Cultural War over Genetic Engineering

Street, George W. Bush).” How on earth did we reach the point where genetically modified food became a cultural difference between Europeans and Americans? A legislative initiative proposing the labeling of food produced using genetically modified ingredients was actually rejected by the majority of voters in California. Why is genetic engineering associated in our minds with a sense of danger that, particularly in the case of food, can rapidly assume emotional proportions? The debate surrounding genetic engineering really does appear to remain stuck in the extreme positions that emerged in the 1980s. These were shaped mainly by the active conflicts surrounding the hazards of nuclear technology, and augmented by topics of general social concern. In a very detailed analysis dating as far back as 1988, historian Joachim Radkau wrote: “The opposition to genetic engineering is based only in part on the feared deficits in technical safety and more on the concern that, even if it didn’t pose any current threat, the success of molecular biology would give new impetus to unsettling tendencies: the manipulative treatment of nature; the breeding of monocultures that rely on the extensive use of herbicides; drug-driven medicine; the patronizing of women; the replacement of environmental and social policy with selection, with the aim of creating the optimally adapted human. These concerns about the future were driven, not least, by a look back at past events.” Today’s debate is shaped by previous extreme positions