The GMO Deception Read online

  Also edited by Sheldon Krimsky and Jeremy Gruber:

  Biotechnology in Our Lives

  Genetic Explanations: Sense and Nonsense

  This book is dedicated to members of the Council for Responsible Genetics Board of Directors and Advisory Board who are no longer with us, but whose work and vision continue to inspire new generations of social and environmental justice activists: David Brower, Barry Commoner, Marc Lappe, Anthony Mazzocchi, Albert Meyerhoff, Bernard Rapoport, George Wald, and William Winpisinger.

  Copyright © 2014 by Sheldon Krimsky and Jeremy Gruber

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any manner without the express written consent of the publisher, except in the case of brief excerpts in critical reviews or articles. All inquiries should be addressed to Skyhorse Publishing, 307 West 36th Street, 11th Floor, New York, NY 10018.

  Skyhorse Publishing books may be purchased in bulk at special discounts for sales promotion, corporate gifts, fund-raising, or educational purposes. Special editions can also be created to specifications. For details, contact the Special Sales Department, Skyhorse Publishing, 307 West 36th Street, 11th Floor, New York, NY 10018 or [email protected].

  Skyhorse® and Skyhorse Publishing® are registered trademarks of Skyhorse Publishing, Inc.®, a Delaware corporation.

  Visit our website at www.skyhorsepublishing.com.

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  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available on file.

  ISBN: 978-1-62873-660-1

  Ebook ISBN: 978-1-62914-020-9

  Printed in the United States

  CONTENTS

  Acknowledgments

  Foreword by Ralph Nader

  Introduction: The Science and Regulation behind the GMO Deception

  by Sheldon Krimsky and Jeremy Gruber

  What Is Genetic Engineering? An Introduction to the Science

  by John Fagan, Michael Antoniou, and Claire Robinson

  PART 1: SAFETY STUDIES: HUMAN AND ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH

