You bite into what you perceive to be a carefully prepared, lovingly seasoned, perfectly cooked potato dish tonight during your evening meal. You assumed the food to be safe. You had no idea that the bio-tech industry had used a radical new technology to artificially mutate the DNA in your potatoes. The genetically altered potatoes were sold unlabeled, as if they were normal, natural potatoes.
Let's imagine that the fictional Dr. Frankenstein had a modern day descendent, the evil Dr. Frankenfood. For those people in various parts of the world who do not know the horror story, Dr. Frankenstein created a monster using electricity and various dead body parts. The evil Dr. Frankenfood, like his famous forefather, might also want to do bizzare technical research. But let us imagine that Dr. Frankenfood has a great personal fondness for the food industry. Let us imagine Dr. Frankenfood's mad experimentations. Being in the food industry, and following in his ancestor's recombinant footsteps, he might want to make strange, bizzare food products combining vastly different species. He might combine species that could never exist in nature. If he did so, let us imagine what he would do. He would go deep with electon microscopes and sever nature's potato DNA, for example. He would cut the DNA, the precious twirling genetic nucleotide staircase guiding nature's potato with complete instructions of how to build itself and how to interact in any environment millions of generations hence. He would cut the genetic code formed through millions of years of reproductive natural evolution, natural selection, and reproductive crossbreeding and hybridization. With a radical experimental technology utilizing a new instrument known as a gene gun, Dr. Frankenfood would replace natural selection with his own unnatural personal selection. He would create a Frankenfood potato by splicing wax moth insect DNA and the DNA of genetically engineered bacterium onto the severed natural potato DNA. He would also use his gene gun to dice and splice the DNA of fish with tomato, pig with human, bacteria with soy, virus with corn.
What if Dr. Frankenfood was also in charge of the USDA (the United States Department of Agriculture), the FDA (the Food and Drug Administration); and what if he was also in charge of giant multi-national chemical companies such as Monsanto, DuPont, Calgene, and Ciba-Geigy that have become major players in the new bio-tech global food business? He would then have access to immense capital resources for his strange experimentations. He would wield nearly limitless power, and he could learn how to manipulate the rest of the government, the laws, and even the courts with his influence. He would give grant money to labs in the USDA and to university labs and technicians all over the world. He would have universities, the USDA and the FDA under his control. They would carry out his recombination experiments with the DNA of different species as he directed, and then he would feed these experimental foods to the population unlabeled and without testing. He would stealthfully export his mad experimental products to other countries, and if they refused his products, Dr. Frankenfood would use his money, power, influence and connections to threaten them with trade war.
Of course Monsanto, DuPont, Calgene, Ciba-Geigy, the bio-tech corporations, the USDA, and the FDA cannot really be this bad. They are doing their best to do their jobs. Dr. Frankenfood is a mere dramatization. But the bio-tech companies, the USDA, the FDA, and all of their hardworking food technicians are doing the exact same things that the evil Dr. Frankenfood would do if he was in charge. The multi-national bio-tech companies, the USDA and the FDA, although well-meaning, operate based on short-range vision and greed. As scientific technicians, they appear to have minimal ability to see long-range consequences. The bio-tech industry and the USDA recombine the DNA of vastly different species. The bio-tech industry lobbies for regulatory loopholes that allow them to rush their experimental foods to market. Due to large PAC money payments (legalized bribes), good-ole-boy networks, and continuing conflicts of interest between the USDA, FDA and multi-national bio-tech companies, the U.S. and many other governments have encouraged and approved these synthetic foods. The bio-tech industries sell these products untested and unlabeled. And finally, the U.S. government representatives threaten with trade war if countries do not accept their mutant foods.
We as global consumers have the right to know what we are eating. We have the right to decide whether we want to eat these foods. We have the right to decide whether our children should eat these foods. Wherever you may live in the world, food markets sell these unlabeled and untested Frankenfoods. Beginning back in 1994, the bio-tech industry began to sell genetically engineered tomatoes and milk laced with genetically engineered bovine growth hormone (rBGH). Now in 1997, these companies want to quickly earn back their accelerating reserch costs, and rush approximately 30,000 untested new genetically engineered food products to market.
