Learning Activity: discuss Genetic Engineering

After reading through the information in the section, discuss with your parents, friends, classmates or teachers, or just think on your own:

- do you think genetic engineering will bring great benefits to man?
- why do you think so?
- why do you think scientists and life-science sorporations are eager to let the public think that Genetic Engineering is a precise science when it is actually still pretty much experimental?

- why is there so much less concern in the USA, compared to Europe, over the issue of labelling food products containing GM products? Does the greater frequency of food scares in Europe (Mad-cow disease, dioxin poisoning in Belgium) have anything to do with this?
- do you think people are well informed about how widespread GM food has become? (Today, over two-thirds of food products on supermarket shelves in the USA contain GM products. Unmodified tomatoes are virtually unavailable)
- do you think people ought to be more aware of such developments? why?

- do you agree with any of the moral, risk or environmental arguments either for or against GM? Why? Do you have any arguments of your own for why we should accept or reject Genetic Engineering? (For instance, expensive GM seeds might be out of the reach of farmers in developing nations, putting them at a disadvantage.)

- do you think the rise in popularity of organically grown products is related to the GM food development?

- would you eat GM food willingly?

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