I usually buy my books at Amazon, but since I was in Borders, I decided to skim through it to see if it was worth buying for a detailed read. By training, I'm an engineer, but I did a stint in biochemical research, so I think I'm on pretty firm ground in reviewing this collection of propaganda and bad science.



Here's what you need to know about the entire subject of genetically modified organisms or genetic engineering without reading this annoyingly inaccurate book: We don't know what we don't know. That's it. GMOs and the entire discipline of GE could be an accident waiting to happen. Or it could be that one day... in the future...it could help the world in one way or another, but we just don't have enough information.



So at this point everyone is "talking their book." It's like our current (American) political situation. If you're a Democrat anything a Republican says can be summarily dismissed just because they are not Democats...and of course, vice versa...even if what the other person says is fact.



So scientists from companies like Monsanto will talk up all the benefits of their research...and how utterly safe and completely tested their products are...and scientists working for groups that are against this ...for monetary or other reasons, will only offer doomsday scenarios.



But neither side has any clue.



Remember, there was a time when "we" all believed that the Earth was flat, and that the Sun revolved about the Earth...and scientists at that time could prove it.



Just before we set off the first nuclear weapon, there were scientists who were concerned that this thing, this nuclear thing, if allowed to be detonated would ignite the atmosphere with catastrophic results. it's not that they were wrong, it's that we got lucky. There just was no way that the bomb was not going to be set off...."too much was at stake"....whatever that means.



If you really want to learn about genetic engineering...and you want to teach the entire family about it,in a relatively PG environment, go to your DVD collection, or your friendly online streaming facility and watch Jurassic Park - the original...and pay careful attention to the movie that they watch in the beginning and to Jeff Goldblum's character, Ian Malcolm. The movie has pretty good science - especially the prescient comment by Malcolm that "Nature finds a way."



My only concern at this point is that there is an effort afoot (by powerful interests, of course) to stop the labeling of GE products. Like I said, I don't know what I don't know, so I am really not for or against the industry, but I would like to have the opportunity to decide if I want to eat, wash with, wear or be near products that didn't take the evolution route (Geez,I just realized, what if you, dear reader, don't believe in evolution - then we have bigger

problems)



There is no way to stop "progress." No way. Highways and cars and TVs and computer monitors, microwaves and cellphones all had detractors - all were going to give us brain cancer, poison our foods destroy the atmospher and so on. And there was a group of people who actually got their way for a brief period of time and prevented those of us who enjoy Scotch from having any...for shame... But progress will win out...it's inevitable..



The really hard part about progress, especially that now that we "know everything about everything" is that we don't progress ourselves into oblivion....



just my thoughts...