Ethical Implications of Genetically Modified Food

Beginning of article

IN THE BOOK of Genesis God instructs humankind to, "fill the earth and subdue it, have dominion over ... every living thing that moves on the earth." From earliest times we have done just that. We have adapted the natural world to serve our own ends, transforming natural processes to provide ourselves with whatever we need. However, most theologians have recently insisted that the notion of dominion does not give us freedom to do anything we choose with creation, but rather offers the task and responsibility of stewardship.

For many, the new biotechnologies reflect the vanity of our technological culture rather than responsible stewardship, and the results of such vanity, they …