-->| We should never lose sight of the fact that genetic engineering is not a time-tested practice; it is an experiment. Some of the questions this experiment may eventually answer are: Will cross-species and cross-kingdom genetic transfers result in unforeseen diseases and weaknesses, both in the plants created and in those who consume them? Will the inserted genes produce toxins? Will some people prove to be seriously allergic to these new foods? Some plants are being genetically engineered to produce their own pesticides; will these unintentionally destroy beneficial insects and bacteria? |  Vastly increased crop yields; reduced price of production; irrigation of previously unusable land; genetic engineering; and widespread use of fertilizers, pesticides, and antibiotics have transformed the basic economics of food. Food can be stored, shipped, and engineered in ways that enlarge the divide between the people who raise food and the people who use it.
In the United States, massive agribusiness companies (Archer Daniels Midland, Monsanto, ConAgra, Cargill, etc. | | Isn't this what genetic engineering and allopathic medicine are trying to do? But they are failing. These groups, following basic lifestyle changes, are doing it naturally! More important, when people compare their initial symptoms to the final statistical analysis, they are amazed to find that if they had symptoms of arthritis, their symptoms are gone, their weight and blood pressure are down, and their vision has improved. Their whole body begins to rejuvenate. We see what had been missing in the American lifestyle: a healthy formula for living! |  For them, golden rice would become a rallying slogan in their struggle to put an end to the use of genetic engineering in agriculture.
In all the hubbub, no one denied that Potrykus and Beyer had indeed pulled off a dramatic scientific coup, confounding the predictions of peers who had forecast failure. They had isolated three genes—two from a daffodil and one from a bacterium—and inserted them into a rice plant's elaborate genome, which contains about fifty thousand genes. | | Traditional methods of breeding combine two animals or two plants in an effort to produce a new strain that offers the good points of each. But genetic engineering goes way beyond this by cutting and splicing genetic material between two totally different types of organisms. So today we have GM (genetically modified) food plants that contain genes from bacteria, for instance, and we may soon have insect, fish, or other animal genes in the plants we eat.
There are so many problems here that it's hard to know where to begin. |  Apparently responding to anticipated criticism, the professor proclaims with Ivy League authority that, well, maybe we here in the rich countries can afford to be skittish about potential risks in the genetic engineering of seeds; after all, we have plenty to eat. But our skittishness jeopardizes the future of the poor abroad because they need genetically modified seeds to produce more food to stave off hunger. Then, for half an hour, the discussion hovers around only one question—the possible risks in using genetically engineered seeds. |  Refers to the intentional recombination of genes; genetic engineering rendering: The process of converting slaughterhouse remains into different products, such as candles, soaps, and animal feed, ribosome: Protein-making parts of the cell, where messenger RNA is decoded and amino acids are strung together.
RNA: Ribonucleic acid—a polymeric constituent of all living cells and many viruses, consisting of a long, usually single-stranded chain of alternating phosphate and ribose units with the bases adenine, guanine, cytosine, and uracil bonded to the ribose. | | And we know the Indian press is telling them their salvation may indeed rest on genetic engineering. In a recent Indian news account, DNA discoverer James Watson lamented the country's "excessive and retrograde fear of genetics."2 Get over the silly fears, the media is saying, Bt cotton seeds can be a solution to your tragedy. What a market Monsanto and multinational agribusiness companies seem to have sitting right before us!
As we end the meeting and gather our things, Sumel explains that the demise of cotton threatens economic collapse not just for farmers, but for the entire Punjab state. | | We mention the Archaea discovery only to underscore how little we know, which should alert all of us to be wary of interventionist sttategies, like chemical pesticides and genetic engineering, that disrupt natural systems instead of working with nature's wisdom. But to manifest the potential of this approach, we will have to break free of all five thought traps. Before tackling the remaining four, however, there's a second dimension of rethinking scarcity to consider. |  When the "vibration" of food or "life force energy" of food is radically altered by chemical additives, processing, or genetic engineering, consuming and eating that food actually causes the body to go out of balance and CAUSES disease to develop. Yes, you are reading this right. From an energetic standpoint eating a genetically altered apple that has been sprayed with pesticides actually can give you cancer, as well as dozens of other diseases!
Without giving a physics lesson, when you eat anything you are getting the energy from that thing. How do we know this is true? Well, think about it. | | Keep in mind that these oranges have been produced in the "conventional" way, with chemical fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides and genetic engineering. That's conventional? No! That's weird, that's bizarre, that's wrong!
