Today, the subject of cloning generates more argument then it has ever created before. The controversy over cloning is based, in part, on the fact that there are extreme opposing viewpoints on the subject. A major factor in the debate over cloning is a simple fear of new technology. Throughout history, man has always been slow to adapt to a new technology, or a new way of doing things. We go through all the trouble to adapt to one method, why should we uproot ourselves and change things just to do it a different way.

This attitude has clearly displayed in the recent past, with inventions such as the automobile, the television and Nuclear power. As with everything, there is a negative side. With television, the negative is that children often watch it instead of doing homework. A negative to automobiles is the massive pollution a large number of them cause. Nu

First off, cloning is not just the photocopying of a living breathing human being. There are many things that can be cloned; single cells, plants, organs, animals, and eventually entire human beings. The technology to clone a human exists, but we have yet to move into that area of cloning. This is due, to the fact that people are afraid of a new technology, and partially to the fact that some people believe cloning violates their religious beliefs.

Just as with anything new, we start with small steps, and move into bigger ones. In cloning, we started with simple genetic alterations. Not necessarily with humans, but with plants and animals. For example, a team of researchers has successfully altered the genes of a tomato so it will grow entirely in salt water. If these genetic alterations could be applied to corn, rice, or other high-yield foods, hunger could vanish from the face of the earth. Thousands of people die from hunger every day, most of them in poor, underdeveloped countries. If scientists were to develop this technology to a level where it practical in everyday life, the majority of these people would live. There is no need for children to die a slow, horrible death of hunger and malnutrition. If only

Some topics in this essay:
, cloning technology, human cloning, life people, genetic alterations, allow scientists,