Genetically Engineered Food: Promises & Perils

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Dubbed "the central dogma" by its creator, Francis Crick, the theory reduces inheritance to identifiable molecular processes strictly governed by DNA, where one gene is responsible for creating one corresponding protein. Using this theory to guide them, biotechnologists cut, modify and splice genes from one species into another species, expecting the inserted genes to perform specific functions and behave predictably in their new homes.

Over the last 40 years, a substantial body of evidence has emerged, indicating that the processes defining, separating and enabling species to function normally are much more complicated than Crick's central dogma.

Commoner writes that this theory "collapsed under the weight of fact" with the Human Genome Project's discovery in 2001, which found that there were far too few human genes to account for the complexity of our traits or for the genetic differences between people and plants. He says the Human Genome Project not only destroyed the scientific foundation of genetic engineering, but also nullified biotech's claim that its methods of genetically modifying food crops are precise, predictable and safe.

The gene splicers rearranging the genetic codes of untold species are operating blindly, he says. Commoner also says the trillions of unmonitored transgenic plants now in farmers' fields virtually guarantee there will be some nasty surprises, though it is impossible to predict what they will be or when they will occur. Already, DNA fragments have been found in transgenic soybeans that were neither part of the original plant nor the inserted genetic material.

Take Action

To learn more and express your view on genetically engineered food, visit the following resources:

The Campaign to Label Genetically Engineered Foods

The Organic Consumers Association

Genetic Engineering Food Alert 

Northeast Resistance Against Genetic Engineering 

Bills sponsored by Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio)

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