Dr. Marc Lappe 1943-2005

A man of deep integrity

By Anthony Lappé

GNN's editor remembers his father - a scientist who stood up for the planet's most vulnerable

“Three interrelated issues mark our times: We have altered the planet with our chemicals; we are transforming agriculture with bioengineering; and we are contemplating the recreation of humankind through genetic technologies. All three compel us to reexamine how we use scientific knowledge: will our new technologies be greeted with ‘hurrahs’ or a whisper of despair from the species that we have decimated, crops that are gene-contaminated and people who, though yet to be created, may yet curse us for our technological prowess?” – Marc Lappé

My father, Dr. Marc Lappé, an author, educator and prominent toxicologist and medical ethicist, died Saturday. He was 62. Marc was a lifelong teacher, known for instilling in his students a love of learning and an appreciation for ethics. Everyone who met him was struck by his warm spirit, unforgettable stories, and limitless generosity.

Marc was a leading figure in the movement to integrate ethics and public policy, especially as it related to toxics and genetics. He authored or edited fourteen books, many of which predicted public health and environmental problems long before their appearance. Germs That Won’t Die: Medical Consequences of the Misuse of Antibiotics (Anchor/Doubleday, 1982) warned of the public health threat of antibiotic resistance. Against the Grain: Biotechnology and the Corporate Takeover of Your Food (Common Courage, 1998) accurately predicted that many claims by manufacturers of genetically modified foods would prove false. He held a PhD in experimental pathology from the University of Pennsylvania and was a frequent source for the news media, appearing on 60 Minutes, The Today Show, and Dateline NBC. He was a key expert witness in numerous high-profile lawsuits, including Anderson et al v. W. R. Grace & Co., popularized in the bestselling book and Hollywood film A Civil Action. Between 1984 and 1998, he worked extensively as a consultant on the high stakes litigation that had erupted over silicone gel breast implants. Most recently, he was the director of the Gualala, California-based non-profit Center for Ethics and Toxics (CETOS), a national leader in environmental public policy, which offers advice to California municipalities with concerns about contaminants in their water supplies.

His career was marked by a commitment to standing up to powerful corporate interests and a concern for populations most vulnerable to toxic contamination of their ground, water and air. He was a natural teacher, gifted in explaining complicated ethical and scientific concepts to lay audiences. In late 1960s, he began teaching as a volunteer professor in the politically-charged “free university” movement in Philadelphia and Berkeley while in his early 20s. He later held posts at UC Berkeley, Sarah Lawrence College, University of Illinois at Chicago School of Medicine (where he was a tenured professor), and the College of Marin. In 1999, he co-founded an experimental charter grammar, middle and high school on the redwood coast of California’s Mendocino County.