"This statement is based closely on the 'Statement on Life and Evolution', issued by the State of the World Forum, San Francisco 4-9 November 1997." From the web site of “Physicians and Scientists for Global Responsibility (PSGR)” – 10/11/12.
Life is an intimate web of relations that evolves in its own right, interfacing and integrating its myriad diverse elements.
The complexity and inter-dependence of all forms of life have the consequence that the process of evolution cannot be controlled, though it can be influenced. It involves an unpredictable creative unfolding that calls for sensitive participation from all the players, particularly from the youngest, most recent arrivals, human beings.
There should be no patents on organisms or their parts. We must also recognise the potential dangers of genetic engineering to health and biodiversity, and the ethical problems it poses for our responsibilities to life.
We propose a moratorium on commercial releases of genetically engineered products and a comprehensive public enquiry to identify the legitimate and safe uses of genetic engineering. This enquiry should take account of the precautionary principle as a criterion of sensitive participation in living processes.
Species should be respected for their intrinsic values and valued for their unique qualities, on which the whole intricate network of life depends. We recognise the validity of the different ways of knowing that have been developed in different cultures, and the value of the knowledge gained within these traditions.
These add substantially to the set of alternative technologies that can be used for the sustainable use of natural resources that will allow us to preserve the diversity of species and to pass the precious gift of life in all its beauty and creativity to our children and their children, to the next century and beyond.
The complexity and inter-dependence of all forms of life have the consequence that the process of evolution cannot be controlled, though it can be influenced. It involves an unpredictable creative unfolding that calls for sensitive participation from all the players, particularly from the youngest, most recent arrivals, human beings.
There should be no patents on organisms or their parts. We must also recognise the potential dangers of genetic engineering to health and biodiversity, and the ethical problems it poses for our responsibilities to life.
We propose a moratorium on commercial releases of genetically engineered products and a comprehensive public enquiry to identify the legitimate and safe uses of genetic engineering. This enquiry should take account of the precautionary principle as a criterion of sensitive participation in living processes.
Species should be respected for their intrinsic values and valued for their unique qualities, on which the whole intricate network of life depends. We recognise the validity of the different ways of knowing that have been developed in different cultures, and the value of the knowledge gained within these traditions.
These add substantially to the set of alternative technologies that can be used for the sustainable use of natural resources that will allow us to preserve the diversity of species and to pass the precious gift of life in all its beauty and creativity to our children and their children, to the next century and beyond.