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Nov 23, 2017

To eat or not to eat?

Community Editorial Panel with Morris Haugg In August I wrote an article entitled “Thoughts on Picking Beans” (not “Pickling” as the headline stated). I concluded by saying that I was hungry and looking forward to a salmon dinner. At that time, the news media was informing us that a new genetically modified salmon has been produced and was being marketed and bought, without people knowing about it. The genetic modifications of the salmon normally farmed resulted in a larger salmon in a shorter period of time, with less feed required. The news business thrives more on feeding anxiety, concern and fear in the general public, especially when it comes to something as personal as the food we consume. It is fair to say that the news media has left a large portion of North Americans with the impression that any genetic alteration or genetic engineering is bad or even dangerous to our wellbeing. So, as I sat down to my salmon dinner that evening last August, I did not know whether I was eating regular farmed salmon or the new farmed variety. It did not bother me that I did not know. It did not bother me that I did not care. I enjoyed it. Period. Read the article.