By now, millions of acres of genetically engineered crops have been planted, and nearly two-thirds of the products on our supermarket shelves contain GE ingredients. In fact, many questions persist. Essentially, we've been subjected to a massive experiment on human health. Very few studies have been conducted to determine whether genetically engineered foods are harmful to human health.
Genetic engineering is a young, and in many ways poorly understood, technology.
And it is the legacy of broken promises by the Food and Drug Administration and the Environmental Protection Agency, both of which have said for the past five years that they intend to write rules to minimize the chances that gene-altered food will cause allergies or damage the environment. Genetic engineering may trigger allergies in people. Genetic engineering may involve the transfer of new and unidentified proteins from one food into another, with the potential of setting off allergic reactions. Without labeling, people with allergies won't know if they are eating foods that contain genes from other foods to which they are allergic. In 1996, scientists were stunned to discover that soybeans engineered to include protein-rich genes from the Brazil nut also contained the allergenic properties of the Brazil nut.