ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses almost exclusively upon two points of the communicative triangle: those speaking for genetically modified (GM), and their perspective on the subject matter. It looks in detail at the arguments of some of GM's most powerful advocates—a President and a Prime Minister, eminent and rank-and-file scientists, news reporters and columnists, company chairmen and PR departments. The chapter shows a variety of genres: speeches and proclamations, reports, articles, interviews and web pages. Despite the apparent variety, all these sources have two things in common. First, they are all consciously directed, at least in part, at the 'general public'. Second, they include a lot of talking about talking. An image of the public—the missing point of the triangle—is therefore always present in what is being said. They are portrayed, indeed positioned by GM proponents, either as passive recipients of expert knowledge and wise decisions or as active participants through dialogue in the decision-making process.
