Words are powerful. I don't usually say that, since I see more effects from technology, people's behaviors and world events, but words have a power I'm more then willing to acknowledge … especially now.

The term which prompted all this is "Genetic Divide," which I read in a report from the World Health Organization. It's not unlike the Great Continental Divide or the Digital Divide, as "divide" is one of those words we like to tag something onto wherever we see a chasm that is possibly unbridgeable.

Now the Continental Divide is a matter of fact. To the East, the rivers flow East, and to the West, the rivers flow West. But such terms as Digital Divide are more conceptual in nature, and their meanings evolve and widen over time. The notion of a Digital Divide started brewing in the 90's, and today it means everything from "poor kids don't have computers and rich kids do," to "illiterate people in Africa can't participate in the Internet, while everyday workers in developed countries depend on it for a living."

Similarly, we can now look forward to dealing with the emergent life of the term "Genetic Divide."

Just to be clear, the Genetic Divide as used by the WHO is not that some of us having better genes then others. It's that some nations grow genetically modified crops and sell the resultant food on the open market … and most don't.

It's about whether or not any nation which actively seeks to produce genetically-modified crops is really be prepared to regulate its use within its own borders. It's about the stable infrastructure required to make laws and regulations in the first place, and then make them stick.

It's also about the fact that the United States is the largest producer of genetically-modified foods, producing some 2/3's of the world's GM crops. And to the surprise of many, the country of Argentina is next, tilling about half that many acres, with Canada, Brazil and China next in line, although minor players by any reckoning.

And it's about the fact that last year starving African nations rejected American corn in the form of food aid because it was genetically modified. Truly, they'd rather starve.

The restrictions from these African nations range from only accepting cornmeal, which had already been ground, to disallowing any seed or product which has anything to do with genetic modification … which, if you read between the lines, may be a good thing.

As of today, the GM food market worldwide is mainly being produced by countries, each of which has the wherewithal to finance the agribusiness, physically contain the GM crops and control the use of the seeds. That would not be possible in a place where poverty and war are part of the everyday scene.

The World Health Organization has made a serious recommendation: Every nation needs to decide for itself how it will participate in the GM food revolution. And in addition to the normal study of agricultural and health effects, each nation should also be encouraged to study the social, cultural and ethical implications, as well. They point out that this is a much more complicated issue than it may appear.

Let's not forget that the genetic revolution is constantly producing new seeds, new genetic possibilities. It is not a "yes" or "no" to GM foods, but rather a requirement for every nation to be continually watchful.

And so, I have trouble with the term "genetic divide." The divide the World Health Organization is talking about is so much more.

I'm Moira Gunn. This is Five Minutes.

Back to Five Minutes List