Genetically modified food conversation questions

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Genetically modified food[edit]

  • What is genetic modified food?
  • Is there much (or any) debate in your country about GM food? What are the arguments for and against?
  • How would you react if you were given genetically modified food to eat?
  • People in the US have been eating genetically modified food for many years without ill effect. Why do you think some people in the rest of the world have doubts?
  • Plants can be genetically modified to make them resistant to drought or attack by insects. What objections, if any, should people have to this?
  • Plants are also genetically modified in order to make them resistant to weed-killers. This means that the farmer can apply all the weed-killer he wants without affecting his crops adversely. Do you think this is a good thing or a bad thing?
  • Some companies are developing so-called "terminator" seeds. These seeds will produce healthy plants and crops, but the seeds themselves will be infertile - so the farmer has to buy new seed each year from the seed company. What do you think of this practice?[1]
  • Some vaccines are going to be produced using techniques of genetic modification. What is your opinion of experiments of this nature?
  • Have you also heard of genetically modified animals or insects? What reasons could scientists have for genetically modifying them?
  • Does GM experimentation represent interference with the "balance of nature"? Under what other circumstances do we interfere with the balance of nature?
  • Is GM experimentation “unnatural”? Are all “unnatural” things bad?
  • Some GM traits can also be produced by conventional crop breeding. In such a case is the GM crop bad and the conventional one good?
  • Many GM foods have been called "Frankenfoods" because of their perceived dangers - do you think this term should be outlawed?

References[edit]

  1. ↑ Wikipedia, Genetic use restriction technology.

See also[edit]

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