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Following is an introduction to a Social Justice Issue: "Halt Genetic Engineering." Links to web sites are included for *in-depth information, *analysis, *action ideas, *contacts, and *organizing initiatives. You are encouraged to use the links to take you to facets of this issue that speak to your heart, mind, and desire to unite your faith with action.

Corn on the cobGenetic engineering (GE) involves the transfer of specific genes to new host organisms -- so that these hosts are able to do new things not possible with just their own set of genes. This manipulation of genes is expanding across the broad spectrum of life forms. Critical agricultural functions governing reproduction, disease resistance, and seed viability are being changed or disabled. People, particularly in the United States (where most of the corn and soy is genetically altered), have been generally unaware of the genetic engineering of seeds and of the large-scale consumption of genetically modified (GM) food.

The percentage of genetically modified crops planted in the U.S. continues to increase. Communities’ rights to ban production of engineered crops are being undermined.

This relatively new technology of genetic engineering is leapfrogging the study of its moral, ethical, and scientific ramifications. For many, humankind is experimenting with "Playing God in the Garden." In Unraveling the Secret of Life, Barry Commoner scientifically outlines the spurious foundation of genetic engineering: that it is a very unnatural process that is unraveling the natural harmony and selection process brought by evolution.

The conglomerate, Monsanto, a self-described leader in this "life" science, argues that the fruits of its efforts are invaluable: genetically superior seeds, increased food production, and reductions in pesticide spraying and use of equipment. However, a careful examination of GE and GM technologies suggests that power, control, and profits are the bottom line.

Genetic engineering is playing a key role in the dominance of a few over the majority. Seed modifications are being patented, thus limiting access, diversity, and farmers' rights. A case in point is a Canadian, precedent-setting legal case (see Percy Schmeiser) where it was determined that there is no corporate liability for seed contamination; the case was heard before the Canadian Supreme Court.

Advocacy groups and researchers around the world are raising red flags, warning about the dangers and about the reasons "GE food will not feed the world." (A Greenpeace report, Record Harvest -- Record Hunger, outlines a case in point.) The justice and health issues that are intertwined with genetic engineering include 1) Geneflow/Patenting, 2) Genetically Programmed Resistance to Herbicides, 3) Bt Technology, 4) Allergenicity, 5) Terminator (seed sterilization) Technology, and 6) Pharming:

1) Geneflow/Patenting
What It Is Gene flow is the successful incorporation of genes from one population to another. In the food and farming sector, six international conglomerates -- Monsanto, Novartis, AgrEvo, Dupont, Syngenta, and Dow -- dominate the market. These companies are patenting and modifying native and local germplasm with genetically-engineered seed.

Dangers Small-scale, indigenous, and minority farmers are losing control over one of their most valuable resources: their native seeds, the building blocks of life. Genetic engineering is leading to the pollution of organic crops and centers of origin, as well as to externally dependent models of production. The loss of power and control brings the loss of jobs that pay living wages, the displacement of peoples and massive migration, and the destruction of land and other resources that people depend on.

2) Genetically Programmed Resistance to Herbicides
What It Is The seeds of plants are manipulated so that the plants are able to withstand applications of Roundup, the weed treatment which usually kills every plant on which it is applied. A farmerThe primary examples of this technology are Roundup Ready soybeans, canola, corn, and cotton. With supposedly no affect on these crops, Roundup kills the weeds.

Dangers Farmers are tied into purchasing seeds and Roundup from the same corporation, thus creating a dependent monoculture. The well-respected Dr. Charles Benbrook sees indisputable evidence that farmers planting RRS have significantly lower yields than farmers using conventional soybeans; Benbrook also disputes claims of reductions in pesticide use. Genetic pollution (the transfer of genetic characteristics to other species) is causing superweeds that disrupt a region's natural biodiversity and that "signal a setback for GM crops."

3) Bt Engineering
What It Is The Bt toxin, a natural herbicide derived from the soil microorganism, "bacillus thuringiensis," has been used as sprayable insecticide since the 1950s. Biotech scientists are now splicing the Bt toxin into the DNA of a variety of crops, so plants produce the toxin. An example was Monsanto's New Leaf Superior potato, registered as a PESTICIDE with the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency); it was genetically engineered to poison any potato beetle that might eat even a small portion of it. The Bt gene is present in every cell; Bt cannot be washed off or cooked out. Studies show that plants with the Bt toxin contain levels of toxicity 10-20 times greater than the lethal dose of the sprayable formulation. (When interest in biotech potatoes decreased due to safety concerns, Monsanto dropped the Newleaf potato from U.S. and Canadian markets.)

