Seeds of Deception: Exposing Industry and Government Lies About the Safety of the Genetically Engineered Foods You're Eating

Book Description

Without knowing it, Americans eat genetically modified (GM) food everyday. While the food and chemical industries claim that GMO food is safe, a considerable amount of evidence shows otherwise. In Seeds of Deception, Jeffrey Smith, a former executive with the leading independent laboratory testing for GM presence in foods, documents these serious health dangers and explains how corporate influence and government collusion have been used to cover them up. The stories Smith presents read like a mystery novel. Scientists are offered bribes or threatened; evidence is stolen; data withheld or distorted. Government scientists who complain are stripped of responsibilities or fired. The FDA even withheld information from congress after a GM food supplement killed nearly a hundred people and permanently disabled thousands. While Smith was employed by the laboratory he was not allowed to speak on the health dangers or the cover-up. No longer bound by this agreement, Smith now reveals what he knows in this groundbreaking exposé. Today, food companies sell GM foods that have not undergone safety studies. FDA scientists opposed this, but White House and industry pressure prevailed and the agency's final policy--co-authored by a former Monsanto attorney--denied the risks. The scientists' concerns were made public only after a lawsuit forced the agency to turn over internal documents. Dan Glickman, former Secretary of Agriculture, describes the government's pro-biotech mindset: "You felt like you were almost an alien, disloyal, by trying to present an open-minded view. . . . So I pretty much spouted the rhetoric. . . . It was written into my speeches." In Seeds of Deception Smith offers easy-to-understand descriptions of genetic engineering and explains why it can result in serious health problems. This well-documented, pivotal work will show you how to protect yourself and your family.

Customer Reviews:

A good reason to eat organic and avoid processed foods.......2007-09-18

Jeffrey Smith has done an excellent job in exposing the truth about genetically modified foods. Seeds of Deception is easily understandable, compelling and well documented. It's disheartening that the people in control of the food supply are so focused on their bottom line and don't seem to care about the long-term health and safety effects of introducing foreign genes into the food supply. Genetically engineered ingredients are already in foods on the grocery store shelves right now. If you care about your health, you need to read this book, avoid processed foods and buy organic.

A must read.......2007-06-22

About three years ago I saw a "debate" about genetically modified food on public television. The panel had two people who were gung ho in favor of GMO food, and one who was on the fence about it, an appalling lack of balance. Just yesterday I was telling someone that, sadly, I no longer eat Hersheys because they've started using genetically modified ingredients, and he replied "what's that?" The lack of news or discussion of this issue in the past decade has left most people completely in the dark about what's going on. This book could save the planet if enough people read it. We are our genes. Humans, animals and plants have survived by our genetic makeup. Our relationships with plants and animals is based on our genetics and theirs. The unadvertised, sadly un-discussed mutilation of the genetic heritage of our natural world is a planetary suicide that has just begun. I recommend this book to anyone who would like to understand the GMO movement, its history, its motivations, its scandals and its dangers.

If you think GM foods are safe, think again........2007-04-12

I have not tracked the genetically engineered food issue carefully, having only seen mainstream media reporting.

BEFORE I started reading this book, I thought that:

1. The genetic engineering technique is very precise and duplicatable, inserting single genes into a plant's DNA that do a precise job.

2. Genetically modified (GM) food is essentialy the same as the non-GM counterpart.

3. There are few if any known serious health risks from eating most GM food

4. GM practices can reduce pesticide use because the plant has its own pesticide. This is an environmental benefit.

5. GM food can increase yields, given the same amount of land for growing - which has been a great benefit in some third world countries.

6. There are considerable environmental risks that have probably not been ade1quately studied. For example, monarch butterflies were being harmed in GM fields.

Overall I felt that the issue was not very clear cut, there were great advantages, but caution is also advised.

AFTER I read this book, I learned that:
1. The GM technique is extremely imprecise, it is like shooting a shotgun of genes at a bunch of DNA strands, and hoping a few stick. Furthermore, the surrounding genes suffer considerable collateral damage that is impossible to predict the effects of.

2. This collateral damage results in GM food often being very different from the non-GM version, especially in increase of toxins and allergens.

3. There are a number of well documented cases of people getting very sick, and some cases dying from these toxins and allergens.
Yet, the FDA and GM biotech industry and mainstream media continues to say that there is little evidence of health risk.

4. One of the most pervasive GM foods is Monsanto's Ready Roundup soy bean. It is specifically designed to be resistant to Monsanto's brand of pesticide. This results in MORE of that pesticide being used.