Genetically altered supplements and foods have already caused debilitating allergies, permanent cripplings, and deaths simply because consumers were unaware. Thirty-seven people died and 1500 people were permanently disabled from toxic and deadly bacteria created during the production of genetically engineered tryptophan. Severe allergies resulted from the introduction of mutated genetically engineered soy combining DNA from brazil nuts. One can predict that more deaths and negative side effects will continue to emerge. Without clear labeling, health problems cannot be avoided or properly traced back to their source. Genetic damages to the environment and ecosystem can never be cleaned up, reversed, or recalled. Once released, once the microorganisms, plants, and living beings in the food chain and ecosystem become polluted with these mutant foods, destruction of health and virulent, irreversible, permanent, and incomprehensible living mutations will spiral wildly into the future. Genetic pollution becomes immediately locked-in and self-sustaining -- hosted in the very DNA of living organisms. This contrasts, for example with the threats of hazardous nuclear waste and the potential destruction of nuclear war, which, although devastating, can be eventually reversed and cleaned up with the passage of time.
Widespread sales of genetically altered foods increase the profitability of the bio-tech industry. The bio-tech industry wants to quickly recoup their billions of dollars in accumulated genetic research and investment costs. Their strategy involves rushing genetically-altered Frankenfoods to market en masse as quickly as possible. The USDA, FDA and their wealthy supporters, the bio-tech companies, claim that they intend to solve problems of world hunger. But careful scrutiny shows their true motives.
Primarily, the U.S. government intends to ensure the continuing success and prosperity of their wealthy supporters, the bio-tech industry, and secondly the bio-tech industry intends to dominate the global food markets with their experimental products. We appreciate that governments want to support major businesses and industries. We also understand that big business wants to make money. However, in pursuing these goals, the USDA, FDA, and bio-tech companies have chosen to disregard the long-range effects of these products on human life. The bio-tech industries have altered foods for the following specific traits: to increase profits by artificially increasing product shelf life; to increase profits by increasing the compatibility of plants with the bio-tech industry's own chemicals and herbicides; and to increase profits by creating seeds that cost more but save producers money because the vegetables or plants create their own herbicide internally. While taking these actions for immediate short-term profits, the bio-tech food industry claims that their work represents the cutting edge of science.
If Dr. Frankenfood was in charge, his diabolical scheme would not be true science, because he would never bother to safety-test his experimental foods before putting them on our family's plates and serving them up to the world community. True science uses the "Scientific Method." The Scientific Method involves alternating between theory and experimentation, checking carefully at every point to see whether or not theory is correct. The checking comes in the form of experience, in other words: experimentation. New technology never gets applied to human life in true science until it has proven itself beyond a doubt through the test of time to be safe, useful, beneficial. True science does not make the human race into experimental animals, into guinea pigs. Again, we look and see that the bio-tech industry does exactly what our evil Dr. Frankenfood would have done, marketing these foods to the world population untested and unlabeled. We know Dr. Frankenfood's history as a descendent of Dr.Frankenstein.
Let us also look at the past, at the track record of one of the major bio-tech companies, Monsanto. A look at the past may give some indication of what we can expect from them now and in the future. Monsanto created Agent Orange, a defoliant tainted with dioxine that killed people. They own and market Aspartame, the artificial chemical sweetener marketed as Nutra-Sweet, widely known as a health risk yet pushed through the regulatory loopholes as a food additive instead of a drug. In recent years Monsanto, the USDA, and the FDA have worked together to add rBGH, bovine growth hormone, widely implicated in making cows sick and increasing cancer risk, to consumer's milk. Now Monsanto and other bio-tech companies want to genetically engineer the entire global food supply. Can we trust this company with the food supply?
