Portland Press Herald editorial writer M.D. Harmon provides perspective on those protesting genetically improved food: “It has been said that the story of civilization is a record of the slow triumph of those who want to build something over those who want merely to conquer and destroy. The attempt to improve our foodstuffs and other useful plants is a civilization-building effort, and the destructive activities of machete-wielding vandals is uncivilized in the extreme.”