Michael Pollan, "Playing God in the Garden"

Questions for Making Connections Within the Reading

1. Michael Pollan asserts at the opening of his essay that "the intricate industrial food chain that begins with seeds and ends on our dinner plates is in the throes of profound change." How is the food chain being changed by biotechnology? Why does Pollan believe this change to be "profound" rather than, say, "incremental," or just a part of the natural flow of progress?

2. Pollan discusses three governmental regulatory agencies: the USDA, the FDA and the EPA What do these agencies do? Why haven't any of these agencies been able to control the growth of the biogenetic engineering industry?

3. At the end of "Playing God in the Garden," Pollan decides not to eat the New Leaf Superiors that he has grown in his own garden. Why doesn't he? Is there an answer to the question that is posed to Pollan at the end of his essay: That is, is there a reason why someone would want to eat biogenetically engineered food?

Questions for Writing

1. "Biological pollution will be the environmental nightmare of the 21^st century." This is one of the darker pronouncements in Pollan's essay. What is biological pollution, and how does it differ from other forms of pollution? If it is safe to assume that there is no turning back and biogenetically engineered foods are with us to stay, what can be done to control the spread of biological pollution? Who is best equipped to address this problem: the individual, the local community, state or federal government, farmers, or food corporations?

2. Why does Pollan title his essay "Playing God in the Garden"? Does this signal Pollan's disapproval or his admiration of Monsanto's biotechnological research? Does research of this kind violate something sacred? Is it "unnatural" for humans to try to control their environment in this way? On the basis of what principle or principles can questions of this kind be answered?

Questions for Making Connections Between Readings

1. With Peter Drucker's "The Age of Social Transformation" and Michael Pollan's "Playing God in the Garden," we have a description of how dramatically farming has changed over the past century. Does Pollan's essay support Drucker's contention that the age of social transformation has created the need for a social sector? Given the power that agribusiness has over the food supply, is it possible to create a social sector that "can again give individuals . . . a sphere in which they can make a difference in society and re-create community"?

2. In "What Does the Dreaded 'E' Word Mean, Anyway?" Stephen Jay Gould provides an extended discussion of what the word evolution means in the life sciences. Does genetic engineering, as Pollan describes it, disrupt the evolutionary process Gould describes? Does it participate in that evolutionary process? Does Gould's argument suggest that we should be concerned about genetic engineering or that there is nothing to worry about? That is, does the definition of evolution used in the life sciences put to rest the concerns Pollan has raised about genetic engineering, or does it heighten those concerns?

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