Announcing Sustainable Science Audit Evaluating science and technology for sustainability and social accountability - joint ISIS and TWN Project ISIS believes that science as much as scientists should be socially and ecologically accountable, and has launched a sustainable science audit project jointly with the Third World Network (Penang). The first audit is on the 'golden rice' - a GM rice engineered to produce pro-Vitamin A - which is being offered to the Third World as cure for widespread vitamin A deficiency. The audit uncovers fundamental deficiencies in all aspects, from the scientific/social rationale to the science and technology involved. It is being promoted in order to salvage a morally as well as financially bankrupt agricultural biotech industry. The scientific/social rationalization for the project exposes a reductionist self-serving scientific paradigm that fails to see the world beyond its own narrow confines. The 'golden rice' is a useless application. Some 70 patents have already been filed on the GM genes and constructs used in making the 'golden rice'. It is a drain on public resources and a major obstruction to the implementation of sustainable agriculture that can provide the real solutions to world hunger and malnutrition. 'Golden rice' is not a 'second generation' GM crop as has been claimed. It involves standard first generation technology, and carries some of the worst features in terms of hazards to health and biodiversity. Rockefeller Foundation, the major funder of the project by far has withdrawn support from it. The project should be abandoned altogether. The Report, "The 'Golden Rice' - An Exercise in How Not to Do Science" is available on ISIS website: www.i-sis.org Dr. Mae-Wan Ho Institute of Science in Society c/o Dept. of Biosciences Open University Walton Hall, Milton Keynes MK7 6AA, UK ---------------------------- Mark Jones http://www.egroups.com/group/CrashList
