Torn at the Genes: One Family’s Debate
about Genetically Modified Food
Primo, is an industry official whose job it was to approve food products for
the Food and Drug Administration, had spent the last two weeks in at a
conference debating over what kinds of guidelines should be put in place to
regulate genetically modified foods. Tonight, he was excited to go to his
sister’s house for dinner.
As Ana began dinner, she realized she had forgotten to buy tomatoes for the salad. She knew that her daughter Ami
would go for her, and so she called her into the kitchen. About 10 minutes later, Ami returned and handed her mother
the grocery bag.
“What’s this?” she asked, as she began to read the unfamiliar label stuck on the vegetable in her hand.
“It’s a tomato. The kind Uncle Primo was talking about. The label said it had been genetically altered so that it won’t
spoil or soften.”
“Ami, you know how I feel about this,” Ana replied. At 45, Ana was very conservative and had a general distrust of new
technologies.
“Mom, Uncle Primo has told you over and over again that they’re safe, and besides, he would want us to support him.”
“Well, Uncle Primo isn’t your mother, is he?” And I just can’t accept his ideas without proof that they are safe. I guess
we’ll just have to eat plain greens with dinner.”
“Genetic ally engineered foods are the wave of the future. Wait until Uncle Primo comes over tonight and I’ll ask him.
You’ll see!”
Primo arrived at the house shortly after dinner and was talking to the entire family about his trip, when inevitably, the
conversation turned to the topic of genetically modified food.
On one end of the spectrum was Ami, who supported her uncle 100%. She wanted to see more genetically modified
foods on the market, but Ana believed it was only because she thought it was a new and trendy idea.
Ana’s son, Paul, on the other hand, strongly opposed her uncle. A college senior, Paul was actively involved in several
environmental clubs and organizations, and was opposed to anything that posed a potential threat to the environment.
Primo began to explain several ideas that were discussed at the conference, at which point, Ami eagerly jumped in.
“Uncle Primo, can you please explain to Mom how genetically altered plants work?”
“Well, Ami, scientists have found a way of taking a good gene, say from a bacterium, and putting it into plants such as
tomatoes or beans or corn. The bacterial gene produces a protein that makes the plant less appetizing to the pest. Or
perhaps the gene allows the tomato to survive a heavy dose of chemical spray that farmers sometimes use to control
weeds in fields. Or maybe scientists find a gene in one species of plant and put it into another species of plant to help
the plant survive the cold better or taste or look better.”
“That’s great, Primo, but what about safety?” interrupted Ana.
“Well, safety has been a key consideration in the approval of these products. There have been over a dozen tests
performed on more than 50 engineered crops to evaluate the risk and environment impact they might have. These tests
were reviewed in detail by the US Department of Agriculture, and they such that such engineered crops present virtually
no risk to the consumer.”
“But,” Ana tried to defend herself, “there is no concrete evidence for the safety of these products. It has never been
proven 100% safe. I read an article the other day that said just the opposite! It said something about making bacteria
resistant to antibiotics. The genes that we put in corn or tomatoes jump into bacteria in our stomachs. Then the
bacteria will suddenly have genes that make them resistant to antibiotics. Where would we be without useful
antibiotics?!”
“Yeah,” Primo replied, “there is no scientific data showing that DNA can jump from food to bacteria in the gut of an
animal. In fact, one of my colleagues has written in Nature magazine that researchers ought to be more worried about
the fact that we routinely put vast amounts of antibiotics in animal food and overuse antibiotics on ourselves, which
creates a much more serious problem of resistance.”
“See Mom, I told you there was nothing to worry about,” Ami stated proudly. “Genetically altered food is safe to eat,
and plus they taste better. I’m going to cut up that tomato right now!”
Paul, who had been silent until this moment, suddenly stood up and said, “I don’t know how all of you can be so naïve!
The safety of the nation’s food supply is being threatened! Lots of companies aren’t even labeling these foods so we can
avoid them. That’s not ethical! And on top of that, we’re risking ruining the environment. Uncle Primo might be right
that bacterial toxins pose no risk to human directly, but what happens when insect resistance spreads to entire
populations of plants, or forests? This would cause sharp declines in insect populations, which in turn would lead to
declines in predators that feed on these insects, like birds. The whole ecosystem would be disrupted!”
Ami argued, “How is different from the gallons of toxic fertilizers and pesticides people spray on plants, now, Paul, to
keep insects away? You can’t say that’s safer! At least with genetically engineered food, the only insects that are
getting hurt are the pests. When you spray pesticides everywhere, everything gets killed or poisoned.”
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Prompt: As you just read, genetically modifying foods is a common practice. Many scientists make new kinds of foods
(for example broccoli!), and also insert chemicals into foods so that produce stay fresh and do not rot. There are many
ethical concerns with genetically modified foods though. Research the ethics behind genetic modification of foods and
form an argument, for or against it. In your writing be sure to answer the following questions:
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What are the benefits of genetically modified foods?
What are the risks associated with genetically modified foods?
Do you think we should continue to genetically modify foods? Why or why not?