Dangers Bt Technology:

  • Can fail completely, leaving farmers in a lurch — as happened to 500,000 farmers in India
  • Increases the likelihood of "superbugs," for the more aggressive the pest eradication, the greater the likelihood that succeeding generations of pests will be more resilient
  • Raises compliance questions: whether farmers adhere to requirement for planting refuges
  • Kills beneficial soil microorganisms and insects
  • Damages soil fertility. Decreases biodiversity in ecosystems. May harm insect-eating birds, accumulate in the soil, kill sensitive soil-inhabiting insects, and place ecosystems at risk
  • Quickly renders non-GE Bt pesticidal sprays (a vital emergency pest control agent for organic and low-chemical use farmers) ineffective. (See New York Times editorial: Roundup Unready.)

4) Allergenicity
What It Is An allergen is an ordinarily harmless substance that can cause a reaction, sometimes life-threatening, to someone who is sensitive to allergies. Common allergies include pollens, molds, dust mites, medications, and insect stings/bites.

Only fundamentally different policies, which are based on the dignity and livelihoods of communities, can end hunger.

Food First
Dangers There is a growing concern that introducing foreign genes into food plants may have impacts on human health. Many children in the U.S. and Europe have developed life-threatening allergies to peanuts and other foods. Extensive testing is necessary to avoid the possibility of harm to consumers with food allergies.

5) Terminator Technology (seed sterilization)
What It Is The terminator is a group of genes that can be spliced into any crop plant, thus sterilizing all of the plant's seeds. The capacity to reproduce is "terminated." Funded by U.S. tax dollars, the USDA (U.S. Dept. of Agriculture) helped Delta and Pine Lind, subsidiaries of Monsanto, develop the seeds.

Dangers The long-term physical effects of ingesting chemically-altered plants are unknown. The terminator gene may jump to other plant species and render them sterile. The technology threatens national sovereignty over agriculture and other biological resources. Farmers are no longer able to save seeds from one season to the next as control moves from their fields to corporate boardrooms. Monitoring the technology is complicated by patent shuffling. Actions by national governments around the world will determine the future of terminator technology.

6) Pharming
What It Is This refers to the crops and animals being engineered to produce medically-useful products for highly innovative therapies. For example, sheep and pigs are being modified to produce human protein in their milk, such as insulin, interferon, and the human blood clotting factor. Another example is rice being modified to produce alpha-antitryupsin, a protein for treating liver disease. Food crops are also being engineered to produce industrial chemicals.

Dangers While there can be short-term benefits, GE pharming also generates controversy. Allergic and immune system reactions to new substances are unknown. A man speaking outThe technology is young, and risk research continues to identify new areas of concern. Some crops have already been destroyed due to pollution by pharma-crop field tests. "Going to Great Lengths..." is a 2003 article by Dr. Norman Ellstrand that highlights the challenge to prevent the escape of genes that produce specialty chemicals.

The Grocery Manufacturers Association has called for zero tolerance of pharmaceuticals and industrials in the food chain. Kraft CEO, Betsey Holden, has spoken out for tougher rules on planting crops for drugs.

"Can it be done safely?" is the major question. As with the above technologies, the regulators and the policy makers lag behind the science.

Global Repercussions

U.S. trade relations with other countries are strained, and the United States threatens retaliatory measures. For example, a major battle between U.S. and Canadian interests is brewing over genetically-modified wheat. Monsanto has applied for approval to plant its first commercial crops as early as 2004 in both the United States and Canada.

Various reports highlight global concerns about and/or the steps towards eliminating genetic engineering:

Calls to Halt Genetic Engineering

Spearheaded by an incredible grassroots campaign in England, public resistance to GE crops and foods is spreading across the globe. Friends of the Earth, GeneWatch, and Greenpeace are leaders in the movement. Leadership and education are also provided by such organizations as the Organic Consumers Association, the Union of Concerned Scientists, and Mothers for Natural Law.

Social justice groups, such as ICCR (Interfaith Center for Corporate Responsibility), are bringing shareholder resolutions to the annual meetings of seed conglomerates to push for sustainable, healthy, and just policies -- that benefit people and the common good, not just the bottom line. Socially-justice based resolutions seek to address questions of health, equity and food sovereignty: What are the implications of genetic engineering? How does it impact the health of people, animals, plants, and eco-systems? Who benefits? Who loses? Are local communities and small-scale farmers fairly compensated?

Activists believe that when anti-biotech campaigns catch fire in North America and Japan and when anti-GE movements in the North and South unite, there will be moratoriums and bans on genetic engineering as ethical, moral, and social issues are comprehensively addressed -- locally, nationally, and globally.

Action Alerts!

To terminate genetic engineering and to move towards sustainable agriculture:

Modified August 1, 2008.