WHAT IS GENETIC ENGINEERING? 

Don't forget the excellent short explanation of genetic engineering and its implications for food and the environment on this site - click here

Genetic engineering for kids
a website especially for kids (of any age!) courtesy of Tiki the penguin
 

INTRODUCTORY ARTICLES AND REPORTS ON GE

The politics of GM food: Risk, science & public trust
Special Briefing by scientists funded through the UK Government's Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC)

Biotechnology and genetically modified organisms
Christian Aid briefing

The Prince of Wales on genetic engineering: Questions about Genetically Modified Organisms
Daily Mail, 1st June, 1999

The Prince of Wales on genetic engineering: Seeds of Disaster
Daily Telegraph, 1998 article

Novel Foods: Beyond Nuffield
Food Ethics Council report summary
 

GE: CAN IT FEED THE WORLD?

"If anyone tells you that GM is going to feed the world, tell them that it is not"
- Steve Smith, head of Syngenta UK (formerly Novartis Seeds)

See the special feed the world articles section on this site which has multiple links to relevant articles and reports
 

CAMPAIGNS AGAINST GE

Five Year Freeze
Campaign supported by 60 different UK organisations including Christain Aid, Action Aid,  CPRE, WWF etc
Postcards for MPs, petitions etc available: details in site or send a large s.a.e.

Friends of the Earth
Real Food campaign includes draft letters to supermarkets etc and local test site info

Greenpeace
Many reports and links 

NLP Wessex
Excellent information on agricultural issues and GM crops

Genewatch UK
Organisation concerned with the ethics and risks of genetic engineering

Genetic Food Alert 
Founded by the UK wholefood trade

Global alliance against genetically engineered trees

The Millenium Debate
Good section on Genetically Modified Animal Feed 

The Campaign to Ban Genetically-Engineered Foods
Broad range of interesting articles 

OneWorld
Brings together material from all over the world on GE 

Totness Genetic Engineering Group
Attractive/informative site 

The Edmonds Institute
Contains remarkable Revolving Door information on interpenetration of biotech companies and US administration

Mothers for Natural Law
Campaigning on U.S. GM food scene - scientific background articles etc.

Campaign to Label GE Food
American campaign

The Campaign for Food Safety
American site - a lot of press articles

Label this
US based action campaign

Bioengineering Action Network
American direct action network

WEN (Women's Environmental Net~vork) Test Tube Harvest Campaign 97 Worship Street London EC2A 2BE  e-mail

Green Party la Waterlow Road London N19 5NJ Tel: 0171272 4474 e-mail  For Norfolk Green Party GE campaign e-mail
 

GROUP CONTACTS WORLDWIDE

Campaign to ban GE foods
Includes list of links to worldwide sites

Websites on genetic engineering
Comprehensive list of links

Genetically Manipulated Food News
Includes comprehensive links

Alimentos transgénicos
Links to sites in Spanish

Dutch anti-GE site
 

LOCAL UK GROUPS

Totness Genetic Engineering Group
Site includes contact details for anti-GE groups throughout UK 

Scottish Genetix Action
 

UK CROP TRIALS: SITES etc
These are largely links to directories on position and type of UK GMO release sites. For more information on GM crop issues see section below. Items at end give information on the rationale of the UK farmsale trials.

GEN list of GMO trials

Primal Seeds
An old list of all GE releases into the UK environment for summer 2000 

GeneWatch UK's farmscale trial briefings
 

GM CROPS AND FARMING ISSUES
See the special farming news section on this site which has multiple links to relevant articles and reports
 

GE: SPIRITUALITY, ETHICS, CHRISTIAN GROUPS  etc

Why the Church of England won't allow GM crop trials on Church land
The Ethical Investment Advisory Group's important statement

Christian Ecology Link
CEL's views on GM and the farmscale trials 

South Africa - Bishops call for moratorium on GM Food
News article 

PHILIPPINES: CATHOLIC CHURCH FIGHTS GM CROP
News article

Biotechnology and genetically modified organisms
Christian Aid briefing

Selling Suicide farming, false promises and genetic engineering in developing countries
Christian Aid's comprehensive report

