ENDNOTES

1. Epigenetics is the study of reversible heritable changes in gene function that occur without a change in the sequence of nuclear DNA. It is also the study of the processes involved in the unfolding development of an organism. In both cases, the object of study includes how gene regulatory information that is not expressed in DNA sequences is transmitted from one generation (of cells or organisms) to the next - that is (from the Greek prefix), 'in addition to' the genetic information encoded in the DNA. (Source: Wikepedia - the online dictionary).

The language of heredity has for decades appeared to be a relatively simple one that is written on and translated through the sequence of DNA. But recent discoveries have highlighted how inherited changes in gene function can occur outside of this, through the modification of DNA or chromatin structures. These so-called epigenetic changes are present from birth to death, being involved in the first crucial steps that govern embryonic development, and in influencing expression or silencing of genes in 'epigenetic diseases'. Only now are we beginning to unravel how these epigenetic mechanisms interact with each other, how disruption of these systems can lead to conditions including cancer and mental retardation. (Source: A living frontier - exploring the dynamics of the cell membrane, Nature www.nature.com/horizon/epigenetics/index.html

For an excellent short book which explains the new paradigm of genetics in layman's terms, see Living with the Fluid Genome, M.W. Ho, ISIS and TWN, London and Penang, 2003. Available from the Independent Science Panel (www.indsp.org.

For more on this subject see the following papers:

      • The epigenetic approach to the evolution of organisms ‚ with notes on its relevance to social and cultural evolution. M.W. Ho and P.T. Saunders. In Learning, Development, and Culture (HC Plotkin ed), John Wiley & Sons Ltd, 1982.

      • Epigenetics and Evolution - Theory and Experiment. M.W. Ho, C. Tucker, D. Keeley & P.T. Saunders. In Evolution and Environment (V.J.A. Novak & J. Nilkovsky, eds.) pp 59-75, Praha, CSAV, 1982.

      • Beyond neo-Darwinism: an Epigenetic Approach to Evolution. M.W. Ho and P.T. Saunders, J. Theor. Biol . 78: 573-91, 1979.

2. Determinism is the doctrine that all acts, choices, and events are the inevitable consequence of antecedent sufficient causes. Genetic determinism is the doctrine that the organism is the inevitable consequence of its genetic make-up, or the sum of its genes. The theory of genetic determinism is based on the Central Dogma, according to which one gene codes for one protein. But we now know that this is false, because there are at least 100 times more proteins than genes. So many different mechanisms intervene between the gene sequence in the DNA and the precise protein made under different circumstances in individual cells that it is scientifically out of the question to be able to predict the results of modified transgenic DNA.

The demise of the Central Dogma is a scientific paradigm shift as significant as the demise of the geocentric cosmology of mediaeval Christendom following Copernicus and Gallileo's disovery that the Earth is not the centre of the Universe.

3. The WTO GM trade dispute against the EU rests on the concept of "substantial equivalence" between GM crops and food and their conventional counterparts. The WTO agreement prohibits any impediment to the trade of so-called "like products", including GM products which are said to be "substantially equivalent" to their conventional counerperarts. If GM food were "substantially equivalent" to non-GM food, then the EU's mandatory labelling of GM food would be an illegal impediment to trade, under current WTO rules.

The notion of "substantial equivalence" was first conceived by the Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in 1993, which concluded that "If a new food or food component is found to be substantially equivalent to an existing food or food component, it can be treated in the same manner with respect to safety."

According to this principle, certain chemical characteristics are compared between a genetically modified product and any variety within the same species, past or present. If the two are grossly similar, the GM product does not need to be rigorously tested, on the assumption that it is no more dangerous that the non-GM equivalent, which should have a long history of safe use. The biotech industry has long argued that GM produce is "substantially equivalent" to its non-GM counterpart and therefore should not undergo rigorous health or environmental studies.

But the assumption of "substantial equivalence" is scientifically preposterous. GM crops (together with animal feed and food derived therefrom) are substantially different to non-GM varieties because:

      • their agricultural performance is intentionally very different: but contrary to biotech industry claims, GM crops often increase reliance on agricultural chemicals, reduce average yields, produce widespread crop failures, and have disastrous economic impacts on farmers;

      • they are likely to be genetically unstable as a direct result of the genetic modification process itself;

      • they typically contain a cocktail of foreign DNA from viruses, bacteria, plants and/ or animals (also as a direct result of the modification process);

      • some of their normal metabolic processes have been altered in ways that are not fullly undersood;

      • they may produce and contain toxic herbicides, fungicides and pesticides;

      • they usually contain novel proteins and enzymes whose long term environmental and health effects have not been studied and are in any case impossible to predict, although short-term studies indicate potential human toxicity, allergenicity, and other health effects

The concept of "substantial equivalence" between GM and conventional crops was dealt a further blow on 10 November 2004 in a scientific report from the North American Free Trade (NAFTA) commission. The report, written by a group of geneticists convened under NAFTA, refuted the U.S. claim that GM maize is, for trade purposes, "substantially equivalent" to GM-free maize. (Mexican farmers had asked NAFTA to undertake the study after researchers found that cross-pollination by wind or insects carried GM maize pollen from the USA across the border into Mexico. The commission said this contamination of Mexican farms is unacceptable because the Mexican government never approved the GM hybrids, and that the contamination should be limited or stopped.) NAFTA's decision will strengthen the EU's side in the WTO trade dispute.

4. See the GM Contamination Register at www.gmcontaminationregister.org.

See "The Myth of Coexistence: Why Transgenic Crops Are Not Compatible With Agroecologically Based Systems of Production", by Miguel A. Altieri, University of California, Berkeley, available at www.organicconsumers.org/2006/article_875.cfm

For more information about the so-called "co-existence" of GM crops with their conventional and organic varieites, see www.gmfreeireland.org/coexistence.

5. "Genetic engineering is inherently dangerous, because it greatly expands the scope for horizontal gene transfer and recombination, precisely the processes that create new viruses and bacteria that cause disease epidemics, and trigger cancer in cells."
– Dr. Mae-Wan Ho, Independent Science Panel (www.indsp.org).

For more information on the health risks of GM foods, see www.gmfreeireland.org/health/.