--> About 70 percent of the canola oil in supermarkets is made from genetically engineered crops.) Whole foods rich in monounsaturated fats are your best mm
0mega-3 (ALA) Content of Selected Foods
FOOD
OMEGA-3 FATTY ACIDS (ALA) GRAMS
Flaxseed oil, 1 Tbsp. (15 mL)
8.0
Hempseed oil, 1 Tbsp. (15 mL)
2.7
Walnuts, 1 oz. (28 g)
2.7
Flaxseeds, 1 Tbsp. (15 mL)
2.6
Canola oil, 1 Tbsp. (15 mL)
1.6
Soybeans, 1 cup (250 mL) cooked
1.1
Soybean oil, 1 Tbsp. (15 mL)
1.0
Leafy greens, 1 cup (250 mL) raw
0.1
Wheat germ, 2 Tbsp. (30 mL)
0.1 sources of these fats—nuts, olives, and avocados. |  In an effort to slow the development of insect resistance, the EPA now requires farmers to surround their genetically engineered crops with non-Bt protected crops in what are called "refuge areas." Here some insects can safely feed without developing resistance. It is hoped that these insects will breed with those that have become Bt resistant, thereby diluting the evolved resistance. But Bt resistance is apparently a dominant trait, so these anti-resistance measures are, unfortunately, doomed to fail.
What's the value of these crops? | | In the southern Indian state of Kar-nataka, an organization of farmers has launched a campaign called "Operation Cremate Monsanto," uprooting and burning field trials of genetically engineered crops.26
The uprising has been spreading everywhere. In France, a band of 120 farmers broke into a storage facility of the biotech company Novartis and destroyed 30 tons of genetically modified corn. In the United States, Germany, and the Netherlands, genetically modified crops have been destroyed by angry citizens. | | But even with nearly 100 million acres planted in 2000, and with genetically engineered crops covering one-quarter of all cropland in the United States, their products had yet to do a thing to reverse the spread of hunger. No commercial acreage had been planted in crops which had been engineered to produce greater yields or that had any kind of enhanced nutritional value. There was no more food available for the world's less fortunate. In fact, the vast majority of the fields were growing transgenic soybeans and corn that were destined for livestock feed. |  Another concern is that cross-pollination is bound to occur as insects, birds, and the wind pollinate natural and genetically engineered crops growing in adjacent fields. Engineered living organisms can reproduce and migrate, creating unwanted mutations, and adding still more uncertainty to the end results.
In addition to the effects we can anticipate, genetically engineered foods may very well have serious but as-yet-unknown side effects. | | In 1999, the journal noted,
"Neither Monsanto nor any of the other genetic engineering companies appears to be developing genetically engineered crops that might solve global food shortages. Quite the opposite. |  I don't understand all the objections to genetically engineered crops. I've read that they can alleviate malnutrition in Third World countries, and prevent vitamin-deficient kids from going blind That's a good thing.
That would be a good thing, if it were true. The corporations that are manufacturing these crops are in it for the money. They're not going to give their products away. And even if people in these countries could afford the crops, they might have to depend on the corporations to provide them with special fertilizers and pesticides in order to grow them locally. |  This rule establishes a notification system to replace the existing permit process for genetically engineered crops that are field-tested with specific safety criteria.
In addition, the system introduces special requirements that companies would have to satisfy before slaughtering transgenic animals. They would have to describe any drugs or chemicals given to the animals, along with the biological techniques and products used. Before granting approval for slaughter, the USDA plans to scrutinize safety on three levels:
1. | | Though the technology is still in its relative infancy (the first large-scale commercial plantings of genetically engineered crops took place in 1996), many people have dreamed that genetically engineered foods could be an answer to humanity's prayers. We have hoped that they might bring solutions to world hunger, that they might allow us to do away with pesticides, that they might provide healthier foods, and that they might help the Third World to leapfrog over the environmental dangers of the Industrial Revolution into a brighter, healthier, and more sustainable future. | | In their eagerness to make their products appear beneficial to the public, the biotech companies repeatedly say that genetically engineered crops require less pesticide. This sounds wonderful, but the reality is dccidcdlv different.
With so called herbicide-tolerant crops, otherwise impossible amounts of a given herbicide can be oversprayed on the crop to kill surrounding weeds while leaving the commodity virtually unscathed. | |
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