  1. The State of the Science

  by Stuart Newman

  2. Antibiotics in Your Corn

  by Sheldon Krimsky and Timo Assmuth

  3. A Conversation with Dr. Árpád Pusztai

  by Samuel W. Anderson

  4. Glypho-Gate

  by Sheldon Krimsky, with Gilles-Eric Séralini, Robin Mesnage, and Benoît Bernay

  5. GM Alfalfa: An Uncalculated Risk

  by Phil Bereano

  6. The Next Generation of Biohazard? Engineering Plants to Manufacture Pharmaceuticals

  by Brian Tokar

  7. Busting the Big GMO Myths

  by John Fagan, Michael Antoniou, and Claire Robinson

  PART 2: LABELING AND CONSUMER ACTIVISM

  8. Codex Food Labeling Committee Debates International Guidelines

  by Diane McCrea

  9. Consumers Call on FDA to Label GMO Foods

  by Colin O’Neil

  10. Genetically Engineered Foods: A Right to Know What You Eat

  by Phil Bereano

  11. Latina/o Farmers and Biotechnology

  by Devon Peña

  12. Labeling Genetically Engineered Food in California

  by Pamm Larry and CRG staff

  13. Lax Labeling Policies Betray Public Trust

  by Joseph Mendelson

  14. A Conversation with John Fagan

  by Samuel W. Anderson for GeneWatch

  PART 3: GMOS IN THE DEVELOPING WORLD

  15. The Agrarian Crisis in India

  by Indrani Barpujari and Birenda Biru

  16. Bill Gates’s Excellent African Adventure: A Tale of Technocratic AgroIndustrial Philanthrocapitalism

  by Phil Bereano

  17. Bt Brinjal in India: Why It Must Not Be Released

  by Aruna Rodrigues

  18. Hearts of Darkness: The Biotech Industry’s Exploration of Southern African Famine

  by Doreen Stabinsky

  19. Rooted Resistance: Indian Farmers Stand against Monsanto

  by Mira Shiva

  20. Why GM Crops Will Not Feed the World

  by Bill Freese

  PART 4: CORPORATE CONTROL OF AGRICULTURE

  21. Patented Seeds vs. Free Inquiry

  by Martha L. Crouch

  22. BGH and Beyond: Consolidating Rural America

  by Jack Doyle

  23. Changing Seeds or Seeds of Change?

  by Natalie DeGraaf

  24. Food, Made from Scratch

  by Eric Hoffman

  25. Future Imperfect: Discussing the Industrialization of Agriculture with Deborah Koons Garcia

  by Evan Lerner

  26. Stealing Wisdom, Stealing Seeds: The Neem Tree of India Becomes a Symbol of Greed

  by Vandana Shiva

  PART 5: REGULATION, POLICY, AND LAW

  27. AG Biotech Policy: 2012 in Review

  by Colin O’Neil

  28. EPA and Regulations

  by Sheldon Krimsky

  29. GM Food Legislation: Modified Foods in the Halls of Power

  by Lara Freeman

  30. Goliath vs. Schmeiser: Canadian Court Decision may leave Multinationals Vulnerable

  by Phil Bereano and Martin Phillipson

  31. Legal Challenge to Genetically Engineered Bt Crops Marches On

  by Joseph Mendelson

  32. A Primer on GMOs and International Law

  by Phil Bereano

  33. GMOs Stalled in Europe: The Strength of Citizens’ Involvement

  by Arnaud Apoteker

  PART 6: ECOLOGY AND SUSTAINABILITY

  34. Environmental Release of Genetically Engineered Organisms: Recasting the Debate

  by the GeneWatch editors

  35. The Role of GMOs in Sustainable Agriculture

  by Doug Gurian-Sherman

  36. Genetically Modified Crops and the Intensification of Agriculture

  by Bill Freese

  37. Science Interrupted: Understanding Transgenesis in Its Ecological Context

  by Ignacio Chapela

  38. Agricultural Technologies for a Warming World

  by Lim Li Ching

  39. Down on the Farm: Genetic Engineering Meets an Ecologist

  by David Pimentel

  40. Engineering Crops for Herbicide Resistance

  by Sheldon Krimsky and Roger Wrubel

  41. Genetic Engineering for Biological Control: Environmental Risks

  by David Pimentel

  42. GM Mosquitoes: Flying through the Regulatory Gaps?

  by Lim Li Ching

  43. Why Context Matters

  by Craig Holdrege

  PART 7: THE ETHICS OF GMOS

  44. The Biopiracy of Wild Rice

  by Brian Carlson

  45. Conflicts of Interest Undermine Agricultural Biotechnology Research

  by Susan Benson, Mark Arax, and Rachel Burstein

  46. Genetically Engineered Foods Changing the Nature of Nature

  by Martin Teitel and Kimberly Wilson

  47. Lessons from the Green Revolution: Do We Need New Technology to End Hunger?

  by Peter Rosset, Frances Moore Lappé, and Joseph Collins

  48. Let Them Eat Promises: The Fight to Feed the World Is Being Betrayed from Within

  by Devinder Sharma

  PART 8: MODIFYING ANIMALS FOR FOOD

  49. Ethical Limits to Bioengineering Animals

  by Paul Root Wolpe

  50. Back on “The Farm”

  by Rob DeSalle

  51. Biotechnology and Milk: Benefit or Threat?

  by Michael Hansen

  52. In the Bullpen: Livestock Cloning

  by Jaydee Hanson

  53. Canada Banned BGH!

/>   by Kimberly Wilson

  54. Food and Drug Amalgamation

  by Eric Hoffman

  55. Food Unchained

  by Samuel W. Anderson

  56. Just Say No to Milk Hormones

  by John Stauber

  57. Gene Technology in the Animal Kingdom

  by Paul B. Thompson

  Conclusion: The Future of GM Food

  by Sheldon Krimsky

  Resources: What You Can Do about GMOs

  by Jeremy Gruber

  Endnotes

  Index

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  We are grateful for the public interest commitment and superb work of GeneWatch editors and editorial boards past and present: Sam Anderson, Philip Bereano, Kostia Bergman, Phil Brown, Sujatha Bvravan, Nancy Connell, Donna Cremans, Christopher Edwards, Leslie Fraser, Phyllis Freeman, Judith Glaubman, Terri Goldberg, Barbara Goldoftas, Colin Gracey, Susan Gracey, Daniel Grossman, Jeremy Gruber, Ruth Hubbard, Kit Johnson, Brandon Keim, Sophia Kolehmainen, Sheldon Krimsky, Herbert Lass, Evan Lerner, Gary Marchant, Wendy McGoodwin, Shelley Minden, Eva Ng, Rayna Rapp, Barbara Rosenberg, Peter Shorett, Seth Shulman, Christine Skwiot, Martin Teitel, Suzanne C. Theberge, Jonathan B. Tucker, Shawna Vogel, Nachama Wilker, Kimberly Wilson, and SusanWright.

