Are GMOs “non natural”, are we playing God by genetically modifying plants ?

Man has always ‘played God’ by developing techniques for transforming its living and non living environment, but it is indeed striking to see that he has always feared the rage of the Gods ! In the old myth of Prometheus, fire was the symbol of technological power, and in a later version of the myth, the romantic novel ‘Frankenstein’, electricity captured from the sky was the source of a new power over matter! Technology appears ambivalent, as it is viewed as ‘transgressive’ but at the same time it supports the hopes of mankind to improve its overall welfare. The history of civilizations tells us that most of them have entered of continuous process of technological innovations that did not rule out a profound respect towards God(s) and the contemplation of an ‘order of Nature’. Nature itself is subject to conflicting interpretations across cultures and religions, changing over times and places, hence it can not be proposed as an univocal and universal norm for human actions. Moreover, stating that GM is non natural, whilst sexual breeding would be, is not correct as all plant breeding practices today rely on artificial methods for recombining genes to some extent. Anyway, that GM is perceived as transgressive by a fraction of the population is a fact, hence it remains important to educate the public, allowing informed consumer choice while leaving space to personal moral options via traceability and labelling provisions. ‘Moral co-existence’ in some way, which our society names ‘pluralism’ …

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