Yesterday I linked to a recording of a panel discussion on GMO pigs. I now see that CBC news has an article on the topic. Here's a bit of what I had to say:
“Jayson Lusk, an agricultural economist at Oklahoma State University, agrees.
”These are all very different traits that have very different potential impacts,” he told The Current.
However, most people don’t know much about genetic engineering, he said.
”So I think that makes it hard to discuss with someone in the general public.”
He noted that the genetic modifications that researchers are making to pigs are “aimed at addressing what we’d all probably agree are important problems.”
”There are risks with these technologies, there are risks with every technology,” he said. “There are also risks with not approving these technologies.”
But he acknowledged that surveys show that the public has a general aversion to genetic modification and is willing to pay more to avoid GMO products.
”I don’t think it’s necessarily a fear of genetic engineering — it’s a fear of uncertainty,” he said.
That aversion can be offset somewhat if people know why the animals are being modified, he added.”