Bioethics: A Third World Issue, by Dr. Vandana Shiva

Genetic engineering and its dangers
Several of the essays on Ron Epstein's excellent site relate to a spiritual/ethical perspective
 

PUBLICATIONS ON GE

These are sites linked to publications on genetic engineering. See also Books

The Genetics Forum
Includes informative articles on GE from the Genetics Forum’s ‘SPLICE’ magazine

GeneWatch UK
Mainly a guide to their excellent briefings and other publications, many of which are available as pdf files

GM-FREE
site of GM-FREE magazine
 

SITES OF AUTHORS ON GE

See also Books.

George Monbiot's site
Some of George Monbiot's many powerful articles on the dangers arising from genetic engineering

Center for Ethics and Toxics (CETOS) 
Site connected to the authors of  "Against the Grain: Biotechnology and the Corporate Takeover of Your Food" (Dr Marc Lappé and Britt Bailey)

Institute of Science in Society (ISIS)
Site connected to Dr Mae-Wan Ho author of "Genetic Engineering: Dream or Nightmare? The Brave New World of Bad Science and Big Business"
 

BOOKS (and booklets) ON GENETIC ENGINEERING

See also  Publications

Genetic Engineering, Food, and our Environment, Luke Anderson, Green Books, 1999 (tel: 01803 863260)

Genetic Engineering: Dream or Nightmare? The Brave New World of Bad Science and Big Business, Dr Mae-Wan Ho, Gateway Books, 1998

Biopiracy : The Plunder of Nature and Knowledge, Dr Vandana Shiva, Green Books, 1998 (tel 01803 863260)

Against the Grain, Dr Mark Lappe and Britt Bailey, Earthscan, 1999 - see authors

Eat Your Genes: How Genetically Modified Food is Entering our Diet, Dr Stephen Nottingham, Zed Books Ltd,1998

The Biotech Century: Harnessing the Gene and Remaking the World, Jeremy Rifkin, Tarcher/Putnam (New York), 1998/ published in the UK in paperback by Phoenix 

Genetic Engineering: the Hazards, Vedic Engineering: the Solution, Dr John Fagan, MIU Press, 1995 (tel: 01695 51015)

The Ecological Risks of Engineered Crops, Jane Rissler and Margaret Mellon, MIT Press (Cambridge, Mass.), 1996

Spilling the Genes: What We Should Know about Genetically Engineered Foods, Julie Shepard, The Genetics Forum, 1996

Smart Plants: A Farmer's Guide to GMOs in Arable Agriculture, Steve Land and Iain Farquhar, Farmers' Link, 1998, (tel: 01953 88910)
The final chapter of Smart Plants is available in ngin's articles section

Biotechnology, Weapons and Humanity, British Medical Association, BMJ Bookshop, 1999

The Clone Age: Adventures in the New World of Reproductive Technology, Lori Andrews,  New York: Henry Holt, 1999. 

Brave New Worlds: Staying Human in the Genetic Future,  Bryan Appleyard, New York: Viking, 1998/ published in the UK in paperback as 'Brave New Worlds: Genetics and the Human Experience' by Harper Collins. 

Exploding the Gene Myth, Ruth Hubbard and Elijah Wald,  Boston and UK: Beacon Press, 1997 

The Human Body Shop: The Engineering and Marketing of Life, Andrew Kimbrell, New York: HarperCollins, 1993 

If you're in Norfolk, UK, phone 'Bookmark' for a fast efficient small bookshop ordering service: 01603 762855 
 

THE GENETICS LISTS - free e-mail service 

nginews regular GE news from ngin (Norfolk Genetic Information Network) - general and local angles: click here

GM-ACT:  UK based info for action: Send an e-mail to majordomo@foe.co.uk.  Leave the subject line blank and in the body of the message write: subscribe gm-action 

NLP Wessex concentrating mainly on crop issues. Subscribe from website. 

