Many people are afraid of genetic engineering, but perhaps for the wrong reasons. Most are concerned with the everyday practice of consuming copious amounts of GMO food in our society. Yet, many fail to consider that without this form of genetic engineering, many people would go hungry. GMOs are not bad, they are, in fact, rather essential. But, GMOs are not the only form of genetic engineering in our society, and those other forms are far more concerning.

What people fail to recognize is that genetic engineering is much more dangerous than simply modifying our food. We are entering a scary age of genetic editing for offspring, who are termed as “CRISPR babies.” While perhaps using CRISPR to remove a deleterious allele may be beneficial, it is difficult to draw the line separating morality and amorality. Moving in this direction enters a gray area that could lead to a severe class divide and increased discrimination for these “CRISPR babies.” Again, I do believe that this strategy could become beneficial, however, it is much too early for this technique to be implanted in humans. It is also difficult to monitor the results of this technique, as it is not legal in most developed countries and is borderline unethical.

There are even databases online for sperm banks and egg donors that allow the browser to search for very specific traits, all in hopes for the browser to be able to “engineer” their baby; while this is different from using CRISPR to genetically modify children, it sets a dangerous precedent. Being able to “select” traits that our children will have moves dangerously close to “playing God.” We need to be very alert and informed as this technology moves forward, so as to protect our society from becoming even more polarized.