Information on the Ballot
Initiative in Humboldt County to Ban Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs)
Hi, my name is Mark Wilson,
and I'm currently teaching the introductory Genetics course at Humboldt State
University. I and the students in
the class have been trying to educate ourselves on the many issues surrounding GMO
plants, animals and microorganisms. It turns out that's quite a task! Most of
the information out there appears to be one-sided, and more concerned with
political ends than accuracy.
The objective of this
website is not to argue for or against political actions; the goal is to
provide information and multiple perspectives to community members trying to
educate themselves on this topic. Hopefully, it will also serve as a forum for
communication and discussion.
By way of further
introduction -- I'm a microbial geneticist, working almost exclusively with
microorganisms. My research has
two main foci: genetic mechanisms of pollutant biodegradation and
bioremediation, and the genetic analysis of microbial communities in hot acid
geothermal features at Lassen Volcanic National Park. I'm not involved with producing GMO animals or crops, I
don't consider myself an expert on GMOs, and I have no economic or other ties
to any GMO-producing biotech companies or advocacy groups. Išve always
considered myself an environmentalist.
The Ballot initiative
in Humboldt County wording of
the initiative
[note
to students: DNA is NOT a protein, regardless of what this initiative says]
The Arcata City
Council Ban on GMOs wording of the ordinance
passed November 17, 2004
Examples of GMOs
including insulin-producing bacteria, golden rice, corn/soybean/canola/cotton,
vaccine-producing plants, virus-resistant papaya and banana, modified salmon,
and transgenic insects
Issues relating to
GMOs including protection of organic farmers, global vs local control of
economic/ecological/health issues, ethical issues, spread of antibiotic
resistance, Terminator technology, Superweeds, allergic responses, death by
GMOs, the Percy Schmeiser story, the Purdue model of transgenic salmon
takeover, efficacy of Round-Up ready and Bt-producing plants, GMOs and world
hunger
GMOs in the
marketplace including labeling of GMO foods, Monsanto, patenting,
monopolies and GMOs, The Mendocino County ban
The safety of GMOs
including testing
A look at how
different sources present the same story, including the Percy Schmeiser
story, the Starlink/taco shell story, and Golden Rice
Technical aspects of
GMOs including methods of construction
Student position
papers on GMOs
Including papers on
labeling of GMOs, non-GMO methods of developing new plant varieties, rBGH in
Milk, Horizontal Gene Transfer, Genetic Engineering for Biodegradation, Safety
Testing, and Roundup Ready crops
Text of my
comments at the Community Educational Forum, Oct. 2004
Links:
Colorado
State University (the other CSU) transgenic information site
Colorado State University
excellent transgenic
links site
Cornell University Genetically Engineered Organisms/Public
Issues Education Project very good educational resource concerning GMOs
Ohio State University GMO Question and Answer site
The Pew Initiative on Food and Biotechnology established in 2001 by the Pew
Charitable Trust to be an
independent and objective source of credible information on agricultural
biotechnology for the public, media and policymakers.
The New York
Times website on Genetically
Modified Foods
National Agricultural
Biotechnology Council at Cornell University
The University of California Website on
Biotechnology and GMOs
Advocacy
groups, against GMOs:
The Humboldt Green Genes this
is the group sponsoring the initiative
Union of Concerned
Scientists anti-GMO, but not
anti-science
Greenpeace probably you have a feel for what you
will find here, but it is interesting to visit this site after you feel that
your education has progressed somewhat
Advocacy
groups, pro GMOs:
soybean.com an advocacy group that tries to present
multiple positions
Biotechnology Industry Organization industry
organization site
Council for Biotechnology
Information industry
organization site
note: when searching for
your own information, if you use the word transgenic instead of GMO you will
probably tap into more university-based sites.
This is a work in progress,
started on Aug. 22, 2004. I will try to add to it and update it frequently so
that as election day nears it is a useful resource to voters. It will start as
an outline that gets filled in as I can work on it. Hopefully, some HSU
students will volunteer to help (hint hint). If there are issues that you would like added, please email
me at msw13 (followed by @humboldt.edu).
Also, note that the views expressed here are not the official views of
HSU, which as far as I know has no official views on this topic.
Thanks,
Mark