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  • From: "Lawrence F. London, Jr." <lfl@intrex.net>
  • To: permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: [permaculture] [SCSA] Brief explanation of bio-tech problems - Barry Commoner
  • Date: Mon, 16 Jun 2003 15:01:10 -0700

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Subject: Fwd: [SCSA] Brief explanation of bio-tech problems - Barry Commoner
Date: Mon, 16 Jun 2003 13:17:28 -0400
From: Jason McVay <tickets@FOODFIRST.ORG>
Reply-To: Sustainable Agriculture Network Discussion Group
<SANET-MG@LISTS.IFAS.UFL.EDU>
To: SANET-MG@LISTS.IFAS.UFL.EDU
-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Fwd: [SCSA] Brief explanation of bio-tech problems - Barry Commoner
From: "Jason McVay" <jcm9176@hotmail.com>
Date: Mon, June 16, 2003 1:11 pm
To: tickets@foodfirst.org

From: Laurena4efas@aol.com
To: sacwto@lists.riseup.net
Subject: [SCSA] Brief explanation of bio-tech problems - Barry Commoner
Date: Sun, 15 Jun 2003 22:43:09 EDT

Friends,

Below is another article that summarizes big problems with
biotechnology.

If you want either this or the John Robbin's article formatted to fit on
one page, I can send either out as an attachment.

Sow justice, harvest peace,
Lauren
(916) 448-4848
=====================================

New Report Challenges Fundamentals of Genetic Engineering Study
Questions Safety of Genetically Engineered Foods
Contact: Dr. Barry Commoner, Center for the Biology of Natural Systems,
718-670-4182
NEW YORK, Jan. 15 /U.S. Newswire

A study released today reveals a critical, long-overlooked flaw in the
science behind the multi-billion dollar genetic engineering industry,
raising serious questions about the safety of genetically engineered
foods.

In a new review of scientific literature reported in the February, 2002,
issue of Harper's Magazine, Dr. Barry Commoner, a prominent biologist
demonstrates that the bioengineering industry, which now accounts for
25-50 percent of the U.S. corn and soybean crop, relies on a
40-year-old theory that DNA genes are in total control of inheritance
in all forms of life. According to this theory -- the "central dogma"
-- the outcome of transferring a gene from one organism to another is
always "specific, precise and predictable," and therefore safe.

Taking issue with this view, Commoner summarizes a series of scientific
reports that directly contradict the established theory. For example,
last year the $3 billion Human Genome Project found there are too few
human genes to account for the vast inherited differences between
people and lower animals or plants, indicating that agents other than
DNA must contribute to genetic complexity.

The central dogma claims a one-to-one correspondence between a gene's
chemical composition and the structure of the particular protein that
engenders an inherited trait. But Dr. Commoner notes that under the
influence of specialized proteins that carry out "alternative
splicing," a single gene can give rise to a variety of different
proteins, resulting in more than a single inherited trait per gene. As
a result, the gene's effect on inheritance cannot be predicted simply
from its chemical composition -- frustrating one of the main purposes
of both the Human Genome Project and biotechnology.

Commoner's research sounds a public alarm concerning the processes by
which agricultural biotechnology companies genetically modify food
crops. Scientists simply assume the genes they insert into these plants

always produce only the desired effect with no other impact on the
plant's genetics. However, recent studies show that the plant's own
genes can be disrupted in transgenic plants. Such outcomes are
undetected because there is little or no governmental regulation of the
industry.

"Genetically engineered crops represent a huge uncontrolled experiment
whose outcome is inherently unpredictable," Commoner concludes. "The
results could be catastrophic."

Dr. Commoner cites a number of recent studies that have broken the DNA
gene's exclusive franchise on the molecular explanation of inheritance.
He warns that "experimental data, shorn of dogmatic theories, point to
the irreducible complexity of the living cell, which suggests that any
artificially altered genetic system must sooner or later give rise to
unintended, potentially disastrous consequences."

Commoner charges that the central dogma, a seductively simple
explanation of heredity, has led most molecular geneticists to believe
it was "too good not to be true." As a result, the central dogma has
been immune to the revisions called for by the growing array of
contradictory data, allowing the biotechnology industry to unwittingly
impose massive, scientifically unsound practices on agriculture.

"Dr. Commoner's work challenges the legitimacy of the agricultural
biotechnology industry," said Andrew Kimbrell, Director of the Center on
Food Safety. "For years, multibillion dollar biotech companies have
been selling the American people and our government on the safety of
their products. We now see their claims of safety are based on faulty
assumptions that don't hold up to rigorous scientific review."

The study reported in Harper's Magazine is the initial publication of a
new initiative called The Critical Genetics Project directed by Dr.
Commoner in collaboration with molecular geneticist Dr. Andreas
Athanasiou, at the Center for the Biology of Natural Systems, Queens
College, City University of New York.






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