weird science - genetic engineering and food safety

what you need to know about genetic engineering

Pig genes in your potato chips? Human genes in your flounder? It's possible, in the weird world of genetic engineering. Shuffling genes between species raises plenty of scary health and environmental worries, and a slew of ethical questions.

No long-term tests have been conducted, so no one really knows what we're getting into. And because they aren't labeled, you have no way of knowing if you're eating genetically modified foods (unless you stick to organic). Here, we look at the most-often asked questions about genetic engineering, with answers from experts in the field.

what is genetic engineering?

According to the National Organic Standards Board (NOSB), genetic engineering involves "techniques that alter the molecular or cell biology of an organism by means that are not possible under natural conditions." The idea: to make food crops grow bigger, better and faster. Genetic engineering of crops/plants is designed to allow foreign genes, bacteria, viruses and antibiotic marker systems (which render resistance in plant cells against antibiotics and herbicides) to be engineered into food.

What's the difference between cross-breeding and genetic engineering?

In nature, the distinct boundaries between species are observed. So a squash can cross with a different variety of squash, but never with a pig. Genetic engineering, however, allows the mingling of genes from different species. So fish genes can be inserted into tomatoes, insect genes into potatoes -- and worse.

"Genetic engineers ,can modify the DNA of any living thing by adding genes from anything else," says Robin Ticciati, co-author of Genetically Engineered Foods: Are They Safe? You Decide (Keats Publishing, 1999), and general science advisor to Mothers for Natural Law. "But (scientists) have neither the theoretical knowledge nor the experimental results necessary to foresee the consequences of their modifications."

In truth, the cross-breeding of plants of the same, or related, species has been a part of conventional agriculture for many hundreds of years. Example, the tomato, which is a crop that has been cross-bred so many times over the past 500 years that it barely resembles the tiny, bitter South American fruit from which it was originally derived. GMOs, or "Frankenfoods," are also genetically modified crops, but artificially modified.

For example, an "anti-freeze" gene from flounder is inserted into tomatoes so that they are more tolerant to frost. There are many such "weird science" examples of what are truly experiments, on a massive scale, with GMO products that never existed in nature before. We don't know that these plants won't cross-breed with wild/weed plants to create super weeds. We don't know that certain species won't be killed, such as the Monarch butterfly. We don't know what long-term health effects there may be since it would take anywhere from 30 years to hundreds of years to look at what would be astronomically complex epidemiological data on the effects of these plants on humans -- and that's if there were hundreds of long-term studies starting now, which there are not.

Why are foods genetically engineered?

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) says it wants to use biotechnology to boost the nutritional value of foods, combat animal diseases, fight world hunger, increase the financial viability of agriculture and reduce pesticide use. Opponents say that's hogwash. The truth is, genetic engineering is mostly in the name of profit and yield. Crops are genetically altered to develop certain characteristics, like resistance to insects and mold, faster growing times, greater drought tolerance and larger yields -- meaning greater profits. Ironically, however, though higher yields were promised, yields are generally less, Ticciati says.

Are GE foods safe to eat?

Its opponents don't think so. Some human health concerns:

* Decreased nutritional value. Fresh-looking, brightly colored GE foods may actually be weeks old, with compromised nutritional value. Even FDA scientists warned the agency that genetic engineering could result in "undesirable alteration in the level of nutrients" of GE foods.

* Toxicity. The FDA has conceded that genetic engineering could result in "increased levels of known naturally occurring toxicants, appearance of new, not previously identified toxicants, (and) increased capability of concentrating toxic substances from the environment (e.g., pesticides or heavy metals)."

* Allergic reactions. GE foods can increase the risk of allergic reactions by transferring allergens from one food to another -- and without labeling, the avoidance of potential allergens becomes a dangerous crap shoot. For example, if nut genes are engineered into soybeans, the consequences could be tragic for those with nut allergies. Additionally, genetic engineering could actually be creating new allergic responses.

* Resistance to antibiotics. Nearly all GE foods contain "antibiotic resistance markers" which confirm that new genetic material has been transferred to the host organism. If these antibiotic marker genes are introduced on a large scale into the food supply, some fear that antibiotics could be rendered useless in fighting diseases.