The Frankenfood Myth: How Protest and Politics Threaten the Biotech Revolution

(Hardback)

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Few topics have inspired as much international furore and misinformation as the development of genetically modified foods. For thousands of years, farmers have bred crops for their resistance to disease, productivity, and nutritional value; and over the past century, scientists have used increasing more sophisticated methods for modifying them at the genetic level. But only since the 1970s have advances in biotechnology (or gene-splicing to be more precise) upped the stakes, with the promise of dramatically improved agricultural products - provoking public resistance far out of proportion to the potential risks. In this provocative and meticulously researched book, Henry Miller and Gregory Conko trace the origins of genesplicing, its applications, and the backlash from consumer groups and government agencies against so-called "Frankenfoods" - from America to Zimbabwe. They explain how anti-technology activism, bureaucracy, and business lobbying have resulted in a regulatory framework in which there is an inverse relationship between the degree of product risk and degree of regulatory scrutiny. The net result, they argue, is a combination of public confusion, political manipulation, ill-conceived regulation from government agencies, and ultimately, the obstruction of one of the safest and most promising technologies ever developed - with profoundly negative consequences for the environment and starving people around the world. The authors suggest a way to emerge from this morass, proposing a variety of business and policy reforms that can unlock the potential of this cutting-edge science, while ensuring appropriate safeguards. This book is guaranteed to fuel the ongoing debate over the future of biotechnology and its cultural, economic, and political implications.

