When genetically engineered (GE) food was commercially introduced in 1994,
it was touted as a solution to some of the world's food problems. However,
the promised advantages have never been realized. GE crops do not benefit
consumers, do not feed the world, do not help the environment, and are not
rigorously regulated – despite myths propagated by the multi-billion dollar
biotechnology industry and its many front groups.
Food prices are soaring, people continue to go hungry, and the use of
pesticides with GE crops is escalating. The Center for Food Safety coined GE
crops "biotech snake oil: a quack cure for hunger" and said the tremendous
hype surrounding biotechnology has obscured the facts.
In 2006, the U.S. Department of Agriculture admitted "currently available
[genetically modified] GM crops do not increase yield potential." In 2004 a
UN report acknowledged that "GM crops can have reduced yields" and in April
2008 another published UN report, the work of more than 400 international
scientists, concluded that genetically engineered crops "will not play a
substantial role in addressing the key problems of climate change,
biodiversity loss, hunger, and poverty."
More critically, GE food has never been proven safe for human consumption.
Independent scientific evidence has shown that human health effects of
eating GE food can include toxic and allergic reactions, antibiotic
resistance, immune suppression, and other serious illnesses.
Aided and abetted by the U.S. government, biotech corporations benefit, yet
we bear the health risks. The biotech industry often claims that the safety
of GE products has been certified through a rigorous approval process but as
far as U.S. regulatory agencies are concerned, if a biotech company says its
products are safe, that is enough for approval.
Our food is being genetically altered so that a few multinational (and
chemical) corporations can gain control over farmers and the global food
supply. These same corporations, responsible for Agent Orange, PCBs, and
DDT, have repeatedly done business at the expense of public health. And for
more than a decade, they have been reprogramming, patenting, and owning an
alarming amount of the world´s food supply—without public debate.
With so many pressing issues that affect us today, nothing is more personal
than the food we eat. Even though there has been a media blackout effort
regarding GE food and its risks, particularly in the United States, we are
seeing a shift. A growing global movement is rejecting GE food and is
returning to sustainable and organic food.
This is a profound time of responsibility not to rely on industry-influenced
governmental agencies to protect us. The time to embrace conscious living
and to move beyond corporate-political spin is now. We can make a
difference.
Learn which foods have been genetically engineered and make other choices.
Call food manufacturers and tell them you don´t want it. Get informed and
tell your friends and family about GE food and the risks. We have to act
today to protect our health, our environment, and future generations.
Change will only occur with an awakening of the people.
By Beth H. Harrison, PhD, author of four-time award-winning Shedding Light
on Genetically Engineered Food, exploring why and how you have been kept in
the dark about GE foods and the risks, why these foods continue to go
unlabeled, and what foods to avoid and how to take action.
www.TheTruthAboutGMOs.com
www.TheTruthAboutGMOs.com/blog 
