Ronnie Cummins

In the following viewpoint Ronnie Cummins argues that genetic engineering poses many threats to society. Cummins claims, for example, that living things will be reduced to commodities because biotech corporations will hold patents on genes and genetically engineered products, making them “owners” of engineered organisms. Moreover, he asserts, because genetically engineered foods will eventually be produced in factories, not farms, millions of farmers worldwide will lose their livelihoods. He also maintains that widespread genetic screening of human embryos, the objective of which is to abort embryos with genetic diseases and undesirable traits, could lead to discrimination against genetically “inferior” people. Cummins, executive director of the Organic Consumers Association, is author of Genetically Engineered Food: A Self-Defense Guide for Consumers.

As you read, consider the following questions:

1. In Cummins’s opinion, why do...