5. The argument about increased yields to save the planet is often used as a last resort when you point out the truth about GM being an imprecise technique, and that there are serious health risks. It is a way of bringing in a moral dimension that most people will buy. Yet, the planet already has much more food than it needs to feed everyone. This is not the reason for GM foods. Profit is.

6. The environmental risks may be many and unstudied, to be sure. Much more shocking is that there are hardly any careful studies demonstrating that GM food is safe. Basically, scientificaly weak arguments are use to argue that there is no reason to conduct such studies.

This is barely scratching the surface, this book is extremely well written and documented. It tells a sobering story of:
* Corporate greed,

* Rampant conflict of interest with industry being in bed with the FDA, for example:
- Scientists warnings are routinely ignored
- Monsanto officials come to work at the FDA to make policy, then return to Monsanto
- The doctoring of information is much like what the current Bush adminstration has done with scentific reports about global warming.

* Most funding for research in GM comes from industry.

* People are afraid to do research that might discover inconvenient truths about the safety of GM foods - because they are bullied, threatened and can lose their careers.

* Massive media manipulation filters out virtually all anti-GM stories; books have gone unpublished for fear of lawsuits by pro-GM companies

* Pro-biotech companies and the FDA itself have ample evidence of safety concerns, and they consistently lie about it. It reminds me of the tobacco situation.

Some may complain that this book does not present a balanced view. You be the judge. And anyway, even if it is one one-sided, its about that that this side was aired.

But don't take it from me, or from the author. Read the book, check the references, and reach your own conclusions. Even if only a few things in this book are true, it has major consequences.

I recommend that anyone who cares about their health, and their future read this book right away!!! You are not going to find out about this information from the mainstream media.

No one is harder to teach..........2007-03-29

...than someone whose job depends on not understanding what you're trying to tell them!

Interesting how the only country in the world selling this Frankenfood is the one sufficiently industrialised (that there could be a market for something other than "just plant this seed and eat what grows out of it"), which also happens to have a government wholly bought and paid for by the megacorporations pushing this junk. In the rest of the developed world--where governments (and their regulations) are at least somewhat responnsive to the people and not just their corporate masters--no one will touch the stuff. They won't pay a penny for it. They're literally fighting to keep it fron contaminating their food supply.

Doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure this one out. And yes, what is the "balanced" view? OK, in this chapter we take a look at the benefits of putting untested weird gene-tweaked crap into your body and the biosphere...

What americans don't know..........2007-02-17

...is that biotech companies are stealing your right to decide what you want to eat!
This book reviews - among other subjects - how a handful of multibillion companies are mixing their genetically modified ingredients into the food you and your children eat - without your knowledge. And worse: aided and abetted by the FDA.
If you care about your consumer rights, this book is an eye-opener. In this case the old saying that "what you don't know can never hurt you" proves absolutely wrong.
People in the EU have already given GMO foods the bashing they deserve. But not people in the US. Want to know why? The info is in this book.

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Makes a Few Bold Admissions

Plants, Genes, and Agriculture
Maarten J. Chrispeels , and David E. Sadava
Manufacturer: Jones & Bartlett Publishers
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Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0867208716

Book Description

This textbook is intended for introductory courses in agriculture, plant biology, and economic botany. It is about plants, genes, food and people, and about the changing relationship between them. The purpose is to show how agriculture is changing throughout the world, and to discuss the role that genes and genetic engineering are playing in this change.

Customer Reviews:

Makes a Few Bold Admissions.......2005-03-21

This book contains twenty chapters plus a comprehensive index. Each chapter is written by a distinguished individual in his or her field. Each chapter consists of general opening remarks, detailed information about the subject of each chapter, a chapter summary at the end of each chapter, discussion questions and a list of references for further reading. The lead authors have created a text that would serve double duty as either an adequate text for an introductory lower division course on agronomy/plant sciences, or as a supplemental text for an upper division plant biology course which looks at the social and ethical dimensions of biotechnology and genetically modified organisms.

All the contributors share the belief that agricultural biotechnology in its current manifestation is merely an extension of biology in the natural world, and is but one consequence of Watson & Crick's monumental discovery. Chrispeels and Sadava, the two contributors responsible for compiling the text, boldly state that the biggest beneficiaries of the new GM technology will be those living in the developing countries, and as such reflects the standard party line of the pro-ag-biotech groups and organizations.