The bio-tech food companies have now genetically engineered not only potatoes, but also tomatoes, corn, soy, squash, canola, cotton seed oil, and milk. The bio-tech industry claims that these practices come as a normal, natural extension of time-tested reproductive crossbreeding and hybridization techniques. In reality, this is a new, bizzare, experiment utilizing a radical new technology. Dr. Frankenfood would be well pleased. Distributors export these mutant foods all over the world. A global crisis now exists because many other governments have implicit trust in the U.S. government and its decision to promote these foods. They have made global consumers out to be experimental animals, guinea pigs. Although this is a serious crisis, we can stop the proliferation of these Frankenfoods now.
1. Learn all you can about the dangers of genetically engineered foods.
2. Learn how to shop to avoid these foods. Boycott companies using these foods.
3. Tell all your friends, family, and loved ones about this problem, both on-line and off-line. Your job is not done until they change their eating habits and they teach their loved one's to do the same.
4. Start or join consumer groups to label and ban genetically engineered foods.
5. Send letters to your political leaders and representatives.
6. Write and send letters to the media, writers, editors, networkers.
7. Forward this communication to influential people all over the world.
HOW TO SHOP TO AVOID GENETICALLY ENGINEERED FOODS:
FOODS TO AVOID OR BOYCOTT:
SPECIFIC BRAND NAME PRODUCTS TO BOYCOTT:
THESE COMPANIES USE GENETICALLY ENGINEERED INGREDIENTS IN SOME OR ALL OF THEIR PRODUCTS: Coca Cola (corn syrup and/or Aspartame), Fritos (corn), Green Giant Harvest Burgers (soy), McDonald's French Fries (potatoes), Nestle's chocolates (soy), Karo Corn Syrup (corn), NutraSweet (Aspartame), Kraft Salad Dressings (canola oil), Fleishmann's margarine (soy), Similac Infant Formula (soy), Land o Lakes butter (rBGH), Cabot Creamery Butter (rBGH)
AVOID ALL OTHER NON-CERTIFIED ORGANIC TOMATOES, POTATOES, CORN, SOY, CANOLA OIL, COTTON SEED OIL, AND YELLOW CROOK-NECK SQUASH:
TOMATOES: Genetically engineered with bacteria-derived kanamycin resistance genes, Antisense backwards DNA, antibiotic marker genes, viruses, and DNA of flounder and North Atlantic shellfish.
POTATOES: Genetically engineered with wax moth insect DNA; genetically engineered to produce its own internal pesticide with DNA of bacillus thuringiensis bacteria.
CORN: Genetically engineered to tolerate great quantities of the chemical pesticide glufosinate, and genetically engineered with a virus and the DNA of the bacterium bacillus thuringiensis.
SOY: Genetically engineered and DNA-altered by Monsanto with bacteria, and capable of tolerating heavy doses of Monsanto's Roundup brand chemical pesticide (glyphosate).
YELLOW CROOK NECK SQUASH: Gene-spliced with an two experimental viruses and arbitrary marker genes.
CANOLA OIL: Genetically engineered and DNA-altered with California bay turnip and various viruses and bacterium in order to produce unusually high quantities of lauric acid.
COTTON SEED OIL: Genetically engineered and DNA-altered with Arabidopsis bacterium, and viruses to be able to withstand large applications of the chemical pesticide bromoxynil.
AVOID ALL PRODUCTS DERIVED FROM THE ABOVE NON-ORGANIC ITEMS As of the beginning of 1997, these products will have been genetically engineered and on the market as a percentage of the total conventional food supply. Since they are sold unlabeled in the conventional market, there is no way to tell specifically which tomatoes, potatoes, corn, etc. have been actually genetically engineered. If you live in a nation which may receive imports from the U.S. and Canada, you should also avoid these non-organic foods as a safety precaution. Your own nation or another exporting to yours may be doing genetic engineering. Eat only organic food if possible. Even if you buy seeds to grow your own food, buy only organic seeds.
