[pf] 'GMOs: unsound scientific assumptions; careless science. FDA inadeq

People on the Pos Fut list:

**  Dr Robert Mann, here in NZ, sent me a copy of Professor Brown's 
statement:
http://www.geocities.com/RainForest/6783/GMO-release_Premature.html

**  saying:

  "The following statement is by an actual expert.  He was, for example,
brought to New Zealand recently to consult on GE trees with the Forest
Research Institute and to confer with various scientists at AgResearch.
   I urge assiduous promulgation of this historic statement.  It arose in
response to the request of C S Prakash for signatures to his misleading
propaganda statement in support of exactly the same GM crops which Prof
Brown not only refuses to endorse but instead explains the defects of."

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**  Author:

     Professor Patrick Brown  
     College of Agriculture and Environmental Science
     University of California
     Davis, CA 95616

**  The headings are:

The Promise of Plant Biotechnology
             - The Threat of Genetically Modified Organisms

Are the Current Generation of rDNA Crops, and the Regulatory
System that approved them, Scientifically Defensible?

Is There Equivalence between rDNA and 'Traditional' Sexual Gene Transfer?

Do rDNA Techniques offer Greater Precision?

Do rDNA Techniques Provide an Acceptable Level of Risk?

Conclusion:

The real threat to the future of plant biotechnology is the irresponsible
and premature releases of the first generation of GMOs that are full of
unsound scientific assumptions, rife with careless science, and arrogantly
dismissive of valid concerns. The current generation of GMOs provide little
real benefit except corporate profit and marginally improved grower
returns, while at the same time introducing a host of poorly studied human
and ecological risks. Not surprisingly, many have questioned the value of
these crops and the integrity of those who support their use. 

Given these issues and the overall lack of knowledge of rDNA technology it
can only be concluded that the current FDA regulations guiding the release
and testing of GMOs is inadequate. It can further be concluded that the
technology is inadequately developed to ensure its safety. In the absence
of a sound scientific basis to predict the full consequences of rDNA crop
development, we must either subject all new crops to a rigorous testing
program that considers all potential health, social and environmental
concerns or halt further release of rDNA crops until a firm scientific
understanding of the biological principles is attained. 

As scientists it is our responsibility to recognize that we do not yet have
sufficient knowledge of the process to use it safely. We must work towards
adressing all of the concerns explicit in the current generation of crops,
and must support a rigorous testing program to ensure the safety of all GMO
food stuffs in the interim. To date many in the scientific community have
been unwilling to rationally consider the concerns surrounding the current
GMOs and have wrongly considered that a defense of GMOs is a prerequisite
to protect the science of plant biotechnology. Nothing could be further
from the truth or more threatening to the future of this technology.


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sent to DE by David.
(David MacClement) davd@ihug.co.nz 
http://www.emucities.com.au/member/davd/
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