THE HIDDEN LIFE OF a bioengineered meal - Brief Article

Sierra, Jan, 2001 by Vikki Kratz

THESE DAYS, IT'S NEARLY IMPOSSIBLE TO FIND AN ANIMAL OR vegetable that scientists haven't messed with. But, as any biotechnologist will tell you, it's for your own good. Rice with so much extra vitamin A engineered into it that it turns yellow--are you going to say no to that? IF YOU'RE SMART YOU WILL. The biotech giant Monsanto may say the "golden" rice it's developing is a potential remedy for blindness caused by vitamin A-deficient diets in developing nations, but citizens there are increasingly voicing concern about being the world's guinea pigs. Since most regulatory agencies, including the Food and Drug Administration, have decided that genetic engineering doesn't differ from traditional plant breeding, Monsanto and other biotech corporations don't need to prove their altered food is safe for long-term human consumption. And while no adverse health effects have yet been linked to foods now on the market--which are often touted as the answer to world hunger--concerned scientists say there are many unanswered quest such as whether food engineered to contain pesticides or genes from an entirely different plant or animal species is harmful to human health, or whether genetically engineered crops will have unintended effects on other plants and animals.

AT LEAST PEOPLE IN DEVELOPING countries will be able to avoid Monsanto's rice. With its distinctive color, it's hard not to notice that something's been done to it. Here in the United States, we're not so lucky. Last year, farmers planted 69 million acres of bioengineered soybeans, corn, and cotton. These crops, in addition to modified canola, were turned into oils, starches, and syrups commonly found in processed foods. Biotech companies aren't required to label genetically engineered food, so you can't tell whether what comes to your dinner table is what nature intended.

SOY BURGER: More than 50 percent of all soybeans planted in 2000 were genetically engineered, so the soy in the burger at right has likely been altered with bacteria and virus genes. This modification makes soybeans resistant to Monsanto's own herbicide Roundup.

CHEESE: The cheese came from cows injected with rBGH, the genetically engineered growth hormone used to increase milk production. While kind, others aren't so sure: Scientists are currently studying possible links between rBGH and increased resistance to antibiotics as well as increased cancer risk.

LETTUCE: So far, the lettuce is unaltered. However, researchers at Seminis Vegetable Seeds, Harris Moran Seed Company, and Agitrope are conducting field tests of modified lettuce in California and Arizona--though in typical biotech fashion they're closemouthed about what they've done to it or even which variety of lettuce it is. Within the next six years, expect to see not only the altered lettuce, but modified wheat, rice, strawberries, bananas, and pineapples.

TOMATO: A few years ago, scientists tried--with the help of an anti-freeze gene from a flounder--to manufacture tomatoes that would resist cold weather. The manipulation didn't help the freeze problem, but these engineered tomatoes now ripen faster and sport a thicker skin than your homegrown version.

BUN: The bun was baked using partially hydrogenated vegetable shortening, which is made from soybean and cottonseed oils. Cotton now produces its own pesticide, Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt). Bt is a naturally occurring pesticide used by organic farmers, but its overuse, not only in cotton but in modified corn, means that the pests it's supposed to kill will eventually develop a resistance to it--forcing farmers to revert to chemical poisons.

COLA DRINK: Most dark colas are made with high-fructose corn syrup. One-quarter of all corn planted in the United States is now modified to produce the Bt toxin.

CORN CHIPS: Unless you buy organic or from FritoLay, which has pledged to stop using engineered ingredients in its corn chips, yours may have been made from corn that, like cotton, produces Bt. The pesticide is in the news because researchers have shown that pollen from the modified corn could kill monarch butterfly larvae. And recently taco, chip, and tortilla products from some major producers were found to contain engineered ingredients approved for animal consumption but not for humans.

KETCHUP: Ketchup, of course, is made of tomatoes, but most brands also contain genetically modified corn syrup. Don't worry, though. The mustard and pickles are still okay.