"ENGINEERING GENESIS" PUBLISHED - SRT's New Book available, 1 October	WHAT THE REVIEWERS ARE SAYING
Ethics of Genetic Engineering in Non-human Species On 22 September, SRT's new book "Engineering Genesis" arrives, the culmination of a 5 year expert study on the ethical and social issues being raised by current developments in genetic engineering and cloning, in animals, plants and micro-organisms. Edited by SRT's Director Dr Donald Bruce and his wife Ann, it is published by the leading UK environmental publisher Earthscan. Aimed at both secular and Christian markets, SRT hopes this will be a landmark study on what has become one of the biggest topics of debate at the end of the Millennium. Addressing the Key Issues How are we to judge issues like cloning, genetically altered foodstuffs or transplanting pigs' hearts into humans? The book seeks to make a reliable and balanced assessment, expressed in understandable terms. We explain genetic engineering and some of its uses and dilemmas, using a set of short case studies, each chosen to draw out the ethical issues. We then discuss these issues in depth: Basic ethical and theological questions - Are we playing God with nature - how far may we intervene? Should we be swapping genes between species? Is genetic technology the right way to relate to our fellow creatures and the environment? Animal welfare and use. Can cloning, pig heart transplants or mice genetically engineered to develop cancer be justified against the hoped for human benefits? Should we eat genetically modifed food? Is labelling it enough to protect those who object? Do we know enough to grow engineered crops without undue risks? Should we have allowed genetically engineered animals to be patented? Is it really true that we need genetic engineering to feed the world, does it suit the Third World? Should the future of agriculture be more, or less, technology? What drives and controls these developments? Who wins; who loses? How can genetics be made more accountable to the public? How does society handle risks? We give various viewpoints on each issue, Christian and secular, drawing our ideas together in a set of final reflections, leaving readers to form their own views. For more information about the book and its background, see our page on the SRT Study on the Ethics of Genetic Engineering in Non-human Species. See also our pages on Genetic Engineering issues and Cloning issues Back to Contents	"At last a balanced and rational approach to genetic engineering. The pros and cons are clearly explained ... will be easily understood by the layman." Professor Sir Ghillean Prance, Director, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew "Engineering Genesis is a major contribution to the public debate on genetic engineering ... it is lucid, well argued and never shirks controversy." Dr David Shapiro, Nuffield Council on Bioethics, former Executive Secretary "The genetic revolution requires the best of science and theology. This book provides a taste of both." Dr David Cook, writer, lecturer and broadcaster on Christian ethics. LAUNCHING THE BOOK - The Edinburgh Conference SRT holds a day conference on Sat. September 26 at the science campus of Edinburgh University, aimed at leading figures in the areas covered in the book. Members of the working group will speak on some of the issues, inviting comment from a distinguished audience. Edinburgh Lectures on the Book Themes from the book will be explored in a series of Centre for Human Ecology lectures, entitled Engineering Genesis . Friends' Meeting House, Victoria Terrace, Edinburgh 18:30-20:00, each Wednesday from Oct.28 to Dec.9. ... and What Next ? Plans are afoot for various follow up events to the book, including media coverage, Edinburgh Science Festival, and possibly a Scottish road show ... Back to Contents
WHERE TO BUY ENGINEERING GENESIS Engineering Genesis will be available from 1 October from major bookshops and many Christian booksellers in Scotland and across the UK, at 12.99 UK Pounds paperback, 40.00 hardback. Copies can already be ordered now. Click here for details of how To Order Copies of Engineering Genesis
Genetically modifed food - a Moral Maze for the Church Prince Charles hit the headlines in June with an article in which he said that genetically modifying food crops was something which belonged only to God. Dr Bruce was invited to comment on the Moral Maze radio debate, and disagreed. If God has given us the responsibility of both caring for and working the created order, it seems arbitrary to draw a line and declare that genetics rather than, say, chemistry, is off limits for humans. However on the matter of risk, Dr Bruce spoke in sympathy with some of the Prince's concerns. Do we know enough about what we are doing in genetics? SRT's book Engineering Genesis looks at this point in depth, and concludes that we should not be in a hurry to relax the current "precautionary" approach to risk regulation on genetic modification. But what should the Church make of all this? SRT hopes to submit a substantial report on the issue to the 1999 General Assembly, based on our working group's findings. Meanwhile an SRT Information Sheet on Genetically Modifed Food sets out the main issues, and Dr Bruce will speak on them at the annual meeting of the Church of Scotland Guild, September 22-23. Back to Contents
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This September edition of the SRT Bulletin was put on-line on 2 September 1998, and was revised on 21 September and again on 4 January 1999. It has been accessed

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