Engineering the farm : ethical and social aspects of agricultural biotechnology /

This book compiles the work of several authors, including both questions and answers about issues of agricultural biotechnology. The editors' introduction sets the stage for other chapters concerning legal, nutritional, ethical, and genetic issues of agricultural biotechnology. Although the subject matter is both serious and controversial, the authors have provided an easy-to-read, sometimes lighthearted discussion of the matter. Comments such as, "In the beginning there was life.... In the future, though, there may be only commerce. Homo sapiens may replaced by Homo Glaxo Wellcomus or even Merck Man and Aunt Orva," contribute to clarity of the subject as well as the seriousness of the issues. Serious discussions are presented on broad ethical topics such patents, plants, people, planting, and distribution. Profound social issues about world hunger and adverse health effects are also addressed. Two appendixes offer clarity to this work: "In Defense of the Precautionary Principle," which deals with a concept that relates to environmental law; and "A Declaration of Bioethics and Agricultural Biotechnology," which discusses issues of testing, serving common good, risk factors, and health and nutritional concerns. Author information is included. All levels. O. C. Riley Houston Baptist University