All inherent biases aside, the book is highly notable because of several bold admissions made throughout the text. First, the authors readily admit that agricultural biotechnology has no defensible place or justification in a world currently awash in plentiful food, but at the same time, they do believe that biotechnology will play an important role in tomorrow's world agriculture. Second, the also readily concede that distribution of food, and not its production, is the main culprit for hunger, but other issues do play an important role. Related to this is their admission that the ability to pay for food matters more than the supply of food itself; if people can pay for it, they will get it (here their words on the subject echo many of the thoughts put forth by Amartya Sen, and before him, Susan George). Third, they admit that most scientists working in the field of population and demography in the late 1960s and early 1970s made flat out wrong predictions about the infamous 'population bomb', and that predictions made today many not come to pass tomorrow- they are just guesses about the future. Here they appear to be backing away from the incendiary rhetoric of environmental luminaries such as Paul Ehrlich and Lester Brown. Fourth, and quite possibly the boldest admission of the text, was their concession that agricultural biotechnology has been oversold. Apparently, they saw fit to stop short of saying that ag-biotech has been and continues to be hyped into the stratosphere, but their very admission alone is satisfactory, as they later lay most of the blame for today's hysteria and urban myths surrounding ag-biotech and GM technologies upon the overselling of the technologies, where it justifiably belongs.

Indeed, the authors' concern for the overselling of the promise and potential of biotechnology is readily apparent in the final chapter of the book, where they address the myths and realities of agricultural biotechnology. However, even the authors can not resist the temptation to sell the reader on the potential benefits of an agricultural biotechnology, and the book includes chapters on integrated pest management incorporating the scientific advances of ag-biotech (Chapter 16), weed control strategies using biotechnology (Chapter 17), GM technology as a tool for promoting green agriculture (Chapter 18), and the use of plants as biological factories (Chapter 19).

Generally speaking, Chapters 1 through 5 lay down the rationale for incorporation of ag-biotech in food production, and chapters 6 through 15 explain the how to, the ins and outs of the technology and how genetic modification of crops is achieved. Also, chapters 6 through 15 cover all the standard topics one would find in a regular course on agronomy, crop science and plant biology, from plant cell and molecular biology, plant growth and development, seeds and seed technology, the ins and outs of photosynthesis and the physical, biological and environmental factors associated with it, soils and root zone systems, nitrogen cycling, to the historical basis for crop breeding (with some paleo-anthropological perspectives) and the gradual leap from breeding via classical techniques to modern, biotech based methods. Chapter 15 also looks at crop disease and its management from a molecular genetic standpoint, and strikes me as a means to include students in plant pathology.

Additionally, the authors paid considerable attention to the problems and challenges of agriculture in Third World countries, in an attempt to demonstrate the veracity of their belief that GM technology can do much to assist the inhabitants there. However, in the process, they belatedly demonstrate that these technologies have been developed to address symptoms of more complex and fundamental problems having an economic, environmental and/or socio-historical basis. Yet, the authors must be credited for admitting that the real need in developing countries is for more research support to address their specific physical and environmental conditions, and for demonstrating that in every single instance where consumer incomes rise and the socio-economic status of women advances, there is an inevitable decrease in birth rates, hunger and malnutrition.

Thus, the contributors freely admit that their research and scientific activities chase phantom problems and non-problems. They also admit, albeit obliquely, that ag-biotech in its current manifestation does not address the needs or the fundamental problems faced in the developing or the developed world. In fact, on the one hand, researchers have occupied themselves with testing the limits of GM technology, seeing what they can do, and exploring different directions, while on the other hand, government institutions and corporations have directed their efforts at technological developments for which they have proprietary control, and increasingly, total control over distribution and other supporting activities. Alas, the authors have chosen, perhaps unwisely, to offer any comments on this state of affairs, and what it may mean for everyone.

In sum, this book makes quite a few bold admissions, some directly, but most indirectly, and as such, is a necessary read for those interested in the topics of ag-biotech, genetic modification technologies, food production and safety, and crop science in general. It is definitely a good and comprehensive book, containing a level of honesty highly uncommon among textbooks on the subject(albeit couched among questionable pitches about potential benefits of ag-biotech), and its sources for further reading are indispensable. I highly recommend the text to anyone looking to place this contentious scientific topic within a social and ethical context.

Genetically Engineered Food: Changing the Nature of Nature

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these reviewers blindly regirgitate antiscience gibberish
Explore genetically modified food and its dangers...
Essential Reading
A must read for anyone who eats (and thats everyone!)
Please read this for yourself and your loved ones!

