Genetically Engineered Food: Changing the Nature of Nature
What People are Saying About GE Food"Martin Teitel and Kimberly Wilson have cut through all the hype and misconceptions surrounding genetically engineered food and provided the indispensable primer for every family in America concerned with making wise dietary choices in the biotech century. Finally, we have available a guide to biotech food issues that is informed, intelligent, and chock-full of common sense. I urge every consumer to read this book before walking into a supermarket again. It will open up your eyes, change what you put in your mouth, and transform your thinking about food forever."Jeremy Rifkin, author ofThe Biotech Century"By far the most accessible and informative publication on genetic engineering in food production that I have read to date.  It is written so that the non-scientist can fully understand the scope of this technology, with numerous footnotes and references that are a handy resource guide for those seeking more knowledge. An excellent book."Katherine DiMatteo, Executive Director,Organic Trade Association"For consumers who wish to understand why their food has been genetically altered--without their consent, with virtually no testing, and without labeling--Teitel and Wilson's timely book is essential reading.  It tells us who the winners and losers are in this global experiment with the world's food supply."Sheldon Krimsky, author ofAgricultural Biotechnology and the Environment"As bioengineered crops cover ever more millions of acres, the likelihood of side effects and unintended consequences looms larger.  Farmers will realize they were not told enough of the truth.  And consumers will see there is no escape other than to fight back and demand an open scientific process and response to persistent questions and miscues, with the burden of proof right on the companies and their accomplices. All this and more is whyGenetically Engineered Food: Changing the Nature of Natureis so valuable for enlightening the public."From the foreword byRalph Nader"We simply do not know the long-term consequences for human health and the wider environment of releasing plants bred in this way?The lesson of BSE [mad cow disease] and other entirely man-made disasters on the road to 'cheap food' is surely that it is the unforseen consequences which present the greatest cause for concern. Even the best science cannot predict the unpredictable."H.R.H. the Prince of Wales,June 8, 1998"There are certainly more and more questions being asked about biotechnology, and those questions must be answered. They cannot be brushed off. They must be dealt with. Otherwise, what will happen is that the consuming public, both here and abroad, will begin to believe that there are problems with it."USDA Chief Dan Glickman, June 6, 1999GE Food in the News"In Britain, Arpad Pusztai, a professor at the Rowett Research Institute in Aberdeen, reported in April that an experiment in which laboratory rats were fed genetically modified potatoes had caused weakened immune systems and damage to vital organs."The Toronto Globe and Mail, February 20, 1999"The world's two largest food production companies have decided they no longer will accept genetically modified ingredients for products sold in Europe." Natural Foods Merchandiser, July 1999"University of Chicago researchers are concerned that genetically engineered crops could cross-breed with weeds, creating 'super weeds' that have genes making them immune to Roundup or other chemicals."The Boston Globe, July 11, 1999"The popcorn at your movie house could be made from plants designed to fight off a voracious pest called the corn borer. Your baby's formula could come from soybean plants biologically transformed to withstand the herbicide Roundup. The bags of potato chips on your grocer's shelves could be sliced from spuds containing a gene that poisons Colorado potato beetles."The San Francisco Examiner,July 11, 1999"The Rockefeller Foundation, which funds research to help poor farmers in developing countries, asked Monsanto Co. to swear off use of the 'terminator gene,' which would make seed sterile."The Wall Street Journal, June 28, 1999"At some cost and considerable inconvenience, Gerber is dropping some of its existing corn and soybean suppliers in favor of ones that can produce crops that aren't genetically altered."The Wall Street Journal, July 30, 1999"The science journalNaturepublished a Cornell University study showing that almost half the monarch butterflies who fed on the pollen from Bt corn died." The Boston Globe,July 11, 1999"Cuts through all the hype and misconceptions surrounding genetically engineered food and provides the indispensable primer."(Jeremy Rifkin, author ofThe Biotech Century)"This is an impressively readable and informative treatment."(Talking Leaves, Spring/Summer 2000)" . . . thorough and alarming. People who are concerned about their health and the health of the planet should read this book."(Vermont Times)"Authors Teitel and Wilson have performed an important and timely service in writing their book."(Dr. Joseph Ray,Atlantis Rising,Number 24)"A gripping account of the environmental, social, political, ethical, legal and economic decisions . . . about genetic engineering and our food supply."(Earth Island Journal, Volume 17, number 4)"An honest, eye-opening read for the consumer who is concerned with what really comes off the grocery store shelves."(New Texas, June 2002)"Read and learn what genetic engineering is, how it works, and the ways in which it affects your cuisine choices."(PJ Birosik,Nexus, July/August 2002)". . . a comprehensive and persuasive primer that is guaranteed to make readers take this new and daunting aspect of food production seriously."(Orion Afield, Winter 2001/02)"In simple, straightforward language, Martin Teitel and Kimberly A. Wilson guide readers through the questionalble process of toying with a food's gene pool, and offer a glimpse of the technology hidden behind the misleading label."(The Environmental Magazine, January/February 2000)"Teitel and Wilson provide a scientific and comprehensive guide about the potential dangers of these new foods. The book reinforces its research with extensive footnotes and indexes, along with a variety of advocacy and informational websites."(Today's Librarian, December 2000)"Few, if any, food issues are hotter right now in the public mind than the issue of genetically engineered food. This book is a simple, readable treatise detailing the main dangers of genetically modified food, ranging from its predictability, the assault on biodiversity, ethical problems of the patenting of seeds and life forms, the merging of the food and chemical industries and the global oppression of the family farmer. With a forward by Ralph Nader, this book is a must-have, no matter which side of the GE food debate one is on, since it provides such a thorough, and yet relatively brief coverage of the "anti" side in this fascinating, complex, and extremely important debate. Recommended."(Anne Newkirk Niven,SageWoman, Winter '00 - 01)