AVOID EATING IN NON-ORGANIC RESTAURANTS Unless the restaurant management makes it clear in writing that they are committed to using only non- genetically engineered foods and products, avoid eating out as much as possible. Since genetically engineered foods are not labeled, they also have no idea which of their tomato, potato, corn, soy, canola, cotton oil, yellow-crook-neck squash products may be genetically engineered.
READ LABELS CAREFULLY: BE CAREFUL WITH ALL PROCESSED FOODS WATCH OUT FOR CONVENTIONAL, NON-ORGANIC CORN AND SOY, BECAUSE THEY ARE IN SO MANY PRODUCTS: Avoid corn syrup, fructose, and fructose corn syrup: in almost all sodas (even health food brands), in almost all sweet products; yogurt, and aspirin Avoid corn oil, corn starch, corn meal, baking soda, baking powder, glycose syrup; Avoid soy; soy flour in baked goods; pizza, cookies, cakes, pasta; fillers in meat products, (for example Big Macs) vegetarian meat substitutes, (for example tofu, tofu burgers, tofu hot dogs) soy milk, infant formula, baby foods; diet and protein shakes, protein bars; chocolate and candy bars; margarine; ice cream; pet food; soy oil in salad dressings & snack chips; soy sauce; lecithin and soy lecithin. In all, well over 30,000 products!
AVOID rBGH MILK & DAIRY PRODUCTS (apologies to strict vegans): Monsanto's genetically engineered bovine growth hormone (rBGH), marketed through veterinarians and injected into dairy cows, causes increased milk production and horrible mastitis. These cows then require constant medical supervision and high doses of antibiotics. Their milk contains unusually high levels of viral pus. The cow's milk and dairy products made from this milk then also contains rBGH, bovine growth hormone. This hormone increases cancer risk in human beings.
EAT ONLY ORGANIC RENNETLESS CHEESE (apologies to strict vegans): Most non - organic cheeses are made with a genetically engineered rennet called chymosin.
AVOID DOUGH CONDITIONER: This is a code word for a combination of genetically engineered enzymes and other components, found in cheaper breads and baked goods.
OTHER GENETICALLY ENGINEERED ADDITIVES AND ENZYMES Avoid Amylase (used in making bread, flour, whole wheat flour, cereals, starch), Catalase (used in making soft drinks, egg whites, liquid whey) and Lactase.
FOODS TO FAVOR: BUY AND EAT ONLY CERTIFIED ORGANIC FOODS: Certified organic tomatoes, potatoes, corn, soy, canola oil, cotton oil, and yellow-crook-neck squash are safe. Many other genetically engineered products will be coming to market in 1997 if the bio-tech industry has its way. By buying only organic foods of every type, you will protect yourself and your family from untested and mutated Frankenfoods. Almost everything that can be found in your conventional food market is also produced by the organic food industry. If you buy a few carefully chosen conventional foods, keep up-to-date on which few conventional are safe through the websites and mailing lists at the end of this consumer report.
MEAT AND POULTRY (apologies to vegetarians) Most livestock are being fed genetically altered feed. The only safe beef and poultry will be those fed only organically grown grain. Avoid commercially produced seafood. Commercial pork has been genetically altered with DNA from human beings. Great time to decide to be vegetarian.
FAVOR DAIRY PRODUCT FROM COMPANIES THAT DO NOT USE (rBGH) BOVINE GROWTH HORMONE (apologies to strict vegans) Research and buy only from suppliers that promise on the package or in other writing that their products are rBGH-free. Be especially careful with butter. Buy only organic butter, because even otherwise good companies buy cheap rBGH milk to make butter, or they buy their butter (rBGH) from other companies.
