Is genetically modified food ethical?

Question

One of the arguments for the use of genetically modified foods is that gm foods can be enriched and fed to people in developing nations for extra nutrition. Arguments against gm are that because gm foods are copywrited, they cost more. Seed companies can copywrite all the different varieties of a plant, say wheat, and then have the monopoly with their gm variety, which can shut out small farmers.

What do you think? Do you think the benefits of feeding impovrished nations (some of which won't take gm food donations) are worth losing small farming (which can reduce variety but essentially improve taste quality for consumers through breeding research)?

Is genetically modified food ethical according to these terms? Forget if you disagree with it because it's "unnatural", and instead, try to focus on the terms presented here. I want more than a one word answer, please!

Thanks!

Answer 1

nothing is truely black and white in terms of ethics...
research and development of gm food is ethical in which it can benefit mankind (not just the ones in the impoverished nations).

what is unethical is the companies who monopolize the market and displace all those farmers.

but at the end of the day all you really have to decide upon is what does more good. (but this is very subjective)

companies like these look out for their best interest... increasing revenues are their only measure for their success so they trample on the little guys. but if an ethical person / group runs that company maybe they'd see that you can still earn money and still be able to help instead of making it worse.

Answer 2

It's misrepresentation of facts to state that genetically modified foods are meant for developing/poor countries. They are not. Millions of Americans eat genetically modified food day in, day out. There is no country where wheat and corn-based genetically modified foods are as popular as in the U.S. Americans would have been the first to discard genetically modified foods had their safety been in question.

You seem to define ethics from the perspective of one country "force-feeding" poor nations genetically modified foods. Even the argument that seed companies' sole preoccupation is to make profit doesn't hold water. Seed companies aren't charitable organizations to dole out seeds for free.

Farmers who have embraced genetically modified crops have good stories to tell. They spend less on inputs, but gain a lot in outputs.
James
http://www.gmoafrica.org/

Answer 3

I think all food is genetically modified. All plants and animals we consume today are the product of selective breeding, which is just low tech genetic modification.

Cows, pigs, corn and wheat are totally different from their wild ancestors and would have never have come into existence without people manipulating them.

Maybe not fish. At least not wild fish. I don't know about fish farms.

Answer 4

It is perfectly ethical, the question is if it is safe. For instance, a while ago they spliced a tomato and a potato, and called it a pomato. But, the potato and tomato are both members of the deadly nightshade family, so the pomato was poisonous.

Answer 5

Genetically modified food is never going to be ethical and always leaves us open to dangerous food outbreaks. They keep having problems on cruise ships, at Taco Bell, and many other resturant chains because they allow tampering with food by genetics, adding poop water to get things to grow, and not allowing illegals bathroom breaks at one dollar per day forcing them to pee and poop on your food. What is ethical - nothing that interferes with profit.