Genetically Engineered Food: Changing the Nature of Nature
Martin Teitel , and Martin Teitel Ph.D.
Manufacturer: Park Street Press
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Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0892819480
Release Date: 2001-04-01

Book Description

• The book that takes a comprehensive look at the threat to our food supply from genetic engineering.

• 15,000 copies sold in the first six months.

• Includes new studies about the dangers of genetically engineered food.

• Refutes the "feed the poor" propaganda spread by agribusinesses.

• Is both an expose and educational primer on this controversial technology that is already a part of every American's diet.

• Explains the dangers of these foods to ourselves and our environment in easily understood terms.

Picture a world?
• Where the french fries you eat are registered as a pesticide, not a food.
• Where vegetarians unwittingly consume fish genes in their tomatoes.
• Where corn plants kill monarch butterflies.
• Where soy plants thrive on doses of herbicide that kill every other plant in sight.
• Where multinational corporations own the life forms that farmers grow and legally control the farmers' actions.

That world exists
These things are all happening, and they are happening to you.
Genetically engineered foods--plants whose genetic structures are altered by scientists in ways that could never occur in nature--are already present in many of the products you buy in supermarkets, unlabeled, unwanted, and largely untested. The threat of these organisms to human and environmental health has caused them to be virtually banned in Europe, yet the U.S. government, working hand-in-hand with a few biotech corporations, has actively encouraged their use while discouraging labeling that might alert consumers to what they are eating. The authors show what the future holds and give you the information you need to preserve the independence and integrity of our food supply.

What can you do?
First, inform yourself.
Genetically Engineered Food: Changing the Nature of Nature is the first book to take a comprehensive look at the many ramifications of this disturbing trend.

Authors Martin Teitel and Kimberly Wilson explain what genetic engineering is and how it works, then explore the health risks involved with eating organisms never before seen in nature. They address the ecological catastrophe that could result from these modified plants crossing with wild species and escaping human control altogether, as well as the economic devastation that may befall small farmers who find themselves at the mercy of mega-corporations for their livelihood. Taking the discussion a step further, they consider the ethical and spiritual implications of this radical change in our relationship to the natural world, showing what the future holds and giving you the information you need to act on your own or to join others in preserving the independence and integrity of our food supply.

Customer Reviews:

these reviewers blindly regirgitate antiscience gibberish.......2004-05-14

This book is garbage. Tell me of one documented case of human ill-effects from GMO's and maybe I will sway. Recently the Zambian gov't turned down 18000 tons of emergency grain from the US because it was GM. People died of starvation as a result. At least take the time to get the other side of the story before taking this book as the gospel truth. I respect Nader for alot of the things he has done. This book is certainly not on that list.

Explore genetically modified food and its dangers..........2001-06-12

I first heard about the issue of genetically modified (GMO) food a few years ago when the protest movement against it began in Great Britain and then spread to the rest of Europe. However, I did not know the issues involved...

After reading this book, I think I have a better grasp on the problems with GMO foods as contrasted to traditional food. The most shocking assertion I found in the book is that GMO foods do not offer any benefits (whether it be higher yields, higher nutritional value etc...). I have not done enough research to verify this either way but if true that would be quite shocking.

Some of the interesting things I learned in the book:

- GMO science is quite imprecise. Researchers are often not sure if the insertion of foreign genes into a host (e.g. a plant) will have the predicted results or not.

- The immense size of some GMO companies, notably the American firm Monsanto. (To give some perspective: Microsoft is to the software industry as Monsanto is to the GMO industry)

One of the most pressing concerns for me was the commercialization of agriculture. For example, Monsanto spent $8 billion US in the first half of 1998 buying out seed companies (a few companies may end up owning patents to all the seeds in the world if this is left unchecked). The new trend of patenting seeds is also creating a dependency on the part of the farmers. Prior to GMO, farmers would save the seeds from their better crops and plant those next years. GMO companies, through contracts and other legal instruments, now insure that farmers buy from them EVERY year and they penalize the farmers if they attempt to save seeds. The whole concept of OWNING plants and organisms was very disturbing (it was interesting to note that a little known US Supreme Court decision Diamond v. Chakrabarty 1980 set a precedent in patenting life)

There was also some discussion of whether GMO foods should be labeled as such (the authors argue that GMO foods should be labeled). Of course, this is done in Western Europe, so there is no question of whether this is possible. GMO companies are vigorously fighting this, fearing that the public will immediately stop buying their products.

The main content of the book consisted of documenting various cases where GMO foods have caused problems of some sort or another. There was an interesting point made on how much of an influence GMO companies have on the Food and Drug Administration in the US. There was also an introductory section on genetic engineering, so the beginner will not get lost.

