Ecology and Genetics: An Essay on the Nature of Life and the Problem of Genetic Engineering

by Arjun Makhijani

Publisher: The Apex Press

Year Published: 2001

Pages: 60 pp.

Binding: Paperback

ISBN: 1891843125

The central thesis of this book is that the genetic structures of living beings are internal biological expressions of the ecosystems they need to survive. That is why living beings contribute to the reproduction of ecosystems by their everyday acts of living, in a global-scale symbiosis. Inter-species genetic engineering creates new types of living beings, which could not arise naturally and which are being introduced without a sound understanding of their ecological impacts. The potential for nasty ecological surprises, possibly greater than anything seen with chemicals, is outlined in this monograph, which is based on fundamental theoretical arguments, illustrated with many examples.

"Arjun Makhijani presents a deeper and scarier analysis of the threat which genetically engineered food poses to life on earth than criticisms of genetically engineered food to date. His work will open a new and more profound debate that calls into question the very nature of the agricultural biotech experiment now underway. Friends of the Earth urges everyone to read this pioneering book." – Brent Blackwelder, President, Friends of the Earth

Table of Contents

Preface

Acknowledgments

Chapter 1: The Ecosystem in Us

Chapter 2: Incorporation and Excorporation

Chapter 3: Modes of Expression

Chapter 4: Reproduction of the Ecosystem

Chapter 5: Genetic Engineering and the Environment

References