In his effort to change the way the world views genetically modified
(GM) foods, Jeffrey Smith ran for congress, worked at a Genetically
Modified Organisms (GMO) detection laboratory as Vice-President of
Marketing, and traveled the world speaking to political leaders about
his book, Seeds of Deception. After all that work, Jeffery Smith still
felt his message wasn't reaching its target audience. His book read too
much like a novel, and political leaders didn't have time for that.
Jeffrey Smith, author of the best-selling book Seeds of Deception,
recently released another book called Genetic Roulette. Both books are
about the dangers of genetically modified (GM) foods. Although it
wasn't his intention, Jeffrey Smith's passion has led him to become a
leader in the health and food industries, meeting with world leaders to
discuss the dangers of this risky science.
Jeffrey Smith knew there must be some way to get his message out. He
met with over 30 scientists during the course of a two year period to
gather materials for Genetic Roulette. Genetic Roulette is a unique
book that has facts for political leaders on one side of the page and
references for scientists on the other side of the page. The book
documents 65 of the health risks associated with GM foods. So what ARE
GM foods, exactly?
Genetic material taken from one organism and inserted into another
organism creates a third organism that is unlike the two parent
organisms. Scientists take something natural and create something not
natural, not found in nature. For example, DNA from jellyfish has been
used to make the snout of pigs glow. DNA from bacteria has been
inserted into crops to produce pesticides and resist herbicides.
What happens when you eat foods like chips or bread that are made from
modified corn and wheat crops? Your digestive tract can become the
breeding ground for pesticides. The goal of GM food research is to
create more food to save the world from a hunger crisis, but our
primitive knowledge of the subject makes eating these crops a game of
roulette.
Shouldn't food companies be concerned about the health of the people
who buy their products? Jeffrey Smith feels that GM food companies are
more concerned about profits. He spends his days spreading the word to
world leaders, because it's dangerous to put a product on the market as
quickly as possible. Sure, it generates revenues, but it also produces
sick people.
Who's going to protect unknowing consumers? The Food and Drug
Administration (FDA) is supposed to regorously check the foods we eat,
so why aren't they stopping unsafe foods from making it to market? In
1992, FDA policy claimed that the agency was "Not aware of any
information showing that the foods created from these methods differ in
any meaningful or uniform way." In layman's terms, the FDA isn't going
to require any special testing of GM foods. They're taking a hands-off
approach because they feel that GM products are the same as natural
ones.
Many scientists who have worked for the FDA claim that GM foods cause
allergies, toxins, new diseases, and nutritional problems. Some of
those scientists voiced their concerns to superiors, but they were
ignored. Jeffrey Smith has made it his passion not to be ignored.
