GMOs is less about ethics—and more about fear of human agency over nature

Steven
Mon, 26 Jan 2026 20:01:30 +0000
Science & Technology

GMOs often reflects discomfort with human control over nature rather than genuine ethical concern: we accept crude, unpredictable breeding and chemical mutagenesis, yet fear precise gene editing simply because it feels “unnatural.” But “natural” is not a moral category—it’s an emotional one. The real question is who benefits from rejection: the well-fed, or those facing hunger and climate-driven crop failure? The ethical debate shouldn’t fixate on the science itself, but on accountability, access, and power—because refusing a tool capable of reducing harm doesn’t absolve us of responsibility; it quietly chooses a different set of victims.