Cybermacro Articles

Consumer�s Guide to Genetically Altered Food

Excerpt from the new book, Imagine a World without Monarch Butterflies

One Peaceful World Press, Box 10, Becket, MA 01223

$6.95 plus $3.00 postage

As we enter the 21st century, the world food supply is undergoing rapid transformation. For the first time, human beings are eating foods that have not developed naturally�foods whose genetic structures have been changed in ways that millions of years of natural evolution could never achieve. Genetically altered foods (also known as genetically modified and genetically engineered foods) have moved invisibly into the marketplace. Today a majority of items in American supermarkets and restaurants�and possibly even natural foods stores�include GA ingredients. No long-term studies have been done on the impact of these new foods on health and the environment. No labeling is required by the U.S. government, and the ordinary individual or family has no way of knowing what they are buying in the store, eating at the restaurant, or even growing in their garden. At the present time:

�� An estimated 90 million acres in the U.S. are planted with GA crops, constituting about one fourth of the total farmland

�� This includes about 55% of soybeans, 35% of corn, 40% of cotton, and 5% of potatoes

�� 30% of American dairy cows are in herds injected with a genetically altered growth hormone (BGH), which has been banned in Canada

�� 50-60% of processed foods in the U.S. contain GA foods or ingredients, especially soy and corn derivatives. This includes margarine, mayonnaise, salad dressing, shortening, bread, and baked goods

�� Most meat, chicken, eggs, and other animal products are produced from livestock fed genetically altered corn, soybeans, and cotton.

�� Modern science has contributed many benefits to society. New technologies such as genetic engineering have several positive dimensions. For example, DNA screening is now widely used to analyze blood and bodily fluids and has resulted in the release of scores of individuals convicted of crimes they did not commit. Similarly, paternity suits and ancestral bloodlines are now being convincingly established on the basis of genetic testing. Anthropology, archeology, and several other fields may benefit.

�� Applied to food production and agriculture, however, genetic engineering is fraught with risks. Because no long-term studies have been done, we have no way of gauging their impact on personal health, social health, and planetary health. Preliminary short-term studies suggest potentially serious consequences to humans, plants, and animals. Unlike many consumer products, such as automobiles, toasters, or even drugs and medications, genetically altered crops cannot be recalled if they are found to be unsafe. They are out there forever, multiplying, mutating, and spreading novel genes, viruses, and toxins, and overturning 4 billion years of natural evolution. Their effects are irreversible.

�� Most of the rest of the world, especially Europe, has begun to control and limit this new technology. Sensitized by the epidemic of mad cow disease, the British Medical Association called for a moratorium on the introduction of GA crops and foods, pending comprehensive studies of their impact on health and the environment. The Sierra Club, National Wildlife Federation, Consumer�s Union, and other groups have also called for a halt. Scientists are warning about an increase in allergies, immune-deficiency diseases, cancer, and other disorders, as well as peril to insects, birds, and mammals. �

�� Virtually alone among nations, America has ignored the warnings and forged recklessly ahead to redesign the world�s flora and fauna. But that changed almost overnight when Cornell University researchers reported that the pollen from GA corn could migrate to adjacent milkweed plants and kill the larvae of Monarch butterflies. The peril to the majestic orange and black creatures�a symbol of beauty, perseverance, and hope and widely regarded as America�s national insect�served as a wake up call to the nation. CBS News produced a two-part� documentary on �Amber Waves of Altered Grains,� sensibly asking why this potentially dangerous new technology was not labeled and went virtually unregulated. The Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, New York Times, and other mainstream publications also began more serious, in-depth coverage of the subject, especially the looming trade war between America and the European Union over this issue.

�� Since 1992, when the FDA declared that engineered foods would be regulated no differently from regular foods, the biofoods industry has transformed American agriculture with virtually no regulation, oversight, or public awareness of the hazards involved. The �don�t know, don�t test� mindset that prevailed through most of the 1990s has now peaked. As public health, scientific, environmental, and religious organizations in the U.S. weigh in on this issue, fueled by grassroots activists, organic farmers, and natural foods consumers, the biotech industry is in full retreat. In this rapidly changing social, economic, and political climate, some form of consumer labeling in the U.S. is inevitable. Ultimately, GA food makes for bad science, bad business, and bad eating. �

�� Over the last generation, our country has undergone a tremendous health revolution. The importance of a balanced diet based on whole grains, vegetables, and other fresh foods has been widely recognized. It will take dramatic, concerted action to protect freedom of choice, end the war on nature, and ensure the health of America and the planet as a whole.��

Countries with Genetically Altered Foods

�� Scores of genetically altered foods and products have been introduced around the world. Those currently available include:

�� United States (50+ foods in total)

�� Canada (30 foods)

�� Japan (22 varieties of 6 crops)

�� European Union(9 foods)

�� Argentina (3 foods)

�� Mexico (3 foods)

�� Australia (2 crops�cotton, carnations)

�� Brazil (1 food)

�� South Africa (1 food)

�� China (1 crop�cotton)

Selected U.S. Companies Using GA Foods

�� Crisco (shortening)

�� Frito, Dorito, Tostito (corn chips)

�� Green Giant (harvest burger)

�� Isomil and ProSobee (soy formula)

�� Kellogg�s (corn flakes)

�� Kraft (salad dressings)

�� McDonald�s (french fries)

�� Nabicso (sundry)

� Nestle (chocolate)

� Old El Paso (taco shells)

� Ovaltine (malt beverage)

� Parkey (margarine)

� Pillsbury (sundry)

� Procter & Gamble (sundry)

� Quaker Mills (sundry)

� Wesson (vegetable oils)

�� Sources: Consumer Reports, September 1999, pp. 41-46; New York Times, September 8, 1999; � and other published reports.��

Corn and Other Grain Products

�� Corn is the only genetically altered grain currently on the American market. An estimated 35% of the U.S. corn crop, including corn for both animal feed and human consumption, is now engineered. GA corn contains Bt, a bacteria that releases a toxic protein that is designed to kill the corn borer and other organisms that can damage the crop, but the plant�s pollen can migrate to adjacent milkweed plants and kill the larvae of Monarch butterflies. Many processed food products in the supermarket and natural foods store contain corn syrup, cornstarch, corn dextrose, corn oil, corn flour, or other corn product that may be genetically altered.

�� In Japan, scientists announced that they have produced an altered form of rice that contains three times more dietary iron than conventional rice. The high-iron rice is made using by inserting a soybean gene that produces a protein called ferritin into the rice plant DNA. Meanwhile, Swiss and German researchers are developing a rice engineered to have a vitamin A derivative with genes spliced from a daffodil and from a bacterium.

�� Genetically Altered Corn

�� Products

�� Corn on the Cob

�� Popcorn

�� Corn Tortillas

�� Grits

�� Polenta

�� Corn Syrup

�� Corn Fructose

�� Corn Starch

�� Corn Dextrose

�� Corn Oil

�� Corn Flour

�� Other Corn Products

�� Genetically Altered Processed Foods

and Products with Corn Ingredients

� Corn Chips

� Cookies

� Candies and Gum

� Bread

� Cereals

� Pickles

� Margarine

� Alcohol

� Enriched Flours and Pastas

� Salad Dressings

� Vanilla

Genetically Altered Grain

�� Products in Development

�� Rice

�� Wheat

�� Barley

Soybeans and Soy Products

�� Soybeans are the only altered beans currently available in the U.S. and commonly are spliced with genes that help make them resistant to herbicides or alter their oil content. The Journal of Medicinal Foods reported the results of an independent study showing that GA soybeans have from 12 to 14% less phytoestrogens than normal. These are naturally occurring substances that help protect against cancer and heart disease.

�� About 50% of the American soybean crop is genetically engineered. GA soybeans, like most GA foods in the U.S., are produced by Monsanto, a large biotech company headquartered in St. Louis. They are sold commercially as Roundup Ready Soybeans because they are designed to withstand the application of Roundup, the herbicide which Monsanto also manufactures and sells to farmers. Since Japan imports 86% of its soybeans from America, many processed soy foods sent back to the U.S. may contain GA soy.� In one independent spot test conducted by the New York Times, a majority of soy products tested positive for GA ingredients. Soybean oil constitutes 80% of the vegetable oil consumed in America and is used in margarine, salad dressings, mayonnaise, shortening, and other common foods. Many other foods and products contain soy products or derivatives such as lecithin, soy protein, and soy flour.

�� Genetically Altered

�� Soy Products

�� Soybeans

�� Tofu

�� Tempeh

�� Soymilk

�� Miso

�� Shoyu

�� Tamari

�� Lecithin

�� Soybean Oil

�� Soy Flour

�� Soy Protein

�� Soy Isolates

�� Genistein

�� Other Soy Products and

�� Derivatives

�� Processed Foods and Products

with Genetically Altered Soy

Ingredients

� Soy hotdogs

� Soy burgers

� Soy cheese

� Soy