  Special thanks to Hector Carosso, for his consultation on the title.

  We would like to thank Holly Rubino, senior editor for Skyhorse Publishing, who provided editorial guidance that helped the editors clarify the book’s goals and audience.

  We also wish to acknowledge the substantial support of both the Cornerstone Campaign and the Safety Systems Foundation.

  FOREWORD

  “Science is science,” declared my college biology professor, alluding to its own rigorous standards, openness, and integrity. Today, my response would be “not quite.” For in the autocratic, commercially driven hands of multinational corporations, “science” becomes the instrument of an overall business plan that results in serious corruptions of scientific attitude, method, and peer-reviewed accountability. This confidential, proprietary “corporate science” closes off Alfred North Whitehead’s definition of science as “keeping options open for revision.” It becomes, in this book’s context, the central chattel in a comprehensive business strategy to corporatize global agriculture. This is accomplished through a remarkable matrix of controls and public subsidies that takes monopolizing corporate behavior and its wildcat offshoots to historically unforeseen depths of danger to people and planet.

  To better absorb the significance of this wide-ranging anthology of articles by independent scientists and science writers,* a brief summary of the biotechnology industry’s emergence over time is in order.

  Two events from the public realm were crucial initiators. In 1972, came the publication of scientific papers by Cohen & Boyer and associates of transgenic DNA splicing across phylogenetic species, including bacteria, viruses, and insects.1 The second event in 1980 was a US Supreme Court 5–4 decision allowing patents on life forms. Those two “assets” facilitated the start of a broadly conceived strategic planning process for genetically modified (GM) food by the fledging biotechnology industry led by Monsanto.

  Corporations engage in strategic planning as the essence of their quest for more revenue and profits. More globalized than ever, they are continually expanding such planning to include, in their favor, our elections, government, environment, education, media, research and development, energy, tax and credit systems, trade agreements, transport, land use, food, and our genetic inheritance. They equate their planning with exercising the control and predictability necessary for their definition of stability. They do not always get their way, but no other institutions have been their match for more than half a century. As artificial entities, from the late nineteenth century onwards, courts have given them the status of “persons” for the purposes of constitutional rights. The world has never seen such an ingenious, power-concentrating machine as the modern, global corporation. Ideally, many of them would like to view themselves as both amoral and “anational” (meaning not domiciled in any particular country).

  Their corporate lawyers have constructed a proliferating system of privileges and immunities which must be viewed as a remarkable intellectual achievement, apart from the purposes served. Because these corporate giants plan the subordination of civic values to the supremacy of commercialism, any resistance is to be countered, preempted, undermined, or destroyed.

  Let us envision, for example, what Monsanto decided to do, once armed with the twin tools of transgenic capability and patentable life forms, to move toward domination of agricultural sub-economies in the US and around the world.

  Monsanto had to create a narrative as to why its GMO patented seeds were needed and superior to traditional seeds in the first place. In a massive, relentless marketing campaign, genetically modified foods were touted as safe, cheaper, higher yielding, more nutritious, requiring lower chemical inputs, and resistant to drought and blight. Because these objectives were shared by federal agencies that funded the basic research, the Monsanto campaign, abetted by an uncritical mass media, made their hope spring eternal.

  The prospect of alleviating world hunger through these measures of productivity was irresistible to the media, which tend to report scientific discoveries by establishment promoters who tout potential benefits without mentioning potential drawbacks. Outlets like the New York Times and Science Magazine have been prone to falling for this propaganda year after year. One has only to recall reports on how the starving masses would allegedly be saved by GMO rice (“Golden Rice”), or GMO cassava, or a GM virus-resistant sweet potato or edible vaccines, followed for years by no such realities in the fields, to see the successes of the biotech industry’s deception.

