Genetic
Engineering and Its Dangers 
Genetic
Engineering and Its Dangers
Compiled by Professor Ron Epstein
|
I originally constructed this web site primarily
for the benefit of the students in my classes at San Francisco State
University, from which I am now retired. (I am currently a research
professor at the Institute for World Religions in Berkeley, California.)
I am leaving the site online in the hope that people will still find
it to be useful. All of the material is copyrighted. Permission is
granted for individual, single copy, personal use only. Please send
suggestions, corrections, broken links, and inquiries about other
use of the materials to me at epstein@sfsu.edu. |
TENTH ANNIVERSARY YEAR
SITE FOUNDED IN 1996
ESSAYS ABOUT GENETIC ENGINEERING
"What is Genetic Engineering?" by Dr. Ricarda Steinbrecher
"The
Rest Of The Story Behind Genetic Engineering: An Interview with Brian Tokar"
by Mark Oshinskie
"The Biotech Century: Playing Ecological Roulette with Mother Nature's Designs" by Jeremy Rifkin
"PR for the 'Book of Life'" by Jackie Stevens
"Synthetic Life" by W.
Wayt Gibbs 
"Unraveling
the DNA Myth: The Spurious Foundation of Genetic Engineering" by Barry
Commoner
"Data Stored in Multiplying
Bacteria" by Natasha McDowell
"Genetic Copy of
Cat Not a Copycat after All" by Kristen Hays
GM Microbes Invade North America
"Mice 'make human proteins
in semen'" by Dr David Whitehouse
"Mice produce sperm from
monkeys" by Dr David Whitehouse
"Killer virus: An engineered
mouse virus leaves us one step away from the ultimate bioweapon" by Rachel
Nowak
"Rebellious Bodies Dim the Glow of `Natural' Biotech Drugs" by Andrew Pollack
"Klebsiella planticola--The Gene-Altered Monster That Almost Got Away" by Elaine Ingham
"Biohazards: The Next Generation?" by Brian Tokar
"Biotech at 25--Too Soon to Celebrate"
"GM Pigs are Both Meat and Veg" by Emma Young
"In Experiment, Mammal Cells Produce Silk Like a Spider's" by Kenneth Chang
"Xenotransplantation:
How Bad Science and Big Business Put the World at Risk
from
Viral Pandemics" by Mae-Wan Ho and Joe Cummins
"Scientists Are Starting to Add Letters to Life's Alphabet" by Andrew Pollack
"Splicing the Sting Out of Bugs" by Aaron Zitner"Go-ahead for GM insect release" by Helen Briggs.
"GM Trees Threaten the Global Environment"
"BODY AND SOUL: The Price of Biotech (Part One)" by Philip L. Bereano
"Patent Pending: THE RACE TO OWN DNA (Part Two)" by Philip L. Bereano
"Bioprospecting or Biopiracy? The Hunt for Genetic Riches in the Developing World" Utne Reader
"Transplantation Through a Glass Darkly" by James Lindemann Nelson
"The Selfish Commercial Gene" by L R B Mann
Ethical and Religious Questions
"Pope Expresses Opposition
to GMOs, Cites Need for 'the Respect of Nature'"
"Stem Cell
Mixing May Form a Human-Mouse Hybrid" by Nicholas Wade
"Patented
Genes: An Ethical Appraisal" by Mark Sagoff
"Religion
and Measure H"
by Ron Epstein
"Some
Common Sense about Measure H" by Ron Epstein
"Redesigning the World: Ethical Questions about Genetic Engineering" by Ron Epstein
"Genetic Engineering: A Buddhist Assessment" by Ron Epstein
"Ethical Dangers of Genetic Engineering." by Ron Epstein
"Ethical and Spiritual Issues in Genetic Engineering" by Ron Epstein
"Buddhism and Biotechnology" by Ron Epstein
"Bioethics -A Third World Issue" by Dr Vandana Shiva
"Genetic Trespassing and Environmental Ethics" by Dr. Mira Fong
"On
Genetic Engineering" by Yifei Zhu, Ph.D.
"Horizontal Gene Transfer � The Hidden Hazards of Genetic Engineering" by Mae-Wan Ho, Ph.D.
"Horizontal Gene Transfer - New Evidence" by Mae Wan Ho, Ph.D.
"The Unholy Alliance" by Mae-Wan Ho, Ph.D.
"Transgenic Transgression of Species Integrity and Species Boundaries" by Mae-Wan Ho, Ph.D.
"The Genetic Engineering Debate" (v0.32) compiled by Roberto Verzola
GENETICALLY ENGINEERED PLANTS AND FOOD
True Food Shopping List: How to Avoid Genetically Engineered Food
"A GE BACTERIUM THAT COULD HAVE KILLED
ALL PLANTS: Dr. Elaine Ingham's Testimony"
Genetically
engineered trees quietly sprouting
New life for redwood harvesting [GMO Redwoods]
A BRIGHT FUTURE FOR CROPS CONVERTED
INTO PLASTIC?
