This is a study of the aims and applications of biotechnology in general and genetic engineering in particular. Providing a warning of the current and potential damaging implications for the natural world, including human health, the book argues that biotechnology, and the science that informs it, is not about the pursuit of truth, but a conscious attempt to insert the value of efficiency into the biosphere's genetic code. The book also describes the opposition to biotechnology that is building up, especially in the USA, and analyzes how, even in the world of science, new paradigms are beginning to emerge to challenge its underlying assumptions.