Reviews

"Miller and Conko brilliantly expose the peril of allowing the precautionary principle to drive risk analysis and policymaking. Their thorough and articulate deconstruction of the precautionary principle should serve as a guide to developing regulatory policy, not only for biotechnology, but for any new idea or technology."-Nick Smith, (R-MI), Chairman House Science Subcommittee on Research
"Miller and Conko describe biotech's potential to both alleviate human suffering and improve environmental stewardship, and they offer science-based models for regulation. This book can help us fight the short-sighted bureaucrats and emotion-driven activists. It's time for the rest of us to do our part--read the book, fight the power, and feed the people. The hard work is done; all we have left to do is get policy-makers to do the right thing."-Penn Jillette
"Misguided public policies have seriously restricted research on, and applications of, genetic engineering in agriculture. Miller and Conko analyze why and how this has occurred. They point out the danger that the present unwarranted regulatory oppression will become the norm, and they make a strong case for drastic change in present policies. Their call for policies based on realistic risk-benefit considerations needs to be heard loudly by those responsible for the present fiasco."-Paul D. Boyer, Emeritus Professor University of California, Los Angeles, Co-Winner of the 1997 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
"This volume simply eclipses anything else on the subject. Miller and Conko offer a masterful expose of the flaws in current public policy towards biotechnology, a lucid discussion of the reasons for them, and innovative proposals for essential reforms."-Michael H. Mellon, Associate Clinical Professor of Pediatrics University of California, San Diego School of Medicine
"The authors show how foolish policies--premised on junk science, media sensationalism and the mixed motives of bureaucrats and corporations--are choking off a wonder-technology....[M]essrs. Miller and Conko urge those who know the truth about gene splicing to tell it--forcefully."-The Wall Street Journal
"The book is valuable in a number or ways: it is readable and well referenced so all readers have an opportunity both to read the original claims and to follow later developments. It is a helpful summary of much that has happened in this field over the past ten years. It argues passionately for a simpler view of regulation and that voice should be heard as society scrambles to over-regulate almost everything in sight without considering the cost....[f]ull marks to Miller and Conko whou put their view so well; read the book and think about it, to see if we can get a more level playing field about regulation versus risk."-Journal of Commercial Biotechnology
[A] new book that questions the wisdom of current gene-splicing regulations.-Townhall.com
[S]erves as a fascinating study in how bad science and intellectual perfidy can so easily hijack government response to an issue. Miller and Conko add a solemn - and quite disheartening - reminder that the wealthy nations of the world will not be the ones to suffer the most from regulatory crush. Those at the margins of development, where an increase in crop yield or a decrease in pest damage could mean surplus instead of subsistence, or survival instead of starvation, will likely feel the greatest impact of GM agriculture. The unjustifiable obstruction of this humanitarian potential by so-called consumer advocates and environmental activists makes these well-fed protestors appear utterly unconcerned about the troubles of the real world.-The New York Times
[T]he book is perfect for policymakers....If the authors are correct--and they make a compelling case--then GM food phobes and regulators have made the world a poorer place. The losses could become even graver if GM food phobes continue to have their way....Great costs have already come from the myth that GM foods are unfit for consumption. "Frankenfoods" should have a place at the table of all who want them.-The Washington Times
A fine look at all the issues involved, and the myths and realities of 'frankenfoods'.-MBR Bookwatch
For those who cannot wait for Crichton to novelise the genetic revolution, and are interested in understanding the reasons agricultural biotechnology has not lived up to its potential and what policies are needed to change that, we join Barron's in recommending Henry Miller and Gregory Conko's The Frankenfood Myth.-Regulation Magazine
Miller and Conko present a timely treatise on how inappropriate and unscientific regulations are stifling biotechnology as it relates to the food industry. They argue that the costs of kowtowing to all current regulations have caused a potentially dangerous curtailment of new research at universities and small biotech businesses. Numerous examples are provided to show how the misinformed--press, responsible government agencies, and big business--have joined forces to limit, singularly, the use of genetic engineering to improve plant performance....An important book, well suited to university courses dealing with science history or policy, as well as to food policy makers. Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through professionals.-Choice
Readers who care a lot about regulatory processes will unquestionably enjoy The Frankenfood Myth.-New York Post
The authors show how foolish policies--premised on junk science, media sensationalism and the mixed motives of bureaucrats and corporations--are choking off a wonder-technology....[M]essrs. Miller and Conko urge those who know the truth about gene splicing to tell it--forcefully.-The Wall Street Journal
The book is valuable in a number or ways: it is readable and well referenced so all readers have an opportunity both to read the original claims and to follow later developments. It is a helpful summary of much that has happened in this field over the past ten years. It argues passionately for a simpler view of regulation and that voice should be heard as society scrambles to over-regulate almost everything in sight without considering the cost....[f]ull marks to Miller and Conko whou put their view so well; read the book and think about it, to see if we can get a more level playing field about regulation versus risk.-Journal of Commercial Biotechnology
The heated debate over so-called Frankenfoods is not only about the pros and cons of genetically manipulating crops to improve their nutritional value and resistance to disease; it also concerns intellectual honesty. For years, activists opposed to the new science have been spreading unfounded and inaccurate horror stories, threatening to derail progress vitally needed to feed the world. The Frankenfood Myth by Henry Miller and Gregory Conko takes a long, hard look a both the new agricultural biotechnology and the policy debate surrounding it.-Barron's
The strength of this book is that the authors of The Frankenfood Myth are clearly very knowledgeable in the area of policy and regulation as it relates to gene-spliced crops. Their extensive historical treatment of regulation and risk assessment in the USA is especially good reading.-Crop Science
This book provides a fascinating insight into the chasm between hard-science and consumer foodism, and how to 'build bridges' between these sectors ... Whatever your views on GM foods, this book will move you to want to know more.-Dietetics Today
[A]n important book.- The Financial Times
[T]hought-provoking.- Nature Biotechnology
[A]n important book.-The Financial Times
[T]hought-provoking.-Nature Biotechnology
[A]n important book.The Financial Times
[T]hought-provoking.Nature Biotechnology
"A new book that questions the wisdom of current gene-splicing regulations."-Townhall.com
"An important book."-The Financial Times
"Serves as a fascinating study in how bad science and intellectual perfidy can so easily hijack government response to an issue. Miller and Conko add a solemn - and quite disheartening - reminder that the wealthy nations of the world will not be the ones to suffer the most from regulatory crush. Those at the margins of development, where an increase in crop yield or a decrease in pest damage could mean surplus instead of subsistence, or survival instead of starvation, will likely feel the greatest impact of GM agriculture. The unjustifiable obstruction of this humanitarian potential by so-called consumer advocates and environmental activists makes these well-fed protestors appear utterly unconcerned about the troubles of the real world."-The New York Times
"The book is perfect for policymakers....If the authors are correct--and they make a compelling case--then GM food phobes and regulators have made the world a poorer place. The losses could become even graver if GM food phobes continue to have their way....Great costs have already come from the myth that GM foods are unfit for consumption. "Frankenfoods" should have a place at the table of all who want them."-The Washington Times
"Thought-provoking."-Nature Biotechnology
"[T]hought-provoking."-Nature Biotechnology
"[A] new book that questions the wisdom of current gene-splicing regulations."-Townhall.com
"[A]n important book."-The Financial Times
"[T]he book is perfect for policymakers....If the authors are correct--and they make a compelling case--then GM food phobes and regulators have made the world a poorer place. The losses could become even graver if GM food phobes continue to have their way....Great costs have already come from the myth that GM foods are unfit for consumption. "Frankenfoods" should have a place at the table of all who want them."-The Washington Times
"A fine look at all the issues involved, and the myths and realities of 'frankenfoods'."-MBR Bookwatch
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Author Bio

HENRY I. MILLER, M.D., is a Research Fellow at Stanford University's Hoover Institution, where, since 1994, he has focused on the relationship between science and regulation, models for regulatory reform, and federal and international oversight of new advances in biotechnology. A physician and molecular biologist, he served for 17 years at the National Institutes of Health and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. He is the author or editor of six books, including To America's Health and Public Controversy in Biotechnology, as well as hundreds of articles in such publications as Forbes, the New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Policy Review, and Nature Biotechnology. GREGORY CONKO is Director of Food Safety Policy with the Competitive Enterprise Institute, an interest group based in Washington, D.C. He is also co-founder and Vice President of the AgBioWorld Foundation, a nonprofit organization that provides information to teachers, journalists, policymakers, and the general public about developments in plant science, biotechnology, and sustainable agriculture. His writings have appeared in scholarly journals, newspapers, and magazines, and he frequently participates in international conferences on food safety and trade.