Step three
Here we offer you two options:
- Thorough presentation: The "Site Guide". It presents all key issues, has links with comments helping you to find what you want to rapidly get an understanding of the issue. To the site guide.
- "Fast track", found below. It contains excerpts from the Site Guide with the most important introductory articles (some of the more advanced ones are listed in the Site Guide).
Fast track
NOTE: You can easily find your way back here by clicking on "Siteguide" in the menu, found at the bottom of every page and there you choose "Fast track".
Difficulty level of link:
[EL] = elementary. [ML] = medium. [AL] = advanced.
Contents
Basics
1. Understanding genetic engineering
If you have forgotten most of what you learnt about biology it is good to read some very simple introductory texts that everybody can understand:
When you have read the above article, you will understand the article:
2. General overview
Unless you already read step 2, it is good to read it now as it gives a good idea of the key issues:
3. Insufficient knowledge of DNA
It is important to understand that science knows far too little about DNA to be able to master genetic engineering. A simple introduction is:
Understanding the environmental issue
Although scientists have warned for various complications of GE crops, scientific investigation of them has been very scarce and incomplete, see:
"Is there sufficient knowledge about environmental effects to justify release of GE organisms?" [ML] ( almost [EL] ).
This is a Key document.
The perhaps most worrisome is that GE plants may give rise to new and harmful viruses. This complication has been experimentally demonstrated and cannot be dismissed as conjectural. This is explained in:
The
Virus Hazard [EL]
Understanding the food safety issue
These articles explain in a simple way why foods may be hazardous:
Still skeptical?
If you still believe that it is justified to release GE organims into nature and that GE foods are safe, you have, like many others, probably been exposed to the very skilfull propaganda campaign of the biotech industry. It has lasted for several years. Leading PR companies, experts on manipulating peoples attitudes have done the very best to brainwash people to believe that GE foods are a boon to mankind, the pinnacle of scientific progress.
This article explains how this brainwashing works:
PR strategies used to manipulate opinions about GE foods. [EL]
If you find the arguments of biotech proponents impressive, we suggest you take a "brain wash antidote" by reading:
"Misleading arguments commonly used by biotech advocates" [EL]
The "heaviest" argument used to confuse people is that genetic engineering provides foods of great value. There is in fact no single GE food that is of significant value, see:
"Do genetically engineered foods provide any benefits?" [EL]
How could it happen that GE foods were released in spite of insufficient knowledge?
As you now begin to realize GE organsims should neither have been released into nature nor sold as food, you may be surprised that they still have been approved (we were stunned when it occurred).
Our understanding of what happened is presented in this article which serves as a general introduction:
Why were genetically engineered foods approved in spite of insuffient safety data? [EL]
Revealing is how the American Food agency, FDA suppressed warnings about GE foods among its own experts:
FDA suppressed warnings from their own experts about GE foods [EL]
The dependence of scientists upon sponsorship from corporations has contributed importantly to this situation. This is explained further in:
Dysfunctional science - Towards a "pseudoscientfic world order"? [EL]
Agricultural problems
The great expectations that the biotech proponents created have not been fulfilled. There has not been increased yields, rather the opposite. It has not been possible to reduce the use of toxic chemicals, rather the opposite. Increasing numbers of farmers, even in the "mainland of GE", United States, are turning away from GE crops. The problem reports are many. Here are a few articles:
Global aspects
Alternatives to genetic engineering of food
1. Sustainable agriculture
Sustainable agriculture means, by definition, agriculture that does not deplete natural resources and does not use harmful, artificial substances that cumulate in the environment. Therefore, contrary to industrial agriculture, it can be applied indefinitely without harming the environment. It is the only kind of agriculture that is feasible in the long run.
For more, see: Sustainable agriculture.
Research on organic farming indicates that it can give as good or better yield as industrial farming without using any harmful chemicals. See for example:
Organic Farming Will Feed the World. Some reports indicate that it can be more productive than industrial "Hi-Tech" agriculture. This is a major blow to the main argument for genetic engineering of crops.
2. Genomics
This technology uses biotechnological gene mapping to select the best varieties in breeding without any manipulation of genes. See Genomics.
This approach is expected to speed up the pace of conventional breeding greatly. Leading experts, even in biotech companies consider this a more effective and much better alternative.
Industry is abandoning genetic engineering, realizing that it is a blind alley with insurmontable technical difficulties, unresolved safety problems and because it has had not been successful in producing plants that are better than natural varietes. Instead genomics is now superseding genetic engineering according to a leading industry representative:
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"From a scientific perspective, the public argument about genetically-modified organisms, I think, will soon be a thing of the past. The science has moved on and we're now in the genomics era...with new knowledge and modern tools of the trade, breeders can make more rapid progress on many more traits than in the past."
Professor Bob Goodman
Former head of research and development at the biotech company Calgene, creators of the FlavrSavr tomato, the world's first GM food.
Source: "Genomics portends the next revolution in agriculture"
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12. Help us increase the awareness about the hazards all over the world.
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Conclusion
Now we hope it is more obvious to you why we find it necessary to forbid the release of GE organisms (plants, trees, fishes, insects, bacteria etc) into the environment and ban the use of GE foods. You may want to review our major conclusions in Step Two .
To step four
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