Why did you write this book?      For many years it seemed to me that genetic manipulation had the potential to alter life on Earth more radically than any previous technology. It was progressing vertiginously in agriculture, animal husbandry and medicine, but there was no sustained public debate about its implications, despite the best efforts of several activist groups, authors and public figures. This issue also seemed to offer the last best chance we have as a civilization to rethink our relationship to technology. Isn't the issue widely debated now, since the cloning furor has emerged?      Yes and no. The mainstream media have so far focused completely on the ethical questions raised by the possibility of human cloning, assuming that the genetic manipulation of plants and animals, and human cells in medicine pose absolutely no problem whatsoever. In fact, in my opinion, a great deal of poorly conceived genetic tinkering—that raises very serious environmental, social, economic, ethical and religious issues—has already been done. And this is not being adequately discussed. It is racing ahead, and its implications are not well understood, even by the usually well-informed, despite the cloning brouhaha. What are some of these issues?      Food safety is a prime concern. The introduction of foreign genes in foods can pose serious risks to allergy sufferers and might pose other as yet unforeseen hazards. Crops are being designed to tolerate more herbicides and pesticides, despite corporate hype to the contrary. Bio-engineered, genetically identical mono-crops crowd out heirloom strains, further reducing agricultural biodiversity. The creation of totally novel species can have dramatic unexpected impacts

on ecosystems. The technocrats and scientists always say there is no risk, until a Bhopal, Chernobyl, Three Mile Island, etc. come along. And then it's always an aberration that will never happen again. We simply don't understand ecosystems or genetics well enough to be taking these types of risks.      In the human realm, the rise of "DNA discrimination" in insurance and in hiring, the risk of a new eugenics movement, and "genetic exploitation" of individuals and marginalized groups, have very troubling social consequences. And most of this is occurring right now. In that light, focusing solely on cloning is a distraction. Why hasn't there been more interest in these questions?      The nature of our media and culture causes us to focus narrowly on a specific issue as it makes news. It is hard to tie together all the complex threads into a coherent whole. Genetic manipulation needs to be examined in toto to be better understood. Also the most dramatic stuff has been done to plants and animals, and most of us are urban and have no real idea where our food comes from, or how it is processed, etc. Why do you say there are political and religious issues involved?      Genetic "Engineering" is the ultimate in techno-utopian hubris. It posits that humans can redesign and manipulate all of life. That certainly touches on core ethical and spiritual values. It also represents the ultimate corporate power-grab. The attempt by commercial concerns to patent and own life forms is the most shocking form of commodification to date. These issues go to the very heart of what it means to be alive and what the limits of human prerogatives should be.