You say Potato, I say Potato: an Ethical Perspective on the "Right to Know"

Alana Clegg | Pages 53-56 | BioTeach Online Journal | Vol. 1 | Fall 2003

Wandering the isle of a local Vancouver grocery store, a customer pauses at the tomato stand. She realizes January is not tomato season in British Columbia, but continues to fill her basket with the bright red fruit. She audibly voices her concerns about hoping she won’t be eating raw fish when she consumes her tomato, because she read somewhere that that was what scientists were doing.
Near-by another consumer, who happens to be a geneticist, overhears the woman’s concerns and is troubled. He pauses in the grain section, and ponders “I wonder if any of these grains are genetically modified?” Although he has a specialized knowledge of genetically modified foods, he knows there is no easy way to determine which items on the shelf are genetically modified.