Suppose a well-meaning scientist creates a genetic alteration in one strain of bacteria designed to help his garden. That gene sequence—or its mutation—may end up as part of the genome of countless other strains in countless other ecosystems around the planet… and inside our bodies.
Microbial ecosystems are referred to as the microbiome. Although we are in the early stages of understanding its vast complexity, evidence demonstrates the microbiome’s fundamental role in human and environmental health. No one can accurately predict the impact of altering the gene sequence of a single microbe, let alone a million.
The global microbiome is now at risk. With cheap and easy gene editing technologies such as CRISPR, nearly anyone can create and release a GM microbe. The technology, however, has far outpaced regulations. Spotty and outdated government oversight offers no meaningful restrictions.
As the number of GM microbes released into the environment grows, so too does the probability of major damage. Whether a catastrophe comes from a microbe created by a home gene editing kit, a high school biology class, a government or corporate lab, or a combination, the results may be untraceable, irreversible, and passed onto future generations.
The logical response to such a powerful and unpredictable technology is to restrict its use. That is the goal of the new global movement called
Protect Nature Now seeks to create laws and policies that will lock down these new organisms. Such measures are not new.
The world has already come together to confine other potentially devastating technologies, such as nuclear weapons. It’s obvious why we don’t allow hobbyists and students to build atom bombs. Everyone knows the risks. Laws have been enacted and access to materials is monitored and restricted.