permaculture

["John Schinnerer" <john@eco-living.net>]

Aloha,

Just don't imagine this is actually *new* information...in fact, it's
appeared on this list before.  I hope Commoner and others involved aren't
taking credit for figuring this out (like Gore inventing the internet ;-).

I am glad that some people like Commoner with name recognition and a bit
'o media clout are bringing this back into the light.

That genes *constrain* but do not *determine* has been understood since
long before the start of the "40-year-old" genetic determinism theory
mentioned in the article.  This understanding has roots going back to the
very beginning of the entire 'field' of genetics.

I was fortunate enough to study some with a protoge/colleage of the late
Gregory Bateson (son of the man who coined the term 'genetics' and himself
a biologist/psychologist/anthropologist/whole systems thinker).

I recall my mentor rubbing his hands with glee when the birth of Dolly the
sheep was announced - he said now that cloning was a reality, the genetic
determinist crowd would *have* to face the fact that they were wrong. 
Their inevitable cloning experiments would put their mistaken
understanding squarely in their face.

He may have underestimated the ability of human beings to live denial.

There are countless counterexamples disproving genetic determinism already
in existence.

My favorite example is that of a particularly rare colored and
hard-to-breed-true cat.  The cat was cloned, because (under the theory of
genetic determinism) that seemed to be the simples way to create more cats
of the same breed/coloration.

Alas - when the first clone kitten was born, it was a calico (cats are
like that... ;-).

Speaking of said mentor, here's his current gig:

http://crazytigerinstitute.com/


> =====================================
>
> 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.
...



John Schinnerer, MA
-------------------------
- Eco-Living -
Cultural & Ecological Designing
People - Place - Learning - Integration
john@eco-living.net
http://eco-living.net