DR. FRANKENFOOD WANTS TO DESTROY ORGANIC FOOD: If Dr. Frankenfood was in charge, he would create biological warfare crops that would destroy organic foods, destroy the competition. Just as the evil genius would have hoped, the USDA has allowed genetically altered foods into the conventional market which threaten organic farmers. Scientists of virtually every persuasion realize that Bt soy, corn and potatoes predictably will create Bt resistant insects. Organic farmers use Bt as their main line of defense against insects. Bt resistant insects could wipe out organic crops and organic farming. Destroying the competition just makes good business sense, reasons Dr. Frankenfood. As of now, certified organic food is still safe. But, just like the evil genius might have planned, the bio-tech industry and the USDA now are attempting to lower U.S. organic standards relative to the rest of the world, and to allow genetically altered foods into the organic market as a new category known as "synthetic organic." The U.S. Organic Standards Board, comprised mainly of environmentally- conscious and health-conscious organic producers and consumers, will make recommendations to the USDA. Unfortunately, this board has no real power. They can only recommend, and the USDA will decide independently whether genetic alteration of the seeds will be relevant in deciding whether or not an organism can be labeled "organic." Another point for Dr. Frankenfood.
CONTACT THE USDA: DEMAND AN IMMEDIATE END TO THIS OUTRAGE: Soon, the USDA will publish its new proposals and decisions on organic standards, and any changes to the organic standards that they wish to make in the United States. The USDA invites comments from the public on the issue regarding organic standards. Let the USDA know that we will not tolerate this continuing outrage. Keep up to date on this through the USDA website:
http://www.aphis.usda.gov/bbep/bp
CONSIDER STOCKING UP ON SAFE FOODS: Frank Ford, in his book, "The Coming Food Crisis," says that events are pointing to a food crisis of unbelievable proportions. With genetic engineering of the food supply, only a relatively small part of the total food supply can be known to be safe. Since 95% of the food supply contains conventional corn or soy, the rules of supply and demand show that there could possibly be a shortage of safe food over the next several years. You may consider taking advice from Frank Ford's book. He advises stocking up on organic or safe conventional dry foods that are low in oil content--wheat, beans, lentils, grains, dried fruits. If possible, stock enough for yourself, your family, and if possible your friends to live comfortably for two or three years. Create local food co-ops so you can pool resources and make large bulk orders, saving everyone money.
http://www.greenpeace.org/~comms/cbio/geneng.html
Tell them you want to join the crusade against genetically engineered foods.
They have a "Safety First" Information pack -- They need $3.00 U.S. for shipping and handling. Make checks payable to "Mothers For Natural Law."
(SAGE) Students for alternatives to Genetic Engineering
The beautiful country graphics are provided by:
The information that is given on this page is to be credited to Peter M. Ligotti. Please e-mail him and thank him for the work he is doing in the fight for safe food and the uncovering of the secrecy of genetically engineered food, but most of all, become an ACTshunist. His e-mail address is: pmligotti@earthlink.net
Thank you. Love and light, Debbie
SPECIFICALLY WHAT ARE THE DANGERS? 
TRUE SCIENCE AND FRAUDULENT SCIENCE 
ELIMINATING FRANKENFOODS: WHAT CAN I DO?
http://www.demon.co.uk/solbaram/articles/clm505.html
http://www.natural-law.org/issues/genetics/ge_hazards.html
http://userwww.sfsu.edu/~rone/Genetic%20Engineering.htm
http://www.netlink.de/gen/home.html
http://www.fairfield.com/edit/mothers/
http://www.mum.edu/Fagan.html
http://www.mum.edu/PRESS/genetics/ethical_stand.html
http://www.mum.edu/PRESS/genetics/Fagan.html
http://www.bio-integrity.org
http://www.lisco.com/mothersfornaturallaw
http://www.lisco.com/mothers
http://www.greenpeace.org/~usa/reports/biodiversity/roundup
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/1527/
http://www.natuurwetpartij.nl/genmanipkampanje
http://www.essential.org/crg/
http://www.peg.apc.org/~acfgenet/
http://www.indians.org/welker/genome.htm
