Independent Science Panel

Launched 10 May 2003, London www.indsp.org

The Independent Science Panel (ISP) is a panel of scientists from many disciplines, committed to the following.

1. Promoting science for the public good, independent of commercial and other special interests, or of government control

We firmly believe that science should be accountable to civil society; that it should be accessible to all, regardless of gender, age, race, religion or caste; and that all sectors of civil society should participate in making decisions on all issues related to science, from scientific research to policies regarding science and technologies.

We believe that accurate scientific information should be promptly accessible to the public in unbiased and uncensored forms.

2. Maintaining the highest standards of integrity and impartiality in science

We subscribe to the principles of honesty, openness and pluralism in the practice of science. There should be open peer-review for published work, and respect and protection for those whose research challenges the conventional paradigm or majority opinion. Scientific disagreements must be openly and democratically debated.

We are committed to upholding the highest standards of scientific research, and to ensuring that research funding is not skewed or distorted by commercial or political imperatives.

3. Developing sciences that can help make the world sustainable, equitable, peaceful and life-enhancing for all its inhabitants

We respect the sanctity of human life, seek to minimise harm to any living creature,
and protect the environment. We hold that science should contribute to the physical, social and spiritual well-being of all in all societies.

We are committed to an ecological perspective that takes proper account of the complexity, diversity and interdependence of all nature.

We subscribe to the precautionary principle: when there is reasonable suspicion of serious or irreversible damage, lack of scientific consensus must not be used to postpone preventative action.

We reject scientific endeavours that serve aggressive military ends, promote commercial imperialism or damage social justice.

The Genetic Modification Group of the ISP

see the GM group page for more details

The Genetic Modification (GM) Group of the ISP consists of scientists working in genetics, biosciences, toxicology and medicine, and other representatives of civil society who are concerned about the harmful consequences of genetic modifications of plants and animals and related technologies and their rapid commercialisation in agriculture and medicine without due process of proper scientific assessment and of public consultation and consent.

We find the following aspects especially regrettable and unacceptable:

• Lack of critical public information on the science and technology of GM
• Lack of public accountability in the GM science community
• Lack of independent, disinterested scientific research into, and assessment
  of, the hazards of GM
• Partisan attitude of regulatory and other public information bodies, which appear more intent on spreading corporate propaganda than providing crucial information
• Pervasive commercial and political conflicts of interests in both research and development and regulation of GM
• Suppression and vilification of scientists who try to convey research information to the public that is deemed to harm the industry
• Persistent denial and dismissal of extensive scientific evidence on the hazards of GM to health and the environment by proponents of genetic modification and by supposedly disinterested advisory and regulatory bodies
• Continuing claims of GM benefits by the biotech corporations, and repetitions of these claims by the scientific establishment, in the face of extensive evidence that GM has failed both in the field and in the laboratory
• Reluctance to recognize that the corporate funding of academic research in GM is already in decline, and that the biotechnology multinationals (and their shareholders) as well as investment consultants are now questioning the wisdom of the ‘GM enterprise’
• Attacks on, and summary dismissal of, extensive evidence pointing to the benefits of various sustainable agricultural approaches for health and the environment, as well as for food security and social well-being of farmers and their local communities.