At the request of Congress, the FDA’s and USDA’s review process for genetically engineered products is finally coming under scrutiny by the GAO. In 2013, Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT) wrote to the Government Accountability Office (GAO) and asked them to look into the review system being used to regulate genetically modified crops—specifically, “to ensure that […]
The USDA’s response is to talk out of both sides of their mouth. In a single press release, the USDA closes its investigation of the contamination of wheat fields in Oregon, calling it an “isolated incident,” then immediately contradicts itself by opening another investigation into contamination from genetically engineered wheat. The contamination was found at […]
Biotech companies claim that GMO foods are strictly regulated. The reality is that such regulation is either weak or non-existent. No GMO food has ever been certified as safe by the FDA. Biotech companies, not government agencies, conduct research on new GMO crops. The standard for GMO safety is completely arbitrary: GMOs are considered as […]
Biotech companies would have consumers believe that, like it or not, GMOs are a permanent fixture, and that our food system would simply not work without GMOs. This is nothing more than a myth spread by biotech companies to discourage consumer activists: over 60 countries currently ban the cultivation, importation, or sale of GMO products. […]
GMO products aren’t as remarkable as biotech companies would have you believe: Biotech companies Monsanto and DuPont sell “trans fat-free” soybeans, an entirely superfluous invention with a “healthy” veneer. GMO Golden Rice is genetically engineered to contain beta-carotene, and is marketed as a way to save malnourished children in developing countries. However, beta-carotene needs to […]
It is often claimed that the presence of GMOs in our food chain decrease costs for citizens and help to alleviate the effects of poverty—that GMOs will feed the world. This is simply not true. • In 2009, the World Bank and the United Nations published a 590- page report concluding that GMOs have no […]
While purveyors of this technology, like Monsanto, reap incredible financial rewards, studies indicate that small farmers are being squeezed out of the industry or are forced to be little more than sharecroppers, perpetually in debt to the large companies that hold their crops hostage: • In 2013, Monsanto sued 500 farmers for patent violations. Farmers […]
The biotech industry claims that GMO crops deliver higher crop yields. The facts, however, do not bear this out. According to a report by the Union of Concerned Scientists: Only one kind of GMO corn (corn that has been genetically altered to express the bacterial Bt toxin, which is poisonous to certain insect pests) has […]
The ability of conventional and organic farmers to produce GMO-free food, as well as the ability of consumers to buy GMO-free products, is being threatened by the biotech industry: GMO seeds can drift and contaminate organic crops. More than 30% of farmers seeking to grow organic crops reported that unintended GMO presence has been found […]
