Guest Post by Tessa Luna
Story at-a-glance
- Today, genetically modified microbes are a major medium for the industrial production of chemical substances, foods, medicines, therapeutic proteins, etc.
- The term to watch out for is “precision fermentation”
- The National Bioengineered Food Disclosure Standard does not require these foods to be labeled as GMO because they do not contain the genetically engineered organisms, they are just produced by them
- Microorganisms, including genetically modified ones, also play a role in industrial production
- Another growing area is bacterial biosensors. They are based on programing bacterial cells (typically through genetic engineering) to recognize and generate a measurable signal in response to a specific molecule
“Small Organic Robots”
We are in a strange spot. For a long time, our culture has been assuming that nature is our property and our slave. An unruly and hostile slave — a slave to be tamed, dominated, and abused — as long as we can get away with it and feel good about ourselves as we dominate.
Continue reading “From Bacteria to People: Slavery in Disguise”