Genetically Engineered Food: An Overview

[marmar]

from Food & Water Watch:



September 29th, 2011
Genetically Engineered Food: An Overview


Since the 1996 introduction of genetically engineered crops — crops that are altered with inserted genetic material to exhibit a desired trait — U.S. agribusiness and policymakers have embraced biotechnology as a silver bullet for the food system. The industry promotes biotechnology as an environmentally responsible, profitable way for farmers to feed a growing global population. But despite all the hype, genetically engineered plants and animals do not perform better than their traditional counterparts, and they raise a slew of health, environmental and ethical concerns.

Additionally, a lack of responsibility, collaboration or organization from three U.S. federal agencies — the Food & Drug Administration (FDA), U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) — has put human and environmental health at risk through inadequate review of genetically engineered (GE) foods, a lack of post-market oversight that has led to various cases of unintentional food contamination and to a failure to require labeling of these foods. Organic farming, which does not allow the use of GE, has been shown to be safer and more effective than using modified seed. Moreover, public opinion surveys indicate that people prefer food that has not been manipulated or at least want to know whether food has been modified.

A Background on Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology

Biotechnology involves manipulating the genetic makeup of plants or animals to create new organisms. Proponents of the technology contend that these alterations are improvements because they add new desirable traits. Yet this manipulation may have considerable unintended consequences. Genetic engineering uses recombinant DNA technology to transfer genetic material from one organism to another to produce plants, animals, enzymes, drugs and vaccines.

GE crops became commercially available in the United States in 1996 and now constitute the vast majority of corn, cotton and soybean crops grown in the country. More recently, biotechnology firms have developed genetically engineered animals, including food animals such as hogs and salmon. ..............(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.foodandwaterwatch.org/reports/genetically-engineered-food/

[proverbialwisdom]

1. Thank you for posting. Right2Know March from NY to DC has started.

http://www.right2knowmarch.org/

We will be Livestreaming video of the March & Rallies! Click here for daily schedule of the Right2Know March!

More here (VIDEOS): http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=439x1949482

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2011/10/02/magazine/29mag-food-issue.html#/pollan
Michael Pollan Answers Readers' Questions
NYT Magazine Oct 2, 2011

[Major Nikon]

2. You think it's possible to genetically engineer a teabagger with a brain?

There could be a silver lining here.

[tech5270]

3. My major problem with GE is that we think we can do better

than nature. The world we live in was sustainable and evolved as needed for millions of years.
It's the ultimate form of arrogance to assume that we can do better engineering than nature has done. Can't add any more right now, got to go check in on a neighbor.

[AdHocSolver]

4. There are two major problems with genetic engineering.

First, they know a lot less of what they are doing using these processes than they claim to know.

Second, their main goal is to make huge profits from these experiments, the environment and the public be damned.

There is evidence that Roundup Ready herbicides are already producing super weeds, and that Terminator seeds are expected to destroy agriculture in third world countries and cause major famines (beyond the problems caused by global climate change).