Golden Rice And Beyond
...of the
International Society for Plant Molecular Biology 2000 Kumho Science International Award
EMOTIONS ARE THE PROBLEM, NOT
RATIONAL DISCOURSE
The term "golden rice" was coined by a Thai businessman
who is active in initiatives aimed at reducing
the birth rate, a major cause of the food security
problem. As it turned out, the term "golden rice" has
proven to be enormously successful in piquing the
interest of the public. (I gave up tallying its mention
in the popular media after more than 30 television
broadcasts and 300 newspaper articles, but I am still
busy with requests for interviews every week.) It is
difficult to estimate how much of its celebrity stems
from its catchy moniker and how much is from the
technological breakthrough it represents. Needless to
say, we live in a society that is strongly influenced
(not to say manipulated) by the media. As the popular
media live by selling news, "catchy" names are
especially useful in attracting the interest of media
consumers. The "story," however, must also be accompanied
by an important message, in this case,
that the purely altruistic use of genetic engineering
technology has potentially solved an urgent and previously
intractable health problem for the poor of the
developing world. And this is my first message and
my response to Chris Somerville's (2000) contribution:
I, too, believe in the power of education and
rational discourse. However, after more then 10 years
on the frontlines of the public debate concerning
genetically modified organisms (GMOs), I have
learned that even with the help of the media, rational
arguments succeed in influencing only a small minority
of the public-at-large. In short, rational arguments
are poor ammunition against the emotional
appeals of the opposition. The GMO opposition, especially
in Europe, has been extraordinarily successful
in...
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