ABSTRACT
Social controversy over genetic engineering has a lineage that dates back to the discovery of plasmid-mediated gene transfer by Stanley Cohen and Herbert Boyer in 1973. This chapter presents the debate over the deliberate release of genetically modified organisms into a historical and sociopolitical context. It describes the path from Asilomar to the current state of regulations, highlighting key policy changes. The chapter explores the factors that have propelled the issue to national prominence. It aims to compare the earlier and later genetics debates on issues such as community and public interest involvement, the role of scientists in risk assessment, and the normalization of regulatory control. Genetic engineering is the first major transforming technology to have appeared since the birth of the modern environmental movement in the late 1960s. The potential of the technology had been discussed for a decade before genetically modified plants and organisms were developed for environmental release.
