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

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 curren

Journalism has deteriorated to the point where one is supposed to "balance" the truth with lies, and pretend both have equal weight. The case against GMO's is damning, as is the case against Monsanto, and this book presents both with forthrightness and clarity. "Balancing" this information with industry propaganda is both ridiculous and unnecessary -- the industry ensures that most pieces written about it are written by cheerleaders. Genetic engineering is a woefully imprecise "science," and the UNwanted effects of inserting a gene from one species into another's genome -- with no idea of where the gene ends up or how many copies of it have been inserted -- can be quite harmful. This book is well worth reading.

Having read a number of articles and books on genetically engineered foods, I found this book to be very comprehensive and very well written. I highly recommend it if you are interested in your health. As a biologist who has worked with DNA, and respect it, I place great value on Smith's easy to understand explanation on the genetic engineering process on DNA. Smith has also carefully researched FDA reports and quoted several people in his analysis of GMOs and their impact on society. With methodological precision, his research reveals the close ties of the U.S. government with biotechnology industry in several aspects of GMO production. Even more disturbing is the influence of biotechnology companies such as Monsanto, Novartis, Dow, and DuPont having on the government - they gave more than 3.5 million dollars (from 1995-2000) towards campaign contributions, with 3/4 going to Republicans. His research also reveals the impact of the genetically modifed amino acid L-tryptophan in 1989-1990 that debilitated thousands of people with EMS, a disease that produces severe muscle pain, and even death. Forty people died from taking this L-tryptophan. This product was never labled that it was genetically modified and the Japanese manufacturer - Showa Denko KK did not use the proper filtration level to remove the impurities. Subsequent from these health risks, the product was removed from shelves. My favorite quotes from this book came from George Wald, Nobel Laureate in Medicine. He said for genetic engineeering - "The results will be essentially new organisms, self-perpetuating and hence permanent. Once created, they cannot be recalled" and "Up to now, living organisms have evolved very slowly and new forms have had plenty of time to settle in. Now whole proteins will be transposed overnight into wholly new associations, with consequences no one can foretell, either for the host organism, or their neighbors." Those are powerful words and cannot be forgotten. Read this book. It will change your life. You owe it to yourself and your family.

I have been a farm journalist for thirty years and have a master's degree in agriculture. During the late 70s and early 80s, when genetic engineering was coming on the scene, I was a strong supporter. Over the years I talked to various biotech scientists who were becoming worried about whether the genetically-modified foods entering the food chain were safe. As the science developed, it was discovered the process of genetic engineering is anything but as straightforward as scientists originally thought. Chunks of genetic material jump all over the place once they are inserted into plants, and there is no predicting where they will go, or what effect they will have. There has been almost no research on the safety of genetically-modified foods, and what little has been done has shown these foods can cause a number of health problems ranging from allergies to food intolerances to cancer. Both Canadian and US government agencies have taken the position (urged on by the biotech companies) that these new food crops are 'substantially similar' to existing crops, so do not need any study for food safety. And both governments are strong supporters of the industry, as I used to be.The scientists I talked to became less and less willing to voice their concerns for fear of reprisals. A few years ago, because of the knowledge I had gained, I began to make a point of avoiding GMOs, which is increasingly difficult, as they are spreading everywhere.We are being screwed over and lied to by the biotech industry and our governments, and this book tells the story well and thoroughly.

Jeffrey Smith, the author of this book, is a plain-spoken but hardly elegant writer. He doesn't need to be; the facts he reports about GM (genetically modified) foods and the relentless efforts of Monsanto Corp. to get them into American and world markets need no dressing up in fancy prose. It's hard to decide which is scariest: the grave doubts about the safety of specific products such as the FlavrSavr tomato and StarLink corn; the myriad possibilities for unpredictable results to the environment and the general food supply, given the current scanty knowledge of genes, genetics and the possible consequences of unchecked modification of basic biological codes; or the systematic, epidemic failure of governmental agencies charged with protecting the health of the general public in the U.S. and Canada to act.It would be easy to dismiss "Seeds of Deception" as a partisan rant against Republican governments and big business, but Smith is evenhanded in his indictments. According to him, Monsanto Corp. has engaged in a systematic campaign to pressure both Democratic and Republican administrations in the United States to allow GM foods to be marketed without proper safeguards and testing. What seems to have saved the world so far is the vigorous resistance of European and overseas markets to the entry of genetically modified food products that have not been properly tested, consquently making several highly promoted products uneconomical to produce. Nevertheless, modified genes have already "escaped" into the general food supply to an alarming degree.In the final portion of the book Smith gives suggestions on how the reader can protect him/herself against unknowingly consuming GM foodstuffs, and also asks for contributions so that copies of his book can be sent to those in positions of power. I'm sending him a check.