You thought Monsanto was a problem tampering with our food supply? Science fictions now becomes science fact. Tampering with the DNA of ordinary trees and plants. It seems the US govenrment is Okay with this as it's been allowed to proceed and was recently funded on a Kickstarter program to the tune of ....tada......
$484,013
Listen to the video, and tell me what you think this synthetic biology to change nature is going to accomplish.
Video here:
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/antonyevans/glowing-plants-natural-lighting-with-no-electricit?ref=live
NO REGULATIONS....NO OVERSIGHT
There is a group that is protesting....but I fear it's a bit too late. They've already been funded.
KICKSTOPPER - Stopping Synthetic Biology Pollution
Video here: http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/kickstopper-stopping-syn-bio-pollution/
There’s a new biotech threat coming from Silicon Valley: a private biotech company has hijacked that other crowd funding platform Kickstarter.com in a plan to release hundreds of thousands of glowing synthetic organisms made with an extreme genetic engineering technology called Synthetic Biology.
Having racked up over $400,000 on their crowdfunding drive the perpetrators of this proposed genetic pollution intend to pull off the first ever intentional release of syntehtic biology-derived organism without any oversight, monitoring or regulation. This would set a terrible and dangerous precedent.
To kick back we are doing a little crowdfunding jujitsu. ETC Group has launched the Kickstopper campaign. To start we have launched a petition and now need to raise the money for a long term campaign to stop the biohackers in their tracks. And as part of it we are going to make a comic book - and a bit of history too.
Join us in saving the word from Synthetic biology pollution. Become a backer of the Kickstopper campaign.
A Novel Biotech Threat:
It sounds crazy but it's not fiction: three grinning biohackers from a private biotech company associated with Silicon Valley's ultra-libertarian 'Singularity University’ recently landed on Kickstarter's 'most popular' list by promising to spread synthetic organisms across the USA; specifically, to mail packets of bio-engineered seeds to whoever paid them forty bucks online. The seeds, which they said would likely grow into 'glowing plants' (after all, ‘biology is complicated,’ admit the masterminds) would be the viable and reproducing products of a controversial new technology called ‘Synthetic Biology’ – a field that aims to build artificial life-forms from scratch. A field that has never had a deliberate release into the environment before.
Syn What?
Synthetic Biology (or 'syn bio') can best be described as 'extreme genetic engineering'. it involves designing new strands of DNA moilecules on a computer and then printing artificial DNA and engineering it into living things to hijack the workings of a natural organism. Syn Bio goes beyond the already considerable concerns people have about 'transgenic' genetic engineering and raises further hard-to-assess ecological risks, significant bio-weapons potential and, in the hands of industry, threats to the livelihoods of some of the world’s poorest farmers. Billions of dollars from oil, pharma, chemical and agribusiness firms are flowing into the field portending a new round of corporate power grabs on the stuff of life.
Read the ETC Group’sfull report on Synthetic Biology
Risks. Even as the ‘glowing plants’ Kickstarter campaign launched, ethicists from Oxford University released a report that branded Syn Bio one of the biggest 'existential risks'to the human species. It is just the latest in a parade of pronouncements from expert groups – including from thePresident’s Bioethics Commission, government reps at theUN Biodiversity Convention, anEU expert group, the insurance industry and many others. The current consensus is that no synthetic organisms should be released into the environment without 'precaution,' 'prudent vigilance,' regulation, monitoring and other sober and sensible safeguards - A consensus that the 'glowing plant' biohackers are willfully ignoring.
Growing Concern
While hundreds of thousands of Americans are taking part in a popular movement to stop – or at the very least, label – the first generation of biotech seeds and plants,111 organizations from around the world have called for a moratorium on this next generation of biotech organisms.
Read theThe Principles for the Oversight of Synthetic Biology issued by a coalition of 111 organizations
Evading Oversight.
The biohackers insist they are totally within their rights to spread bio-engineered seeds from coast to coast. They claim that the US Department of Agriculture has advised them they can avoid regulatory oversight if they used a particular genetic engineering technique called the gene gun. This allows them toexploit a controversial loophole in the lawcarved out by big biotech firms. After all the official pieties about establishing proper oversight of synthetic biology and not rushing ahead with environmental release, the US government appears ready to avert its eyes.
The Glowing plant project think they can avoid all regulation and caution by crowdfunding their project on Kickstarter. They didn’t count on us kicking back.
Here we go....synthetic biology and transhumanism. It's coming to a theater near you!
http://libcloud.s3.amazonaws.com/93/ae/9/2287/2/Principles_for_the_oversight_of_synthetic_biology.pdf
Last edited by Brook on Fri Jun 07, 2013 9:48 am; edited 1 time in total