Overview

Laboratories around the world are experiencing a bioexplosion, as they busily sequence, identify, and switch genes among different species. In Beyond Evolution, Dr. Michael Fox addresses the potential ramifications of this burst of technology. From the creation of herbicide-resistant soybeans to the splicing of human genes into pigs and goats, new developments in biotechnology pose serious questions: How has genetic engineering put animals' health at risk? What are the economic and biological consequences of a genetically altered future? Will this new technology mean the end of natural evolution?Without fostering biotechnophobia, Fox investigates and discusses how a new world order - one based on genetic-engineering biotechnology - will affect the course of life on earth. From the state of agri-biotechnology (an estimated 60 percent of processed foods now contain genetically engineered ingredients) to concerns about genetic pollution and the loss of wildlife to the disruption of ecological and evolutionary processes, Fox presents a full picture of the life-science industry for public review. Supported with documented research reports throughout and including a helpful resource list of organizations concerned with biotechnology, this comprehensive book provides a critical, in-depth look at modern science's most controversial frontier.

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A continuation of the author's previous work in Superpigs and Wondercorn (1992), exploring the disturbing ramifications of recent developments in animal cloning, patentable life forms, and genetically engineered crops. Fox, a bioethicist and veterinarian, presents powerful cautions against the widespread use of genetically engineered plants and animals. In the case of engineered plants, Fox argues that we know far too little about how they may adversely affect the ecosystem. Over time, they may destroy beneficial insects or, conversely, transfer their herbicide resistance to harmful weeds. The scope of experimentation is staggering, including crops that produce their own pesticide, virus-resistant strains, and even plants that include a terminator gene - these crops produce sterile seeds, ensuring that the farmer must purchase seeds from the manufacturer for every planting. More unusual and bizarre still are the animal experiments. Many new animal species are transgenic, meaning that they contain genes from other species spliced into their DNA. Some pigs, for example, contain human genes, the better to provide donor cells. Cows can be bioengineered so that they produce drugs in their milk. One project is even working on a self-shearing sheep. The problem with these manipulations begins with the techniques used to transfer the genetic material, which often involves pieces of viruses. Dolly aside, cloning of animals is a technology still in its infancy, plagued with many problems and unanswered questions. Throughout this volume, Fox asks these tough questions: do we have the right to do what we are doing, and do we know the long-term consequences of our actions? Although he occaisionally hints at a larger conspiracy at work, it's enough of an explanation to recognize the self-serving nature of most large conglomerates. Fox offers a disturbing exploration of the explosion in genetic research, occurring with insufficient safeguards and a lack of ethical consideration. (Kirkus Reviews)

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