Program Rationale

The Genetic Integrity Project recognizes that mutations and other gene alterations occur on an ongoing basis. These mutations are integral to the variation that fuels evolutionary change, and are not in and of themselves "bad."

What makes genetic damage a concern are two aspects of the industrial revolution: 1) the constant blind addition of chemicals to the 75,000 or so currently in commerce that have gene-damaging potential; and, 2) the aiding and abetting of the natural mutational process and its resulting "genetic load" by human-made interventions into the genetic makeup of otherwise intact natural species. A case in point is the contamination of indigenous corn (corillo) varieties in Mexico with genetically engineered gene fragments, and similar degradation of the genetic integrity of weedy species adjacent to genetically engineered canola fields.

These modern events comprise an unprecedented assault on the genetic integrity of species and our own genetic makeup. The Genetic Integrity Project will therefore focus on reducing the chemical impact on our genetic inheritance, both for humans and the remaining species on the planet. In practice, this work will entail reviewing the testing processes currently in place which screen chemicals, especially pesticides, for their mutagenic activity and reinforcing the rules that limit their commerce. Additionally, the Project will re-focus attention on the genetic underpinnings to the essential repair systems that protect us from DNA damage. The project will undertake and encourage work towards policies that assure those systems, both externally and internally, are monitored and kept at a high functional level.