Jefferson Science Fellow, Entomology Department, University of California, Riverside, CA, USA.
Pest Manag Sci. 2013 Nov;69(11):1199-204. doi: 10.1002/ps.3606. Epub 2013 Aug 9.
Enthusiasm greeted the development of synthetic organic insecticides in the mid-twentieth century, only to see this give way to dismay and eventually scepticism and outright opposition by some. Regardless of how anyone feels about this issue, insecticides and other pesticides have become indispensable, which creates something of a dilemma. Possibly as a result of the shift in public attitude towards insecticides, genetic engineering of microbes was first met with scepticism and caution among scientists. Later, the development of genetically modified crop plants was met with an attitude that hardened into both acceptance and hard-core resistance. Transgenic insects, which came along at the dawn of the twenty-first century, encountered an entrenched opposition. Those of us responsible for studying the protection of crops have been affected more or less by these protagonist and antagonistic positions, and the experiences have often left one thoughtfully mystified as decisions are made by non-participants. Most of the issues boil down to concerns over delivery mechanisms.
合成有机杀虫剂在 20 世纪中期的发展受到了热烈欢迎，然而人们的态度随后又由惊愕变为怀疑，甚至是彻底反对。无论人们对此持何种态度，杀虫剂和其他农药已经成为不可或缺的物品，这就形成了某种进退两难的局面。可能由于公众对杀虫剂的态度发生了转变，微生物的基因工程首先在科学家中间引起了怀疑和谨慎。后来，转基因作物的发展则经历了一个从不接受到坚决抵制的过程。二十一世纪初出现的转基因昆虫也遭到了强烈反对。我们这些负责研究作物保护的人或多或少地受到了这些主要观点和对立观点的影响，而在非参与者做出决定时，我们往往会感到困惑不已。大多数问题归根结底都是对传递机制的担忧。
