I would like to point out that using the "Harvest of Fear" video as the sole determinant of one's position on genetically modified (GM) crops is to be misled. Those familiar with the movie know that its directors resort to scare tactics and doomsday music, which attempt to simplify the complex issue of genetically modified organisms. Surely, interviewing organizations like Green Peace (who believe agribusinesses are conspiring a world takeover of GM seed production) on GM foods is enough to freak out the average American.
While GM seed allows farmers to plant and harvest resilient crops without the use of pesticides, GMOs are not a quick fix to the problem of world hunger. Simply having more food does not "help everyone out." More food on the market means that the price of food will inevitably fall, hurting farmers' pockets. In the face of a European Union moratorium on GM crops, it is questionable whether developing nations will even benefit from GM seed.
The safety of GMOs is another tenuous issue. Criticism of the lack of systemization of the food safety framework, "substantial equivalence," due to the absence of uniform animal models and feeding patterns, calls into question research conclusions.
The "hardest part" about GMOs thus lies in determining what GMOs will do to the food system as a whole in the developing and developed world, how it will be used and who will have access to the technology and the ethical considerations and consequences of adoption.
