Professor Joe Cummins

Biographical Sketch: I am Professor Emeritus of Genetics , University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario. I was born in Whitefish , Montana Feb. 5, 1933. I obtained a BS degree in Horticulture, Washington State University 1955 and a PhD degree in Cellular Biology from University of Wisconsin 1962. My postdoctoral work was at Edinburgh , Palermo, Stockholm (Karolinska) and the Macardle Laboratory for Cancer Research University of Wisconsin. I taught genetics at Rutgers and the University of Washington, Seattle before joining The University of Western Ontario in 1972. My involvement in environmental issues arose in 1968 and I have been involved in a range of issues involving mercury, asbestos and PCB pollution and pesticide pollution along with waste sites and incinerators. My criticism of genetic modification by genetic engineering beginning in 1988 when I encountered the power of multinational corporations over the federal government and their refusal to face serious risk evaluations. I have published over 200 scientific and popular articles, my most recent papers appeared in Nature Biotechnology, The Ecologist, and Biotechnology and Development Review. I have a number of reviews and comments listed on the website of The Institute of Science in Society, PO Box 32097, London NW1 OXR UK www.i-sis.org.uk