Approximately 60% of the foods we eat may contain genetically engineered ingredients. And that number is growing! But do we really know about the impact of genetic engineering on our lives and our environment?

Genetic engineering (GE) is a technology that according to its developers was created to improve food production, reduce the use of pesticides and herbicides and increase the yields to feed the growing world population.

Many scientists believe this technology reduces the nutritional value of our foods, perpetuates our international dependence on the chemical treadmill and disrupts the flow of our ecosystem.

At first glance, GE appears exciting, promising and unlimited scope. Would you like your tomato to have a longer growing season? What about a potato that doesn’t go brown? Or corn that produces its own pesticide? Or soybeans that are resistant to herbicides? Or cows that produce drugs?

Is it safe to cross natural boundaries and create new species? What happens to insects that feed on these new crops? What happens when the wind blows pollen to the neighboring fields? What effect will it have as these changes ripple through the intricate and profoundly interrelated ecosystem?

Dr John Hagelin, award-winning quantum physicist, explains his concerns as follows, “When genetic engineers disregard the reproductive boundaries set in our place by natural law, they run the risk of destroying our genetic encyclopedia, compromising the richness of our natural biodiversity and creating ‘genetic soup’. What this means to the future of our ecosystem, no one knows.”

Dangers of GE Foods

• Damage to the ecosystem, harm to wildlife and change of natural habitats.

Our plant and animal species have evolved over millions of years. Introducing genetically engineered species upsets the delicate balance of our ecosystem with changes, which would not normally occur.

• Gene pollution can never be cleaned up.

New living organisms, bacteria and viruses will be released into the environment to reproduce, migrate and mutate. They will transfer their new characteristics to other organisms. These changes can never be recalled or contained. The effects of genetic mistakes are irreversible and irretrievable.

• Increased pollution of food and water supplies.

Research of biotechnology companies is focused on the development of plants that can tolerate larger amounts of herbicides. Which will result in more chemical contamination in our food and water.

• Unpredictable, permanent changes in nature of our food.

The genetic structure of plants and animals has been nourishing the human race for millennia. The new genetic structure of a plant could give rise to new proteins in our food with unknown results for our health.

• Deletion of important food elements

Genetic engineers may intentionally remove or inactivate a substance they consider undesirable in a food. This substance may have an unknown but essential quality such as natural cancer-inhibiting abilities.

• Decreased effectiveness of antibiotics

Antibiotic-resistance genes are incorporated into nearly every GE organism as markers to indicate that an organism has been successfully engineered.

• Allergic reactions

GE may transfer new and unidentified proteins from one food into another, triggering allergic reactions.

Harmful effects may not be discovered for years. Changing the fundamental make-up of food could cause new diseases, just as herbicides and pesticides did in the past. There are no long-term studies to prove the safety of GE foods.

Labeling

The following GE crops, all spliced with genes of bacteria or viruses, may already be in the foods, supplements, household and personal care products at your local supermarket.

Soybeans

Corn

Canola

Papaya

Potatoes

Tomatoes

Cotton

Dairy products from cows injected with genetically altered growth hormone

The following products may also be genetically altered due to the ingredients used in processing of cheese, sweets, biscuits, breads, cereals, oils, juices, detergents, yeast, sugar and vitamins. None of the products are labeled GE.

GE is a global issue. The potential environmental risks travel on the wings of insects, birds and wind across our ecosystem. The threat of indigenous species from chemical-laden farming methods, the re-writing of our earth’s genetic library, through artificial gene transfer, the possibility of the birth of new viruses are all planetary concerns. Genetic mistakes cannot be cleaned up. They are irreversible.

Every time we act without reference to its underlying intelligence of natural law, we harm each other, our planet, and ourselves.

Support nature –support organic food!

For more information on what is happening in Australia go to www.bfa.com.au and how you can get involved.

Reference: Genetically Engineered Foods Laura Ticciati & Robin Ticciati Ph.D 

Hagelin, J.S. Natural Law Party Press Conference on Genetic Engineering, Washington March 20,1996.