Gene drive organisms have been greeted with a breathless euphoria by some geneticists, policy-makers and philanthropists. By manipulating the sexual reproductive system of organisms, the promoters of the technology claim they should be able to exterminate some species that are harmful to humans. However, once we look behind the headline-grabbing claims, it becomes clear that the use of this technology could put food systems and humanity at serious risk of irreversible harm.

See the video here:

ETC will be occasionally chatting with collaborators, activists and experts about emerging technologies. Check for the ETC podcast on iTunes, Google Play, or other podcast services. A full list of episodes can be found at etcgroup.libsyn.com In Episode #1 ETC's Tom Wakeford speaks with Ugandan lawyer and advocate Barbara Ntambirweki about gene drives, a powerful new genetic technology that can change species in the wild and make species go extinct.

In early August, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported that the ISO, a corporate-driven standards organization, was moving forward with a new standard that could undermine existing climate standards, which included mentions of geoengineering.

At the time, we asked who was behind the push the attempt to create a standard for measuring "radiative forcing," and to create a market for 

The Big Bad Fix, book on geoengineering by ETC Group, BiofuelWatch and the Heinrich Boell Foundation, now available in French.

The expert group that will be filing a report with recommendations to the UN Convention on Biodiversity met in early June, and examined a variety of emerging uses of synthetic biology. Jim Thomas was there representing ETC.

Increasingly, syn bio is moving out of the lab, and companies are conducting experiments and even genetic engineering in the wild – for example, by using viruses or gene drives to change genetic structures in nature.

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Executive Summary

The following is an excerpt from ETC Group's May 2019 newsletter. To receive regular updates, sign up (see right sidebar)!

As converging global crises – biodiversity, climate, plastic – intensify, governments and corporations are scrambling to create new institutions and investors are lining up to finance a new round of buzzword-driven techno-fixes. Talk of “rapid technological change”, “exponential technologies”, “frontier technologies” and “the fourth industrial revolution” can be heard in hallways of a variety of governments, institutions and UN bodies.

The global meat industry is estimated to be worth over $1 trillion USD in 2019, and is projected to reach $1.5 trillion by 2022. The dairy industry is estimated at $442 billion. Industrially processed meat and dairy are notorious for the inhumane conditions of their livestock, and are a climate menace.

Prepared by ETC Group with additional research by Dr Elisabeth Abergel, for the International Union of Food, Agricultural, Hotel, Restaurant, Catering, Tobacco and Allied Workers' Associations (IUF)