Organisms, Modified, Genetically

GMOs. Genetically modified organisms. They conjure the specter of “Frankenfoods.” Monstrous creations reflecting human hubris. Violations of nature. And their very unnaturalness alone seems reason to reject the whole technology. But one may challenge this sacred bovine: the common image that GMOs cross some new threshold, dramatically changing how humans relate to nature. Or even that such a view can properly inform how we assess the value or risks of GMOs. Rather, biologically, GMOs are modest variants. As I will elaborate, “conventional” corn is probably more deeply shaped by human intervention than any addition of, say, a single Bt gene for a pesticide-resistant protein. Many crops promoted as “natural” alternatives are themselves dramatically modified genetically, like the cats and dogs we enjoy as pets. And this perspective—the context of GMOs—should inform views on policy. Without resolving the question of ultimate risks, we should at least recognize and dismiss as irrelevant the claim that GMOs are “unnatural.” While criticisms of GMOs vary, one recurrent theme is the assertion—or the implicit assumption—that they are inherently unnatural. For example, one high school student commented in a class discussion on genetically modified salmon, “Even though it definitely has many economic benefits, I think that shaping the way in which other organisms grow and live is not something that we as humans should be taking into our own hands.” As rendered recently for young readers, a cartoon princess of the Guardian Princess Alliance scolds a grower of GMOs: “These fruits and vegetables are not natural.” Many seem to believe that for humans to alter something living is to thereby taint it. Organisms should remain “pure.” Nature seems to exhibit its own self-justified purpose, not to be disrupted. What does this mean for all the other ways that humans modify organisms from their “natural” state? For example, we adorn our skin with tattoos and pierce various body parts. In certain cultures, at certain times, we have bound feet and elongated skulls.