The authors offered a personal strategy whereby one can try to publicize the issue, find alternatives to buying and eating GMO foods and so on. The authors are clearly of the view that GMO foods are, at best, a strange unknown and, at worst, a foolish risk.

I took off a star off because the writing could have been better and the authors made their agenda a little too obvious. It would have improved the book if they had included and responded to some of the pro-GMO counter-arguments.

Essential Reading.......2001-03-13

The authors have succeeded in putting forward a well-researched and well-argued overview of genetically modified food which the layman can understand. It deals not just with the science, but with the moral, ethical and political debate. With one of the agri-giants reputed to be developing a courgette with a human conscience, this book examines the far reaching implications of genetic engineering.

A must read for anyone who eats (and thats everyone!).......2001-03-11

This is a well written book that provides the facts about modern genetically modified foods such as corn and soy and explores the different avenues by which these foods can be harmful to us as well as other animals.

The book does not tell you what you should do, but it really does not have too because the evidence the authors provide is so compelling, that anyone who reads this book will think twice about their next purchase at the store.

The book also explores the nature by which large corporations such as Novartis and Monsanto are able to saturate the market with their products before ample (or any kind of) testing is performed. Monsanto is also on the path to a closed loop business whereby they sell the farmers the GMO seeds which in turn require the pesticide (or other chemical) also manufactured by saiid company and the farmer must also pay a technology fee for using the seed!

A must read!

Please read this for yourself and your loved ones!.......2001-02-21

Did you know that there are tomatoes on the market right now that have been engineered to contain the genes of arctic fish? Know anyone with a fish allergy? Or that the proliferation or GM foods threatens the existence of "organic" foods and your right to choose? Cross-pollenation and genetic pollution of soil threaten the health of you, your family and our environment. This slim volume is a fascinating (if horrifying) read and contains a comprehensive and realistic list of things you can DO ABOUT IT, in your kitchen, in your neighborhood and in your country. I'm buying copies for several friends.

Book Description

Scientists have developed a featherless chicken designed to make industrial chicken production more efficient, while specially trained Pacific bottlenose dolphins are being deployed in the Persian Gulf to disarm mines and protect our Navy. Everyone knows Darwin's theory of natural selection, but what about his idea of artificial selection--how humans, not nature, rework natural organisms to meet our needs? Industrializing Organisms brings us to the threshold of the new field of evolutionary history--from the mobilization of war horses in the 19th century to today's engineered plants and manipulated animals.

Food, Inc. : Mendel to Monsanto--The Promises and Perils of the Biotech Harvest

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Great debate ...
Unbiased, but somewhat superficial
very insightful and concise
From a Science view
Written by a journalist, not an expert

Food, Inc. : Mendel to Monsanto--The Promises and Perils of the Biotech Harvest
Peter Pringle
Manufacturer: Simon & Schuster
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Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0743226119

Book Description

For most people, the global war over genetically modified foods is a distant and confusing one. The battles are conducted in the mystifying language of genetics.

A handful of corporate "life science" giants, such as Monsanto, are pitted against a worldwide network of anticorporate ecowarriors like Greenpeace. And yet the possible benefits of biotech agriculture to our food supply are too vital to be left to either partisan.

The companies claim to be leading a new agricultural revolution that will save the world with crops modified to survive frost, drought, pests, and plague. The greens warn that "playing God" with plant genes is dangerous. It could create new allergies, upset ecosystems, destroy biodiversity, and produce uncontrollable mutations. Worst of all, the antibiotech forces say, a single food conglomerate could end up telling us what to eat.

In Food, Inc., acclaimed journalist Peter Pringle shows how both sides in this overheated conflict have made false promises, engaged in propaganda science, and indulged in fear-mongering. In this urgent dispatch, he suggests that a fertile partnership between consumers, corporations, scientists, and farmers could still allow the biotech harvest to reach its full potential in helping to overcome the problem of world hunger, providing nutritious food and keeping the environment healthy.

Customer Reviews:

Great debate ..........2007-03-18

Peter Pringle has written a book that covers the debate over GMOs as thoroughly as any could. Food, Inc., looks at all sides of a very complex sociopolitical issue and provides an amazing platform for further examination of the subject--sort of a GMOs 101. For anyone who doesn't know much of anything on the subject and has an interest, you MUST read this book!!