FAO report reveals GM crops
not needed to feed the world
"No Foolproof
Way Is Seen to Contain Altered Genes" by Andrew Pollack
"GOLDEN GENES AND WORLD HUNGER:
LET THEM EAT TRANSGENIC RICE?" by Craig Holdrege and Steve Talbott
"As Biotech Crops Multiply, Consumers Get Little Choice" by David Barboza
"Scientists Admit Frankencrops Pollution is Inevitable" by Brian Tokar
"Genetically-Modified Superweeds 'Not Uncommon'" by James Randerson
"Pharm Crops - A Food Accident Waiting to Happen"
"GM Potatoes Deter One Pest But Attract Another"
"Sterile Harvest: New Crop of Terminator Patents Threatens Food Sovereignty"
"Biotechnology in Crops: Issues for the Developing World" compiled by Laura Spinney
"GM Crop DNA Found in Human Gut Bugs" by Andy Coghlin
"Genetically Modified Foods: Are They a Risk to Human/Animal Health?" By Arpad Pusztai, Ph.D.
"Transgenic DNA introgressed into traditional maize landraces in Oaxaca, Mexico" by David Quist and Ignacio H. Chapela"Thousands of Field Tests of GE Crops Across the U.S."
"Crop pollen spreads further than expected"
"50 Harmful Effects of Genetically Modified Foods" by Nathan Batalion
Worldwide Initiatives Against GMOs"Biotech--The Basics" by Rachel Massey
"Bad Bad seeds in court: when genetically modified plants contaminate their crops, organic farmers fight big biotech" by Thomas Hayden"GM corn set to stop man spreading his seed" by Robin McKie
"THE 'GOLDEN RICE' HOAX� -When Public Relations replaces Science" by Dr. Vandana Shiva"NASA's Earth plants could invade Mars" by David Perlman
"Tree of Life: Gene-altered Rubber Plants are Putting Human Proteins on Tap"
"A Bright Future for Crops Converted into Plastic?"
"FAO Report Reveals GM Crops Not Needed to Feed the World"
"GM Genes 'Can Spread to People and Animals'" by Geoffrey Lean, Volker Angres and Louise Jury
"Gene-Altered Catfish Raise Environmental, Legal Issues" by Aaron Zitner
"FDA Documents Show They Ignored GMO Safety Warnings From Their Own Scientists"
"World Scientists' Statement Calling for a Moratorium on GM Crops and Ban on Patents"
"Calling for a Moratorium on GM Crops and Ban on Patents"
"Cow's Milk to Be Made More Human with New Zealand DNA Engineering"
"Playing God in the Garden" by Michael Pollan
"Genetically Engineered Soya; Contaminating the Great Treasure" by Marc Lappe and Britt Bailey
"Genetically Engineered Food--A Serious Health Risk" by John B. Fagan, Ph.D.
"Recipe for Disaster" by Joel Bleifuss
"Genetic Engineering of Food Can Spread Serious Allergies" (New York Times, March 14, 1996 )
"Ralph Nader on Genetically Engineered Food" David Frost Special (PBS )
"Why You Should Be Concerned About Genetically Engineered Food" by Ron Epstein, Ph.D.
"Why Genetically Engineered Food Should Be Labeled" by Ron Epstein, Ph.D
"Genetic
Engineering: A Major Threat to Vegetarians" by Ronald Epstein, Ph.D.
"The Failings of the Principle of Substantial Equivalence" by John Fagan, Ph.D.
"Genetic engineering and the production of food stuffs: Biosafety Aspects" by Beatrix Tappeser
"The
Danger of Virus-Resistant Crops" by Joe Cummins, Ph.D.
GENETIC ENGINEERING
AND BIOWARFARE
Bioterror Researchers Build
a More Lethal Mousepox
Bioterrorism
issue of Emerging Infectious Diseases (July/August, 1999, v5n4)
"The Demon in the Freezer" by Richard Preston
"Ebola Virus Could Be Synthesised" by Sylvia Pag�n Westphal
"Scientists Create a Live Polio Virus" by Andrew Pollack
"Bioterror And Biosafety" by Vandana Shiva
"US Non-lethal Weapon Reports Suppressed" by Debora MacKenzie
"Single Gene Leap Led to Flea-Borne Transmission of Plague Bacterium" by Laurie K. Doepel
"A Terrifying Power" by Philip Cohen
"Prepare for the Worst" By Rachel Nowak"With Biotechnology, a Potential to Harm" by Andrew Pollack
"Scientists Fear Miracle of Biotech Could Also Breed a Monster"
"Now for GM weapons: It's time to get tough with the biotech firms over germ warfare" by Jeremy RifkinProject Censored: Human Genome Project Opens the Door to Ethnically Specific Bioweapons
"Secret U.S. Germ Tests Threat to Treaty" by Roland Watson"Battlefield uses of biotech proposed in report to Army" by Carl T. Hall
"Agricultural Biowarfare and Bioterrorism" by Dr. Mark Wheelis.