They then pick the fruit that can't be sold, and that's what they make the juice from. The problem is that in the processing of the juice in the plants, bacteria and mold can easily develop, contaminating the product. | | Those ways include genetic engineering and spraying chemical poisons all over the foods, so that the crops won't be damaged by disease or bugs or insects. The soil is loaded with chemicals to make the plants grow faster, or the animals are pumped full of growth hormone to make them grow faster. These companies will do anything to get their products produced less expensively. They also want to sell these products at the highest possible price, and they want to sell massive amounts of these products. So here's what happens.
Food companies will do anything to make their products cheaper. | | Quite simply, their demand for cosmetic perfection of fruits and vegetables forces farmers to use more pesticides than they would otherwise, as well as genetic engineering of food.
30. Not convinced that natural remedies cure disease better than drugs, with no side effects? Then consider this:
• In the last five years over 100,000 articles have been written around the world reporting on the effectiveness and safety of natural remedies. | | Interestingly, by 1999, genetic engineering ranked second only to arms manufacturing on the "what to avoid" list among those seeking socially sound places to invest their money.45)
The most potent social investing, however, means putting one's money directly into specific efforts that are transforming communities and restoring the environment. |  Fagan, John, Ph.D., Genetic Engineering: The Hazards: Vedic Engineering: The Solutions. 1995, Maharishi International University, 1000 N. Fourth St., Fairfield, Iowa 52557. Cost: $12.00 Amazon.com.
15 EnviroGen Technologies, Stephen.Gorton@verizon.net. 214.244.4192. 16a Steven Tvedten, 800.221.6188. www.getset.com.
16b The Bug Stops Here, downloadable free book, www.getipm.com
17 The Mold Source, P. O. Box 2421, Forney, TX 75126. 972.564.4245. www.themoldsource.com.
18 Dale Bates and Associates, Living Architecture, 671 First Ave. N. Box 2012, Ketchum, Idaho 83340. 208.726.3691. Fax: 208. |  Hybridization and Genetic Engineering
While the agribusiness industry, with its reliance on toxic farm chemicals and pesticides, creates low- or no-enzyme foods, hybridization and genetic engineering create foods that are guaranteed to cause allergies. In hybridized wheat—that is, wheat in which two parent strains are crossed—the gluten content is much higher than in the so-called "ancient" or heirloom (nonhybridized) grains such as amaranth, kamut, spelt, and quinoa. Gluten is a component of the protein in wheat—the part that makes bread dough rise. |  Food Irradiation and genetic engineering of Food
Two emerging government/private industry trends are becoming threats to the ability of the general public to obtain whole food. These practices are food irradiation and the genetic engineering of food. The once publicly defeated issue of food irradiation has re-emerged after Hudson Foods' recall of 25 million pounds of beef due to E. coli contamination. For reasons that are typical of American corporate thinking, the press came out with some pro-food-irradiation articles. |  Major areas for pharmacognosy and phytotherapy research
Phytomedicines/traditional medicines
Quality assurance Mode of action Clinical trials
Safety, including herbal interactions Herbal pharmacovigilance Guides for healthcare professionals
New drug development
Ethnobotany
Ethnopharmacology
Ethnomedicine
Phytochemistry
Biological screening
Industrial and clinical collaboration
Biotechnology
Cell cultures for production of pharmaceuticals genetic engineering (e.g. |  The bill assumed that because genetic engineering does change foods in significant ways (in regulatory terms, produces a material change), "federal agencies have failed to uphold Congressional intent by allowing genetically engineered foods to be marketed, sold and otherwise used without labeling that reveals material facts to the public."5 If passed, the bill would have required all foods containing genetically modified ingredients to be labeled as indicated in figure 24. | | Since 1982, the MacGregor's team of hard-working professional men and women has successfully applied the latest developments in genetic engineering, tomato plant breeding, and farming to solve an age old problem—how to supply an abundance of great-tasting tomatoes all year round." Figure 22 depicts the tomato-shaped package insert containing these statements.
