(2, Watson)
Dr. Federoff has in the past been an advocate of widespread use of genetically modified foods, vehemently disagreeing with opponents on the issue: "We wouldn't think of going to our doctor and saying, 'Treat me the way doctors treated people in the 19th Century, and yet that's what we're demanding in food production."
Jonathon Porrit, one of Gordon Brown's leading green advisers, warned last year, "Population growth, plus economic growth, is putting the world under terrible pressure." He said that Britain has no choice but to drastically reduce its population so as to build a "sustainable" society. The trust of which Porritt is a part, Optimum Population Trust (OPT), released data last year suggesting UK population be cut to 30 million persons in favor of sustainability. The represents a fifty percent cut in the UK population....
Whether or not an economic downturn has caused Porrit to rehash his ideas is unclear. (3, Leake) Other proponents of such programs cite the need for governments to supply unprepared parents with Food Stamps, Health Care, Child Care as a reason for limiting the amount of children poor people have.
Critics of such policies, however, cite lack of evidence for overpopulation, malpractice in history by states attempting to spearhead change in a nation's course, and the ethnic tensions that arise, especially in the U.S., when policies hinge upon socio-economics. State power traditionally relies on force and favors in order to achieve its goals. In China, the one-child policy relies on just that. The range of punishments levied on couples for disobeying the rules falls along a wide spectrum, and varies depending on where they live. While some