Unbiased, but somewhat superficial.......2007-02-18

I second those people who found this book to be a bit TOO concise. In failing to offer important details about issues like Dr. Pusztai's experiments, or the L-triptophan contamination (in this case, the author even gives out the wrong information that more than one brand was involved), the book may be at times misleading.
On the other hand, it is fairly unbiased. But in the sense that it shows how both sides on this issue have gone a little overboard in their efforts, by exaggerating their claims.
Anyway, it's worth reading if you have some previous knowledge about the issue and want to refresh your mind on the most relevant events.

very insightful and concise.......2005-02-11

I recommend it highly to anyone interested in reading about biotechnology and the food we eat

From a Science view.......2004-12-27

I am often frustrated by the bias nature of these books, I was very impressed by the authors work. Having a science background and working in the biotech arena, I appreciated the factual information that did not seem to promote the anit-GE view that much of the literature in the area does (like I said, a very balanced report). It is written at a level that most people will be able to understand and is very entertaining. This book is great no matter what side of the debate you stand on and I highly recomend it .

Written by a journalist, not an expert.......2004-05-21

My main reservation with the book is that it really doesn't give you enough information to make up your own mind, it covers a lot of different 'events' in the history of GM but it doesn't go below the surface, beyond what you would read in a newspaper article.

For example, it talks about the work of Berkeley researchers showing contamination of Mexican crops with American GM ones, and it talks about how the critics claimed the researchers made mistakes 1st year grad students are taught not to make, and it talks about how it is the only article Nature has taken away support after publishing it. And that's it, then it moves on to another topic.

But: What was the flaw in the study? What was the defense of the authors? What have follow up studies concluded? I don't know, because it is not in the book. So what did I learn from this? That GM is a research topic that raises controversies, which is the reason I bought the book in the first place! But I did not learn about the true potential danger of contamination from GM to non-GM crops.

This is not an isolated example, most of the book (written by a journalist) is consistent with the cynical view that journalists know a bit of everything, but a lot about nothing...

Book Description

CRC Handbook of Biologically Active Phytochemicals and Their Activities presents an alphabetical catalog of some 3,000 biologically active phytochemicals (elements and compounds) from higher plants. The data includes at least one and in some cases as many as 25 biological activities for each phytochemical. The book's tables also provide data on effective dose, inhibitory concentrations, and lethal and/or toxic doses. Entries after 1990 indicate the source of the data. CRC Handbook of Biologically Active Phytochemicals and Their Activities makes it possible for the first time to locate the concentration of many compounds in plants and compare this data with dosage information to calculate how much of a given plant food it would take to cause lethality, antioxidant activity, hypoglycemic activity, or artemicidal activity. These handy tables of hard-to-find information make this book an indispensable resource for pharmacologists, toxicologists, nutritionists, pharmacognocists, and food scientists.

Eat Your Genes: How Genetically Modified Food Is Entering Our Diet, Revised and Updated Edition

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Excellent Book on An Important Topic
A most balanced view of a contentious subject.

Eat Your Genes: How Genetically Modified Food Is Entering Our Diet, Revised and Updated Edition
Stephen Nottingham
Manufacturer: Zed Books
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ASIN: 184277347X

Book Description

This book gives us the facts about how genetically engineered food is entering our diet. It looks at what they are, how they are produced, why they remain unlabeled, and how they arrive on our plates unannounced. This edition includes a new introduction and is updated throughout.

Customer Reviews:

Excellent Book on An Important Topic .......2005-01-09

The author presents a lot of important and useful information on the field of genetic engineering, particularly to the risks involved in the planting and consumption of genetically modified crops. His text is very well written and well substantiated through many references.

I was very impressed to read the thoroughly researched topics such as ecological risks of using genetically modified crops, which includes discussion of the emergence of herbicide resistant crops and insecticide resistant crops. The ethical and moral issues were also covered. Also, the possible health risks, such as allergic reactions and antibiotic resistance from eating genetically modified foods were particularly relevant to me.

As a consumer, I found this book a very informative and excellent read. Bravo!!

A most balanced view of a contentious subject........1999-10-09

Genetically modified foodstuffs are one of the most contentious subjects in the world today and will become more so as trade talks include their export. Nottingham has written a clear, balanced and judicious summary of both the biotechnology involved by how it impacts both developed and developing nations. The book is a must for anyone who wants to avoid the hype of both the agrochemical companies who produce GM products and the antis. Highly recommended.

Agricultural Biotechnology: Challenges and Prospects (Acs Symposium Series)

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Agricultural Biotechnology: Challenges and Prospects (Acs Symposium Series)
James N. Seiber
Manufacturer: An American Chemical Society Publication
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0841238154

Book Description

This book examines the current challenges and future prospects for agricultural biotechnology from the perspectives of academic, industrial, and governmental research scientists.