"In Gamble, U.S. Supports Russian Germ Warfare Scientists" by Judith Miller.
"Annals of Warfare: the Bioweaponeers" by Richard Preston
The Dangers of Genetically Engineered Bioweapons
Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering: Implications for the Development of New Warfare Agents
"Iranians, Bioweapons in Mind, Lure Ex-Soviet Scientists" by Judith Miller and William J. Broad.
"Germ Weapons: In Soviet Past or in the New Russia's Future" by Judith Miller and William J. Broad.
"Doctors play out bioterrorism scenario."
"Defector Tells of Soviet and Chinese Germ Weapons."
GENETICALLY ENGINEERING HUMAN BEINGS
"Engineering Humans" by Rachel Massey
"The New Eugenics: The Case Against Genetically Modified Humans" by Marcy Darnovsky
"Scientists Raise Spectre of Gene-Modified Athletes" by James Randerson
FRONTLINE
"Organ Farm: The Risks of Xenotransplantation"
"The Threshold Challenge of the New Human Genetic Technologies"
"Governing the Genome" by Ralph Brave
"The Human Genome Map: The Death of Genetic Determinism and Beyond" by Mae-Wan Ho
Boy's DNA implanted in rabbit eggs" By Roger Highfield
"Genetically Altered Babies Born" by Dr. David Whitehouse"Researchers Claim to Create Genetically Modified Children"
"Italian, U.S. Scientists Unveil Human Cloning Effort" by Andrew Stern
"'Genie Out of the Bottle' on Human Cloning"
"Clone scientists can grow sperm in laboratory" by Cherry Norton and Lois Rogers
"In The Pipeline: Genetically Modified Humans?" by Richard Hayes
"The Politics of Genetically Engineered Humans" by Richard Hayes
National Information Resource on Ethics and Human Genetics
"Who Owns Your Genes?" by Gina Kolata
"Cal. Researchers Make 'Bionic Chip'"
"Who owns your DNA?" by Arthur Allen
Human Genome Project Information
Engineering the Human Germline Symposium Report
Alliance
for Bio-Integrity
Biosafety Information
Network and Advisory Service (BINAS)
Center
for Bioethics: Ethics of Gene-Patenting
Center for Ethics and Toxics (CETOS)
Center
for Food Safety
Center for Genetics
and Society
Council for Responsible Genetics
ETC
Group--biotechnology
Genetic Resources Action International
(GRAIN)
Greenpeace True Food Network
Indigenous Peoples Council on Biocolonialism
Institute of Science
in Society
Mothers for Natural
Law
Nochimera
Norfolk Genetic
Information Network
Organic
Consumers Association
Third World Network
Totnes Genetics Group
US FDA/Center
for Food Safety & Applied Nutrition: Biotechnology
USDA Biotechnology Information
Center
SOME RECOMMENDED BOOKS ON THE DANGERS OF GENETIC ENGINEERING
Bill McKibben. Enough: Staying Human in an Engineered Age. NY: Henry Holt, 2003.
Jeffrey M Smith. Seeds of Deception: Exposing
Industry and Government Lies about the Safety of the Genetically Engineered
Foods You're Eating. Chelsea Green Publishing Company, 2003.
Marc Lappe and Britt Bailey, eds. Engineering the Farm: The Social and Ethical Aspects of Agricultural Biotechnology. Covelo, CA: Island Press, 2002.
Kathleen Hart. Eating in the Dark: America's Experiment With Genetically Engineered Food.Pantheon, 2002.
Brian Tokar, ed. Redesigning Life? The Worldwide Challenge to Genetic Engineering. McGill-Queens University Press, 2001.
Ronnie Cummins and Ben Lilliston. Genetically Engineered Food: A Self-Defense Guide for Consumers. Marlowe & Company, 2000.
Richard Heinberg. Cloning the Buddha: The Moral Impact of Biotechnology. Wheaton Il: Quest, 1999.
British Medical Association. Biotechnology, Weapons and Humanity. London: BMJ Bookshop, 1999.
Mae-Wan Ho. Genetic Engineering, Dream or Nightmare. Gateway Books, 1998.
Marc Lappe and Britt Bailey. Against the Grain:the Genetic Gamble with Our Food. Common Courage Press,1998.
Jeremy Rifkin. The Biotech Century: Harnessing the Gene and Remaking the World. Tarcher/Putnam, 1998.
Vandana Shiva. Biopiracy : The Plunder of Nature and Knowledge. Boston: South End Press, 1997.
Ruth Hubbard and Elijah Wald. Exploding the Gene Myth. Rev. ed. Boston: Beacon Press, 1997.
Jane Rissler and Margaret Mellon. The Ecological Risks of Engineered Crops. Cambridge: MIT Press, 1996.
Robin and Laura Ticciati. Genetically Engineered Foods: Are They Safe? You Decide. Keats, 1998.
John Fagan. Genetic Engineering: the Hazards, Vedic Engineering: the Solution. MIU Press, 1995.