  Jonathan Latham, crop geneticist and founder of the Bioscience Resource Project, calls “Golden Rice” the “Emperor of GMOs.” He cites food writer Michael Pollan, who called Golden Rice a “purely rhetorical technology.”2 Another way of describing unproven claims and benefits of genetically engineered foods is that the “engineering” on the ground has rushed far ahead, both in public relations and in misapplication, of the “science” that must be its ultimate discipline.

  In his article “Imaginary Organisms: Media Tout Benefits of GMOs That Never Were” published by Extra! in March 2014, Mr. Latham concludes, “These misreports of biotechnology are endlessly useful to the industry. . . . The great value of ‘fakethroughs’ is to confirm, in the eyes of the world, the industry’s claim to be ethical, innovative and essential to a sustainable future.”

  This manufactured credibility is connected with a Washington lobbying force that sways Congress, greased with campaign cash, which destroys through Congressional budget-making what should be balanced research priorities of the National Institutes of Health. The results are non-regulation, unenforceable guidelines, and a supine Department of Agriculture. In this corporate government, the Food and Drug Administration cedes Monsanto its demand not to label genetically-engineered food sold in the markets that the company is presumably proud to sell.

  Thus fortified by its political engineering, Monsanto mutes or compromises academic science through joint ventures with university departments, lucrative consultancies, and a piece of the stock action. Independent academic scientists, who wish to replicate or test the industry’s claims, find a paucity of available grants, obstructed access to the products, and a litigiously backed refusal to disclose the basis of Monsanto’s claims that are cloaked in the alleged cover of trade secrecy.

  In July 2009, Scientific American described the intolerable situation concisely:

  Unfortunately, it is impossible to verify that genetically modified crops perform as advertised. That is because agritech companies have given themselves veto power over the work of independent researchers. . . . Research on genetically modified seeds is still published, of course. But only studies that the seed companies have approved ever see the light of a peer-reviewed
journal. In a number of cases, experiments that had the implicit go-ahead from the seed company were later blocked from publication because the results were not flattering. . . . It would be chilling enough if any other type of company were able to prevent independent researchers from testing its wares and reporting what they find. . . . But when scientists are prevented from examining the raw ingredients in our nation’s food supply or from testing the plant material that covers a large portion of the country’s agricultural land, the restrictions on free inquiry become dangerous.

  Research on the migration of GM pollen from farms to non-GMO-farms; the level of developing bacterial, viral, and insect resistance to GMO-linked herbicides; and longer-run studies of the consequences of GMO seeds and crops on the environment, or even the multiple effects at the cellular level from the newly inserted gene, are hampered and grossly underfunded, whether by government or foundations. But, as the articles in this book demonstrate, enough is known to require the Monsantos to bear their burdens of proof behind their many claims—before marketing their products.

  In the concluding statement to this anthology, Sheldon Krimsky cites disturbing findings that counter the health and safety assertions of the industry and writes, “In the absence of evidence that genetically modified foods are cheaper, produce greater yields, or even work particularly well, lies one widely recognized conclusion: GMO foods provide no added nutritional or cost benefit to the consumer.”

  Why then have farmers accepted much higher priced GM seeds, rooted in radically one-sided censorious contracts with Monsanto called “Technology/Stewardship Agreements”? These “agreements” shift responsibility to the growers, along with a government that does not advise farmers with independent extension research, nor moves under the antitrust laws to break up the ever tighter, more expensive seed oligopoly. The lure started with convenience and an innocent belief in the vendors’ other claims. More than a decade ago, an Iowa corn farmer told me he liked Bt corn primarily because it allowed him to spend more time with his wife—meaning less time needed for weeding. Now that weed resistance to Round Up Ready is emerging, these bad superweeds need more Round Up Ready or other herbicides.

  The impact of GMO seed invasions in developing countries, such as India, is described here in brutal detail. There, an emerging large industrial monoculture disrupting traditional seed saving, sharing, and selling by seed monopolies and royalties, and leading to spiraling debt and displacement of small farmers, is assisted by the promotional support of US government agencies. Co-optation of local regulatory officials, along with campaign-like ad hominem attacks on the few independent scientists and agronomists who raise warnings, are further signs of corporate power abuses.