Food Safety and the WTO:The Interplay of Culture, Science and Technology

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Food Safety and the WTO:The Interplay of Culture, Science and Technology
Marsha Echols
Manufacturer: Springer
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 9041198490

Book Description

Today's international trade regime explicitly rejects cultural perceptions of what is safe to eat, overturning millennia of tradition. The World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS) enshrines "science" as the arbiter in resolving disputes involving this vital human need. This mandate, however, is under attack from many quarters. Critics cite environmental and ethical concerns, unpredictably changing technology, taste, food preferences, local culture, adequacy of governmental implementation of WTO standards, and the reliability of scientific opinion. A basic conflict has crystallized: food as culture versus food as commerce. The WTO/SPS approach is increasingly challenged for its balance in favor of economic considerations, and for its visible undermining of unique cultural identities. This important book explores the relationship between the SPS Agreement, food traditions, science, and technology. It deliberately confronts those trade experts who refuse to allow other social sciences to influence their economics-based trade theory. The author ably investigates the local perception of food and food safety from the anthropological and historical points of view, the evolution of food production technologies, and the medicinal, proscriptive (taboo) and security aspects of food that continue to prevail in nearly all cultures today. She succeeds in demonstrating that, no matter how strong the faith in science and economics, it is unwise to flagrantly dismiss the deeply rooted beliefs of billions of people, a huge majority of the world's population. The Beef Hormones case; the remaining sovereignty related to food safety measures; the increasing significance of "appropriate levels of protection" and "the precautionary principle"; the redefinition of "food hazard" to include production processes as well as food itself; genetically modified seeds and food products; the concept of "risk" in the science-based context of the Codex Alimentarius - these are among the issues and topics covered in depth. The author concludes that, although quick "legal" resolutions of trade disputes about what people should or should not eat might provide a "win" for open trade, support for the entire structure and rationale of the WTO is undermined unless (at the least) some flexibility of interpretation is introduced into the WTO Dispute Resolution System in order to recognize the weight and validity of public opinion. Food safety is arguably the most important issue affecting international commerce today, urgently demanding enlightened discussion and action based on global consensus. This well-researched and thoughtful contribution offers significant clarification and perspective to policymakers, lawyers, academics and others engaged in this critical human drama in progress on the world stage.

First Fruit: The Creation of the Flavr Savr Tomato and the Birth of Biotech Foods

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Managerial strategies and research projects in action
Direction for Sound Decision-making about Biotech Food
Highly readable account of thought provoking subject matter
Insider's view: How The First Biotech Tomato Flopped

First Fruit: The Creation of the Flavr Savr Tomato and the Birth of Biotech Foods
Belinda Martineau
Manufacturer: McGraw-Hill Companies
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Lords of the Harvest: Biotech, Big Money, and the Future of Food

ASIN: 0071360565

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Engaging both sides of the agricultural biotech controversy and hoping to initiate a reasoned dialogue, geneticist Belinda Martineau explores the development and eventual failure of the Flavr Savr tomato in First Fruit. One of the Calgene scientists who worked on the tomato (the first genetically modified food on the market), she offers great insight into the scientific and business factors that drive the research and marketing of biotech products. Concerned about the eager and simplistic denial of most of her colleagues when faced with protests from consumer advocates, she wants to see more direct communication between the two sides.

Using the story of Flavr Savr's development, Martineau shows the reader both the quality of biotech research and the power of management to obfuscate or otherwise affect that work. Though straying into dead-end stories of her colleagues' interactions a little too often, for the most part the narrative flows smoothly and draws the reader along swiftly to the tomato's eventual, inevitable demise in the market. Ironically, the Flavr Savr failed more because it couldn't live up to Calgene's nearly messianic marketing than from any protester's work, even if it did launch a few activists' careers. Telling industry to pay more heed to honesty and research while suggesting that the public pursue better scientific education shouldn't be asking too much--perhaps First Fruit will help de-escalate the debate. --Rob Lightner

Book Description

In 1994 a little California biotech startup called Calgene introduced the Flavr SavrTMtomato, the first genetically engineered whole food ever brought to market, and laid the groundwork for the entire agricultural biotechnology industry.

