B2: Biotechnology

Transcript

(try to answer the questions before reading this).

• F. So why are you so against genetically modified food then? I think you’ve been taken in by all the bad press.
• A. No that’s not true. I’ve read up on the subject and I think there are just too many risks.
• F. GM foods that you get are probably safer than non-GM foods.
• A. Don’t be daft. Where have you got that from.
• F. Well, there are tighter controls for GM foods. There are controls in each country and then at a European level as well. If they pass through all of those controls before they reach the shops they must be OK.
• A. I just don’t like the idea of having my food altered. What’s wrong with the food we’ve always had.
• F. We have to move with the times. The possibilities for GM food are endless.
• A. What redder tomatoes or bigger strawberries?
• F. Yes, for one thing. But, what about vegetables with a higher vitamin content? Or bananas with vaccines built into them.
• A. Oh what!
• F. Its true, they’ve developed a way to produce bananas with a Hepatitis B vaccine.
• A. Mmm, not sure what I think of that. We haven't done enough research and playing around with crops is playing havoc with the wildlife. There are whole species of birds that are in danger of becoming extinct - Larks for example, they’re rapidly decreasing in numbers and its because of the chemicals they’re using on GM foods.
• F. They haven't proved that.
• A. Not yet no. But its only a matter of time. And, another thing that worries me is the power that a few food companies will have if we start to rely on GM food. They’ll dominate the poor countries even more than they do today.
• F. They’ll feed them.
• A. At a price yes. Maybe. I’m worried about the food chain too.
• F. What do you mean?
• A. Well, playing around with nature causes no end of damage to some plants or animals. When a species dies out or mutates it has a knock-on effect on the whole ecosystem.
• F. I think you’re being cynical, you’re not giving GM food a chance.
• A. Not cynical. Just cautious.
• F. OK. Consider this. Global warming is threatening to destroy the habitat of Polar Bears.
• A. What’s this got to do with Genetically Modified food.
• F. Everything. We could use GM food to change the polar bear’s habitat now. That way we can prevent them from becoming extinct.
• A. OK, I quite like that idea.
• F. Good, you’re starting to come round to my way of thinking.
• A. No, I’m just trying to understand. I don’t like being a guinea pig, and we’re all being a guinea pig for the experiments they’re doing on GM foods. I don’t like the way that things just seem to be happening without much of a debate.
• F. What do you mean. We’re talking about it all the time.
• A. Talking maybe. But nobody’s listening.