Network shows aren't exactly known for their subtlety, but the Eleventh Hour last night managed to navigate the complicated issues surrounding genetically modified organisms (GMO's), taking potshots at biotech firms, big agribusiness, and folks who fetishize food labeled "natural" in equal measure. The episode focuses on a mysterious case of paralysis in a family, and naturally no one can solve it but FBI scientific consultant Jacob Hood. He eventually figures out that the family's produce was coated in high concentrations of a common fungus,
The fungus likes to attack soft, seedy fruits, like grapes and strawberries, but the species in the show has been genetically modified. The trail leads the Hood and his partner, Rachel Young, to a biotech firm called Aeonium, where the duo confront CEO Jonathan Cooper about the fungus. Along the way, Hood and Cooper lay out the arguments for and against the genetic manipulation ...