In a fast-paced narrative full of colorful characters, surprising twists and turns, and several eye-opening revelations, Belinda Martineau chronicles the story behind the making of the Flavr SavrTM, from its conception, through its much-heralded introduction to market, and its ignominious disappearance. As a member of the Calgene team that developed the Flavr SavrTM and secured its regulatory approval, Martineau underwent a transformation from an enthusiastic believer in biotechnology's promise to a battle-weary skeptic. Her account serves as a cautionary tale for the biotech age, offering a revealing look at how the science of genetic engineering is actually done, how corporate decisions are really made in biotech startups, and how the regulatory system in the U.S. does and doesn't work.

Most importantly, First Fruit goes beyond the polarized debate currently surrounding genetically modified foods to illustrate both the benefits and the risks of this new technology.

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Customer Reviews:

Managerial strategies and research projects in action.......2002-01-11

This book have some very interesting perspectives:

1) The book is an insiders view on the development of the biotechnologies presented in a non-glamourous style

2) The book is a witness that standard strategic thinking has it limits when it come to explain the nature of biotechnology development. Also the book's description of how the development of the Flavr Savr tomato was approved and how this became a FDA standard is very interesting reading to people who think of public regulatory work as totally independent of corporate interests.

The book is much more intense than Kidder's book: The Soul of the New Machine and that says something of the quality of Martineau's book.

Direction for Sound Decision-making about Biotech Food.......2001-09-16

As the mother of three young children, I found First Fruit accessible, reassuring and empowering. I'm concerned about the food that my family eats. Is it healthy, pure and wholesome? How do I make good decisions about food for my family? Enter First Fruit. It reads like a novel, fast-paced and enthralling. In the midst of this most important and well-written story, Belinda Martineau delivers information that helps me to break out of my confusion, fears and ignorance about biotech food. She thoroughly and respectfully covers the science and history of this monumental venture. She humanizes it by bringing the players involved to life - warts and all. As the book draws to its conclusion, after many hilarious, infuriating, egomaniac, frustrating, cruel, brilliant, and optimistic moments told, my concerns for my family come full circle. What is healthy, pure and wholesome for our world? How do we, or should we, as industries, governments, academics, NGO's and the general public make good decisions about food for our world? With a fabulous birth metaphor and without an alarmist tone, Belinda Martineau points us all in the right direction.

Highly readable account of thought provoking subject matter.......2001-09-05

First Fruit presents the story of Calgene's development of the Flavr Savr tomato, the world's first bioengineered food. The book provides interesting insights on many aspects of the project. Calgene and its investors poured more than $200 million into what turned out to be a flawed hypothesis - that Calgene's scientists could produce a firm, great tasting tomato capable of withstanding the rigors of transportation from the fields to supermarkets at a commercially viable price. First Fruit is very well written and conveys its subject matter in a reader-friendly conversational style that those of us without Ph.D.'s can understand.

The book recounts the emotional roller coaster ride inside Calgene as project scientists encountered a seemingly endless string of scientific, regulatory, and legal obstacles. The strain brought out admirable qualities in some people and questionable conduct in others. One highlight is Dr. Martineau's description of her own "inquisition," where she unsuspectingly walked into what had been billed as a staff meeting only to be confronted by seven "true believers" who proceeded to berate her for what they perceived to be her lack of loyalty to the cause. Then there is the story of the arrival of the first truckload of Flavr Savr tomatoes. Numerous Calgene officers and directors traveled to Chicago, hoping to see proof that their miracle fruit had solved the transportation problems that had plagued the industry. Instead, they were greeted by the spectacle of tomato puree leaking from the truck. Not one tomato had survived the trip. One employee repeatedly intoned, presciently, "It's over, it's all over."

First Fruit concludes with a thought provoking discussion of Flavr Savr's impact on the Food and Drug Administration's scrutiny of genetically engineered plant applications. Dr. Martineau relates how the relatively minor genetic engineering involved, together with the apparent absence of any negative side effects, may have lulled the FDA into a false sense of security. Given recent news accounts, such as those of the widespread contamination of numerous corn products with StarLink genetically engineered corn not approved for human consumption, this discussion may be the most important in the book.

Insider's view: How The First Biotech Tomato Flopped.......2001-08-10

First Fruit provides an interesting, quick read of a Califonia company's effort to develop and sell the Flavr Savr tomato - the first gentically engineered, but not the last, whole food. Written by a Flavr Savr researcher, the book highlights the internal clash between business executives seeking immediate financial returns and scientists charged with coming up with a high-tech tomato that genetic science had not yet produced for general salad consumption. The book's middle-third is a little too technical if you never managed better than a C+ in chemisty or biology, but the insider's view of the struggle to get the new tomato to market and her responsible conclusions make this book a must read for anyone interested in the emerging global role of biotechnology.

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