BAN GEF  US-run list with useful daily digest. For instructions send email to <Ban-GEF@lists.txinfinet.com> with "HELP" in the Subject line.
 

SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH etc.

These are links to sites with articles by scientists or with summaries of research on GE. Some of these items are in the articles section on this site. For articles on science "disinformation" and spin doctoring see the Professor Bullsh*t section on this site (includes links). For information mostly specific to GM crop issues and agronomics see the GM crops section above

Statements by Scientists on the dangers of genetically engineered food

Misleading arguments commonly used by biotech advocates
Physicians and Scientists for Responsible Application of Science and Technology (PSRAST)

"The politics of GM food: Risk, science & public trust" 
Special Briefing (October 1999) by scientists funded through the UK Government's Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC)

Government funded scientists say public concern about GM crops is rational
BBC on the ESRC report above

Genetic engineering and its dangers
Good collection of essays by leading scientists and others 

Institute of Science in Society (ISIS)
Site contains a number of excellent reports and articles regarding research indicating hazards of GE, 
plus a statement of concerns by hundreds of scientists from around the world

GENETICALLY MODIFIED FOODS: ARE THEY A RISK TO HUMAN/ANIMAL HEALTH?
Dr Arpad Pusztai's comprehensive review of peer-reviewed literature on the safety of GM foods which looks at the scarcity of safety tests, compositional studies, nutritional/toxicological studies and allergenicity studies. Pusztai concludes, "Our present data base is woefully inadequate.
Moreover, the scientific quality of what has been published is, in most instances, not up to expected standards."

Why GM is not safe, predictable or precise 
an early interview with Dr Aarpad Pusztai

Dr Pusztai's  website
Relating to the controversy involving Dr Pusztai's research on GM food safety

Beyond "substantial equivalence"
by Erik Millstone, Eric Brunner and Sue Mayer 

Is Genetically Engineered Food Safe?
Draft article by Prof Philip J. Regal on the GE food safety issue from a US perspective but with general relevance

The dangers of GE animal feed
introductory article summarising the relevant issues and research

Assessing the safety and nutritional quality of genetically engineered foods
by geneticist Dr John Fagan 

Substantial equivalence versus scientific food safety assessment
from The New England Journal of Medicine 14: 688-728; 1996. 3.

Testing the safety of genetically engineered foods
by geneticist Dr John Fagan 

Is there enough knowledge about effects of GE foods to make it possible to estimate their safety?
introductory

Biosafety: Risks from Genetically Engineered Organisms
Article by the US ecologist Prof Phil Regal

Genetically Engineered Foods - a serious health hazard
Canadian site with a lot of research references 

Union of Concerned Scientists
Site contains many relevant GE items - search 'genetics' to find all

Ifgene
A wide ranging collection of articles

The Unholy Alliance, feature article from The Ecologist, Vol.27, No.4, July/August 5.
article by Dr Mae-Wan Ho, Biology Department, Open University

CaMV Promoter is A Recombination Hotspot
Problems with the viral promoter in most transgenic plants

CaMv problems and dangers
A number of links largely relating to research undertaken at the John Innes Centre, including work with HIV

Manual for Assessing Ecological and Human Health Effects of Genetically Engineered Organisms
Authored by a group of leading scientists from a wide range of disciplines, the manual is available in a a PDF format (for Acrobat)

The Environmental Risks of Transgenic Crops: an Agroecological Assessment by Miguel A. Altieri
The author is from the Department of Environmental Science, Policy and Management, University of California, Berkeley

Biotechnology and Pest Control: Quick Fix vs. Sustainable Control by Jane Rissler 
This paper on pest control is by the Biotechnology Specialist at the National Wildlife Federation.

Precise precaution versus sloppy science
article published in the Bulletin of Science, Technology, and Society

Buildup of active Bt toxins in soil

Meacher Meets Scientists report by Angela Ryan
A fascinating debate among scientists in the UK Environment Ministers office