[DRAFT] Marketplace Madness

[Orgrua]

Title: Marketplace Madness

Description: Consumer confusion on the possible effects of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) on human health is causing chaos everywhere in @@DEMONYN@@ grocery stores.

Option: "Anyone that believes GMOs are safe for human consumption is crazy and in desperate need of an education," shouts @@RANDOMNAMEFEMALE@@, as she bursts through the doors to your office, having somehow found a way in passed security. "As the leader of GMNO, an organization devoted to growing natural, unmodified crops, I know about the possible dangers to human health. While there haven't been any short term consequences, anyone who eats genetically modified fruit and vegetables will be sorry in a few decades," she continues, as she sorts her giant mess of papers. "I say, for the greater good of the @@DEMONYN@@ people, we ban all use of GMOs and give GMNO the power to determine what food is safe for human consumption.

Effect: GMNO only allows non-GMO crops spots on store shelves and strictly regulates school lunches.

Stats: Authoritarianism: ^85%, Ignorance: ^40%, Inclusiveness: ^30%, Government Size: ^28%, Obesity: 25.9% Industry: Trout Farming: ^14%, Industry: Cheese Exports: ^8%, Industry: Pizza Delivery: ^3.6%, Niceness: v8.2%, Industry: Retail: v28.9%, Economic Freedom: v32% Sector: Agriculture: v72.6%

Option: "How could anyone listen to this ignorant fool," asks @@RANDOMNAME@@. "Nobody knows that that are long term consequences of GMO consumption. In fact, they are better for the economy; they allow farmers to grow their crops in greater numbers, as well as many other benefits," he argues. "In a great country such as @@NAME@@, it would only make sense to prevent wasted land due to inefficient agriculture by making it compulsory for farmers to grow GMOs."

Effect: Farmers fight for spots on grocery store shelves due to the newly required GMO production from farmers.

Stats: Economic Output: ^4.3%, Recreational Drug Use: ^1.9%, Averageness: v3.1%, Primitiveness: v8%

Option: "Surely there is a compromise," says @@RANDOMNAMEMALE@@, your newly hired advisor for the Department of The Environment. "Instead of passing misinformed legislation on an issue of this complexity, why not increase spending for science? We can introduce tax breaks for people that open independent research facilities, and after crunching some numbers, I found that if we increased taxes for @@MAJORINDUSTRY@@, we would have enough funds to implement the changes."

Effect: Government offers sigmificant tax breaks for science labs but heavily taxes other important industries.

Stats: Scientific Advancement: ^89%, Taxation: ^43%, Secularism: ^15%, Averageness: v4%, Religiousness: v13.8%

Any advice on changes for my draft before I submit would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

[Tinhampton]

Please don't submit this now. Let it garner responses for a while before you file it with the Issue Editors. I'm busy right now, so I'll do my responses later.

[Candlewhisper Archive]

Cede Our Seeds tackles GMOs but does so asking a more specific question in a more specific scenario. I'd suggest looking at that issue as a good example of how to approach GMOs as a topic: find a less open question than "are GMOs bad for you?" and add a more nuanced story.

[Caracasus]

Hmm. Following on from Candlewhisper. Issues potentially raised by GMOs that could be explored:

Creation of "suicide seeds" has been tackled in Cede our Seeds - this could (I guess) be further explored - perhaps a company wishes to export these to a developing nation?

Biodiversity and homogeneous crops. One of the arguments against GMOs is that if you've got, say, a genetically engineered corn that has a higher yeild, requires less water etc. it could out compete other plant species found in nature. An additional risk is that if most farms start growing just one or two strains of crop, a disease could cripple your agriculture.

[Orgrua]

Thanks for all the advice! I think I'll try to come up with a more original idea. I should have it up some time soon.

[Australian rePublic]

Another problem with GMOS is that if I use GMOS on my farm, my next door neighbour could lose his organic certification