop tearing things apart.
There's merit in understanding the
function of each piece yet wisdom
only comes in acknowledging the
beauty of the whole.
Microbiologists are currently busy
dissecting the very stuff of life. The
entire human genome has been
mapped. The bits and pieces that
allow us to function have been
identified and now scientists have
moved on to the rest of the natural
world. In the next 10 or 20 years, a
soil microbiologist may be able to
sample a farmer's field and identify
every living organism that's
present. The numbers involved are
enormous. It's like counting stars.
This may sound complex but
really it's only the beginning. The
next step is to understand how each
piece — each soil organism —
interacts with the others. In this, the
true complexity of the natural world
begins to be revealed.
Think of the letters "A" through
"Z" and then consider the number of
ways they might be combined.
Memorizing the alphabet is one thing.
Learning a language is quite another.
And there are hundreds of languages
in the world and countless more that
could be invented.
Given the layers of complexity, I
become a little perturbed when I hear
scientists make statements like this:
"I don't think the public distrusts
science so much as they do not
understand it."
This was uttered at the annual
meeting of the Canadian
Phytopathological Society in London
in June. It's true that the public is
woefully uninformed about genetic
and genomic research, yet the
scientists themselves are only
scratching the surface, like children
with alarm clocks.
Consider. for instance, the
controversy of the monarch butterfly
and corn that contains the Bt
(Bacillus thuringensis) gene.
Although it was known monarch
butterflies and related species were
being put at risk, commercialization
of the crop went ahead. Now there's
research being carried out at the
University of Guelph to see what
impact Bt crops may be having on
soil microbial life. A researcher
involved has said it's doubtful a
concern will be found — a bias, it
would seem — and even if a problem
is found, isn't it a bit late to be raising
concern, now that proverbial horse is
galloping away?
There are alternatives to our
present course. One thing that comes
to mind involves a branch of botany
that requires a humble sort of
scientific researcher who can
appreciate the beauty of the whole
without necessarily understanding the
function of all the pieces.
I'll explore this area next time
around. Meanwhile, if your alarm
clock works, do not attempt to fix it.0
Jeffrey Carter is a freelance
journalist based in Dresden, Ontario.
Letters may be sent to P.O. Box
1207, Dresden, Ontario, NOP IMO or
to this magazine.
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