Corn on the Cob is a Pesticide?

Genetically engineered foods

Only 40% of people in the U.S. know that some of the foods they are buying and eating are genetically modified (GM), according to a new survey conducted by the International Food Information Council (IFIC), an industry group funded by food, beverage and agricultural industries. Additionally nearly 1 out of 4 people incorrectly believes that such foods are not being sold in the United States.

Currently, the use of genetically modified food is a subject of enormous global controversy. Environmental and consumer groups have demanded that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) follow the lead of the European Union, Japan and other nations by requiring labels on GM foods to allow consumers to know what they are buying. The U.S. government claims that such mandatory food labels are not necessary because genetically modified food 'poses no inherent safety risk'.

Back in 1992 the U.S. Food and Drug Administration determined that genetically engineered (GE) foods are in most cases 'the same as or substantially similar to substances commonly found in food' and thus are not required to undergo specific safety tests prior to entering the market.

The FDA has refused to require labeling of genetically engineered foods, despite overwhelming American support for mandatory labeling. Since the agency has refused to protect consumers, some food companies are now taking action by labeling certain products or ingredients "non-gmo", which means "made without genetically modified organisms".

The U. S. may soon be the only country in the world which does NOT require labeling of genetically engineered food.

Australia, July 2000, passed legislation requiring the labeling of genetically engineeredfoods. The European Union, in September 1998, passed legislation requiring the labeling of genetically engineered foods. Japan passed legislation to require labeling of genetically engineered foods in April 2000, which went into effect in 2001. The Russian government requires labeling of genetically engineered foods as of January 2000. Hong Kong has legislation requiring labeling of genetically engineered foods which was overwhelmingly approved by Legislative Council in January 2000. South Korea has legislation requiring labeling of genetically engineered foods which went into effect in 2001. So does Taiwan.

Genetically modified food in your supermarket?

Most supermarket processed food items now test positive for the presence of genetically modified ingredients. In addition, several dozen more genetically engineered crops are in the final stages of development and will soon be released into the environment and sold in the marketplace. According to the biotechnology industry, the majority of U.S. food and fiber will be genetically engineered within the next 5 to 10 years.

The most widely grown genetically engineered crops, accounting for over 90% of all the genetically engineered crop acreage in North America, are corn, cotton, soy and canola. Potatoes and tomatoes in processed foods may also come from genetically engineered seed.

There are 2 main categories of genetically engineered crops now on the market: "Insect Resistant" and "Herbicide Tolerant".

Herbicide Tolerant crops (which include corn, cotton, soybeans, sugar beet and canola) are crops which are genetically engineered to withstand direct application of herbicides. These herbicides would kill natural crop plants, but farmers are now able to spray weed killers directly onto genetically engineered herbicide-tolerant varieties. This could mean more chemicals onto our food and in our environment. About 70% of genetically engineered crops growing in the United States today are herbicide-tolerant varieties.

Insect Resistant crops (which include corn, cotton and potatoes) are also called 'plant pesticides', because the plant itself is a pesticide. As it grows, the plant produces an insecticide, killing insects when they feed on the crop. Industry claims that these genetically engineered crops will mean that fewer chemical insecticides are sprayed. But scientists have warned that insects will develop resistance in just a few years.

Genetically engineered foods: altering the genetic blueprint of life

The patenting of genetically engineered foods and widespread biotech food production threatens to eliminate farming as it has been practiced for the past 12,000 years.

The technology of genetic engineering, wielded by transnational 'life science' corporations such as Novartis and Monsanto, is the practice of altering the genetic blueprints of living organisms - plants, animals, micro-organisms - patenting them, and then selling the resulting gene-foods, seeds, or other products for profit.
Life science corporations proclaim with great fanfare that their new products will make agriculture sustainable, eliminate world hunger, vastly improve public health and cure disease. In reality, through their political lobbying and business practices, the gene engineers have made it obvious that they intend to use genetic engineering to dominate and monopolize the global market for seeds, foods, fiber and medical products.

Genetic engineering is a revolutionary new technology still in its early experimental stages of development. This technology has the power to break down fundamental genetic barriers - not only between species - but between humans, plants and animals. By randomly inserting together the genes of non-related species - utilizing viruses, antibiotic-resistant genes, and bacteria as vectors, markers, and promoters - and permanently altering their genetic codes, gene-altered organisms are created which then pass these genetic changes onto their offspring through heredity.

Gene engineers all over the world are now snipping, rearranging, recombining, inserting, editing, and programming genetic material. Animal genes and even human genes are randomly inserted into the chromosomes of plants, animals and fish, creating up-to-now unimaginable transgenic life forms. For the first time in history, transnational biotechnology corporations are becoming the architects and 'owners' of life.

What are the potential dangers of genetically modified foods?

Genetically engineered products clearly have the potential to be toxic and a threat to human health. In 1989, a genetically engineered brand of L-tryptophan, a common dietary supplement, killed 37 Americans and permanently disabled or afflicted more than 5,000 others with a painful and potentially fatal blood disorder, eosinophilia myalgia syndrome (EMS), before it was recalled by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

The manufacturer, Showa Denko, Japan's 3rd largest chemical company, had for the first time in 1989 used genetically engineered bacteria to produce the over-the-counter supplement. It is believed that the bacteria somehow became contaminated during the recombinant DNA process. Showa Denko has already paid out over $2 billion in damages to EMS victims.