Looking at genetic modification with a 'big picture' lens.

10th June 2014. 
Rachel Ankeny, University of Adelaide, Australia

The seminar will take place in the College lecture theatre at 6.00 pm. The poster can be downloaded here.

Consider the following policy question: should genetic modified organisms (GMOs) be used in food production? In different countries, and among jurisdictions within countries, different answers have been generated to the same policy questions: in the EU, most GMOs are banned but in the US, they are fairly common including in the food supply. This seminar explores alternative tools that bioethics can bring to the evaluation and critique of policy responses beyond typical philosophical theory, with a focus on the processes for policymaking and how legitimate policy can be generated. It uses the case of GMOs to emphasize the need to explore the ‘big picture’—including the diverse historical, cultural, and social contexts in which policy is generated—particularly in cases of contentious and emerging issues and technologies.


Rachel Ankeny is at the School of History and Politics of the University of Adelaide in Australia.

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