Calgene's strategy differed from Monsanto's in another respect. In 1989, it voluntarily sought FDA guidance on the regulatory status of this first
FIGURE 22. | | By 1989, when Monsanto was testing rBGH on commercial farms in nearly every important dairy state, the drug was already under attack by groups concerned about family farms as well as by those suspicious of any kind of genetic engineering. Several supermarket chains refused to carry milk from rBGH-treated cows, and the owners of Ben & Jerry's announced that they would label ice cream packages with a statement opposing use of the hormone. Before the drug had even been approved for commercial use, the state legislatures of Wisconsin and Minnesota temporarily banned sales of rBGH. | | It must be understood that the genetic engineering food industry determines if a product is safe, not our government.4b The industry conducts their own chemical analysis, does their own investigation and then submits a "summary" report to the FDA. The reports usually include no stringent pre-market-safety-testing, no long-term animal studies, no voluntary human feeding and no special considerations of fetal, infant, child, pregnancy or elderly issues. This final information is not shared, so the public cannot be aware or informed. | | We were lucky that time, but can a new one slip by? genetic engineering can easily transfer new and unidentified proteins that can trigger allergic reactions from one food to another.
Food allergies are hardly a rarity. Who is to decide which foods are so allergenic that they should not be genetically engineered into some unrelated food product? Allergists know there is no doubt that different foods affect different individuals in different ways. There are many acknowledged highly allergic foods such as fish, milk, wheat, corn, egg, oranges and nuts, to name only a few. |  For any product or produce to be labeled organic it must be grown without chemical herbicides, pesticides, fertilizers, and without genetic engineering (genetic alteration or gene splicing).
OTC
OTC is the abbreviation for Over the Counter drugs and other medications sold directly to the consumer rather than through a pharmacist with a doctor's prescription.
Pears
Pears are very nutritious containing potassium, pectins, hemicellulose, vitamin C, folic acid, potassium, manganese, and selenium. | | Fagan, John, Ph.D., Genetic Engineering: The Hazards: Vedic Engineering: The Solutions. 1995, Maharishi International University, 1000 N. Fourth St., Fairfield, Iowa 52557. Cost: $12.00, Amazon.com.
9 EnviroGen Technologies, 131 Pitkin Street, East Hartford, CT 06108. 800.367.3634. Email: johnfantry2@hotmail.com
10a Rea, William J., M.D., Chemical Sensitivity. Vols. 1-4, 1992-1997, CRC Press, 2000 Corporate Blvd. NW, Boca Raton, FL. 214.368.4132.
10b Rea, William J., M.D., Optimum Environment for Optimum Health and Creativity. |  Through the process of genetic engineering the erucic acid content has been reduced to less than 1%. To distinguish this ; genetically altered oil from the original it is given the name canola oil. This is the canola oil found in our foods.
Fatty acids commonly found in foods.
The fats found in animal tissue, as well as our own bodies, are mainly the triglycerides of stearic, palmitic, and oleic acids. Oleic acid is a monounsaturated fat. Stearic and palmitic acids are saturated fats.
The saturated fat found in food consists of a mixture of the different types. | | By combining plant and animal species during genetic engineering, however, new and much higher levels of toxins can be created.40 Will this make them more harmful to humans?
Antibiotic-resistance markers are incorporated into nearly every genetically engineered product. No one knows if these, at some future time, will decrease the effectiveness of antibiotic therapy for the treatment of certain human diseases. | | Toxic Proteins: The Pusztai Affair
Next we turn to the possibility that genetic engineering might cause foods to produce toxic substances, in this case, lectins. Lectins are proteins in plants that are naturally toxic to insects and nematode worms. They do not bother us because we cook lectin-rich foods—kidney beans, for example—long enough to unravel the structure of the proteins and destroy their function. In 1998, an investigator in Scotland announced that rats became ill when they ate transgenic lectins, thereby initiating a political furor of quite astonishing proportions. | | In retrospect, the intense anxiety—dread and outrage—about early genetic engineering experiments strikes many scientists as inappropriate to the low level of risk.10 They view objections to food biotechnology as equally inappropriate.
Industry scientists working on early food biotechnology projects considered their work fundamentally similar to conventional genetics. If the foods did pose risks, these would be small and outweighed by benefits. | | To explain why the ironic politics of food biotechnology deserves attention in a book about food safety, we must begin with some definitions: biotechnology and its synonym, genetic engineering, are processes by which scientists move genes (DNA) from one organism to another to transfer desired traits. Agricultural biotechnologists move genes from bacteria, viruses, or plants into food plants (the appendix explains how this is done). | |
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