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In Minnesota, pigs are being born with human blood in their veins. In Nevada, there are sheep whose livers and hearts are largely human. In California, mice peer from their cages with human brain cells firing inside their skulls. |
Group
files complaint to prevent
importation of algae West Hawaii Today September 13, 2005 Algae approved: Import coming soon West Hawaii Today June 29, 2005 As goes GM, so goes the Ag Board: A new project is approved despite wide opposition Kristine Kubat, Honolulu Weekly July 13, 2005 |
UH
vows to hold off genetic tests with Hawaiian taro: Researchers will
consult with native Hawaiians on cultural concerns. Honolulu Star
Bulletin May 25, 2005 Islands at Risk: Genetic Engineering in Hawaii A film by Earthjustice, 2006 |
Animal-Human Hybrids Spark Controversy. National Geographic News. January 25, 2005 Scientists have begun blurring the line between human and animal by producing chimeras—a hybrid creature that's part human, part animal. Chinese scientists at the Shanghai Second Medical University in 2003 successfully fused human cells with rabbit eggs. The embryos were reportedly the first human-animal chimeras successfully created. They were allowed to develop for several days in a laboratory dish before the scientists destroyed the embryos to harvest their stem cells. |
Stolen
GE
Bacteria Federal authorities are investigating the disappearance of genetically altered bacteria fatal to pigs that appear to have been stolen from a research laboratory at Michigan State University. Authorities Probe Case Of Missing Bacteria By Gary Fields, Wall Street Journal (September 19, 2002) Biotechnology Conference Life of the Land's Henry Curtis was the only community member to attend the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) Pacific Rim Conference on Industrial Biotechnology and Bioenergy held at the Hawaii Hilton January 11-13, 2006. Our entrance fee was $250.00 |
Na Maka o Hawai `i Nei Life of the Land formed a hui called Na Maka o Hawai `i Nei - The Eyes of Our Hawai`i - and filed a petition with the state seeking to overturn the June 28, 2005 vote by the Hawai`i State Board of Agriculture approving the importation of seven strains of genetically engineered algae to be grown at the Natural Energy Laboratory Authority (NELHA) on the Kona Coast. This alga, Chlamydomous reinhardtii, reproduces itself every five hours, is genetically engineered to contain human antibodies, has never been grown in this mass quantity before, and has never been tried anywhere else in the world. |
| Super
trees: The latest in genetic engineering Super trees are the business of ArborGen, a South Carolina company that says improving the genetic makeup of purpose-grown trees - that is, trees grown for paper, wood or biofuels - will help conserve "native forests in all their diversity and complexity for future generations." www.truthabouttrade.org/article.asp?id=7993 |
Some
experiments can disquietingly blur the line between species By John Rennie. Scientific American. Stem cell science has become notorious for obliging society to consider again where it draws the line between human embryonic cells and human beings. Less well known is that it also pushes us to another border that can be surprisingly vague: the one that separates people from animals. Stem cells facilitate the production of advanced interspecies chimeras--organisms that are a living quilt of human and animal cells. The ethical issues raised by the very existence of such creatures could become deeply troubling. There are currently no international standard governing chimera experiments. Canada's Assisted Human Reproduction Act of 2004 banned human-animal chimeras. The US has no formal restrictions, but Senator Sam Brownback of Kansas proposed legislation in March that would outlaw several kinds of chimeras, including ones with substantial human brain tissue. Some institutions that supply human stem cells set their own additional limits about what experiments are permissible. |
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| Life of the Land's Position Genetically Engineering is a very young field of study (3 decades), and the terminology, techniques, and risks are undergoing rapid change. Reasonable regulations are trailing badly. Proponents are hiding behind terms like ''life sciences''. Some positive actions have occurred (creating cheap insulin in labs), however, the money is in experimental research, not in safety or risk analysis. Focusing on the money that can flow into the state and not the risks that the public will face is short-sighted. Hawai`i should adopt the Precautionary Principle for all genetic engineering projects. The Precautionary Principle places the burden of proof on the proponent of new technologies. The requirement is to demonstrate, not absolutely but beyond reasonable doubt, that what is being proposed is safe. |
Background Genetically engineered insulin using recombinant DNA technology was approved for use by diabetics in 1982. The first transgenic domestic animal, a pig was created in 1985. The gene that is responsible for cystic fibrosis was found in 1990. The Human Genome Project to map the entire human genome was launched in 1990. Risks Scientists at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have successfully reconstructed the influenza virus strain responsible for the 1918 pandemic. (www.cdc.gov/od/oc/media/pressrel/r051005.htm). The Spanish Flu Pandemic (La Grippe Espagnole, La Pesadilla) affected 1 billion people, killing 50-100 million people in 1918-19. More people died from the Spanish flu than the Black Death Bubonic Plague (1347-51) or from World War I (1914-18). Hawaii regulates the importation of microorganisms and their movement between regulated labs, but not their creation in unregulated facilities. In Hawai`i it is legal to genetically engineer the avian bird flu and other deadly diseases. State laws pre-date genetic engineering, and policy-makers encouraging genetic research do not want to send any ''wrong'' signals by regulating this new technology. |
Questions That Need to be
thought about What is genetic engineering? Is co-existence of GM and non-GM crops possible? How have genetically engineered insulin and other drugs transformed society? How does unlabeled gene insertions affect religious dietary restrictions? Can dinosaurs be resurrected? If a species DNA is in electronic form, can it be extinct? Should laboratories using genetic manipulation techniques be regulated? Who should be held responsible for mistakes? Are we Playing God? What laws and regulations are needed? Should DNA testing of evidence be required for prisoners claiming to be innocent? Can companies discriminate based on a person's genetic tendencies? Can the avian bird flu be created in a lab? Is stealing genetically engineered bacteria a crime? If bones from saints can be found, can man recreate cloned saints? Can man genetically engineer the Venus fly trap to kill larger animals? Do we need mistakes in order to pass legislation? When is a plant-animal hybrid a plant and when is it an animal? Should using genetically engineering bacteria to produce heroin be regulated? Should we find unique microorganisms and genetically manipulating them to convert biomass into ethanol? Can the biotechnology field replace fossil fuel products (detergents, plastics) with bio-based chemicals such as Polylactic Acid (PLA) and Polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB)? Should we make clothes and shoes from skins of genetically engineered animals? Should the DNA sequences of all life forms be catalogued and computerized? Who should hold patents on DNA on life-forms including people? |
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