Genomics and Society

Paperback  280 pp  ISBN 9781844071142      £25.00

• Written by the world's leading authorities on bioethics
• Provides a fresh examination of the highly controversial ethical and legal implications of genomics
• Includes a wide range of case study material from cloning and GM crops through to gene therapy and transgenic animals

From the mid 1990s to the present day, agricultural biotechnology - GM crops and foods - has been the focus of debate and conflict in many European countries. Contrasting views of risks and benefits, trust in science and regulation, the understanding of science, media coverage and mobilization of the public by civil society groups - all have been cited as drivers of public opinion. Designed in part to allay public concerns about GM agriculture, a European moratorium led to a new regulatory framework. The long running controversy is a signal that the public€s view cannot be ignored in the development and implementation of new technologies arising out of genomics. Yet, agricultural biotechnologies are but one development in this area.

Genetic testing and the uses of genetic information, the cloning of human cells and tissues, and transgenic animals are potentially no less challenging for the public and regulators alike.

This volume, by an international group of social scientists from Europe, North America and Japan, presents a series of comparative perspectives on the social, ethical and legal implications of genomics. The aim is to capture lessons from the controversies of the 1990s and to raise the level of debate on the societal implications of new developments in genomics.

Includes contributions from:

Agnes Allansdottir, Siv Froydis Berg, Daniel Boy, Aglaia Chatjouli, Jacqueline Chervin, Suzanne de Cheveigne, Susana Costa, Urs Dahinden, Carmen Diego, Robert Downey, Edna Einsiedel, Toby Ten Eyck, Bjorn Fjæstad, Petra Grabner, Jan Gutteling, Jürgen Hampel, Aiko Hibino, Jonathan Jackson, Mercy Wambui Kamara, Matthias Kohring, Nicole Kronberger, Nicola Lindsey, Jörg Matthes, Marisa Matias, Anneloes Meijnders, Cees Midden, Arne Thing Mortensen, Motohiko Nagata, Torben Hviid Nielsen, Joao Arriscado Nunes, Susanna Öhman, Anna Olofsson, Susanna Priest, Martia Rusanen, Timo Rusanen, Georgios Sakellaris, Toshio Sugiman, Helge Torgersen, Tomasz Twardowski, Wolfgang Wagner

Contents

The Genomic Society and its Public: Introduction

Part I: Emerging Issues and Debates

• Dilemmas of Genetic Information
• Spare Parts for Human Bodies
• Moving the Goalposts in Bioethics
• Whom to Trust with Genes on the Menu?

• Public Mobilization and Policy Consequences
• The Coming of Age of Public Participation
• Issue Salience and Media Framing over 30 Years
• The Politics of Bioethics
• The Monster in the Public Imagination

Part III: Global Perspectives

• Towards a Global Pop Culture of Genes?
• Competing Voices, Contrasting Frames in North America
• Transatlantic Tensions over GM Crops and Foods: Diverging perspectives
• The Japanese Experience
• Paradoxes of Resistance in Brazil

Index