Is Your Pizza Poisoned?

January 18, 2005

Is Your Pizza Poisoned? JoAnn Guest Jan 17, 2005 21:22 PST

by: Christina Francine, jcspre-

Bet you didn't know that cheese on your pizza pie had human hormones in

it; that the genes of fish were inserted into the tomato that made your

sauce; and that with all their " messing " around, your crust probably has

a gene related to human cancer and organisms from viruses in it.

What? You don't want to eat that pizza; you want real food - the good

old fashioned kind, the way nature created it?

You say you'll read labels and make you're own choice, thank you?

Well, if these Frankenfoods aren't labeled, how can you?

Manufacturers aren't required to test every ingredient, enzyme or

organism used in manufacturing.

You say our trust-worthy government wouldn't allow such a thing, nor

would the FDA, but let's face it, money talks here in America. Those big

corporations want to make money. They want their products to have a long

shelf life, and they're worried about the fact that there will be about

4 billion mouths to feed in the 21st century.

Did you know that despite the increasing warnings from scientists that

current (yes, current) gene-splicing techniques are crude, inexact, and

unpredictable and therefore dangerous. Pro-biotech governments and

regulatory agencies, led by the U.S., maintain that Genetically

Engineered foods and crops are " substantially equivalent " to

conventional foods, and therefore require neither manufactory labeling

nor pre-market safety testing.

- Why We Need A Global Moratorium

The food industry sees no reason to discuss what should or shouldn't be

put in food because they intend to put anything in food which is

technically feasible and economically profitable. " To them profit equals

morality and everything else is a nuisance factor to be handled by a PR

department, " says Don Fitz, Gateway Green Alliance.

They don't want you to be able to make that choice because they would

rather you didn't know about it in the first place.

At the beginning of this century the food industry simply covered up

everything they did. When a man named Upton Sinclair exposed them, the

Pure Food and Drug Act followed the same year.

Now, the food industry has a much better public relations department.

They are slick and smooth when it comes to Frankenfood. They rationalize

and manipulate.

The Senior Executive of McDonald's restaurant said once that he hoped

one day Americans could go into McDonald's and order food specially

engineered for their health needs.

Want some firefly genes?

If your chips have corn in them, they could have.

Hope you're not allergic to Brazil nuts, that cupcake you're eating

with soybean oil in it might cause a problem.

About 55% of last year's crop of soybeans were genetically engineered.

Other countries are fighting and they've made headway, but here in

America it's as if we don't care that we're being made guinea pigs to

all the experimenting.

Finally, an outcry from the U.S. public has begun, but it hasn't been

enough. Congress hasn't felt enough pressure, and until they do, they in

turn won't put pressure on the FDA. The FDA has close ties to the food

industry and won't do anything until they have to.

Under Clinton, in fact, the FDA has stuck to its laissez-faire policy

and so has been even threatening other countries that require labeling

of gene-altered foods. They say they'll withdraw from the proposed trade

pact if they don't reconsider.

Maybe you're not aware that 60% of packaged foods here in America today

contain GE foods. How are you to know? Besides, what can you do about

it? You can write a letter. Write one to Dan Glickman, the Secretary of

Agriculture in Washington, D.C.

Tell him to change his mind on saying yes to Frankenfoods.

Don't have time to write a letter? Go to:

http://www.thecampaign.org/letters.htm

and one will be provided for you.

All you have to do is print it, put down your name and address, sign it,

put it in an envelope, slap a stamp on it, and slip it into your

mailbox. Done. You did your part.

So why don't Americans seem to be as concerned about Genetically

Engineered foods as other countries?

Thirty-four genetically altered products have been approved for consumer

use and are being promoted by their manufacturers.

Currently, in Europe, only nine products made it past regulatory

agencies.

Is it because Americans aren't as aware of what's going on, do we trust

our government, big corporations and the FDA too much, or have we

resolved that there isn't much we can do about it anyway and/or pass it

off for someone else to do something about?

A Few Facts About Genetically Engineered & Altered Foods:

The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates that in 1999, genetically

engineered crops occupied 25% of U.S. cropland: 35% of corn and 55% of

soybeans.

Non mandatory labeling exists currently. Should consumers be given the

choice of whether they want to consume altered and GE foods or should

the government and large corporations make it for us?

No long-term studies have been done. No one can answer whether GE foods

and crops are safe.

Gene tinkering includes the creation of new and dangerous virus diseases

by the process of genetic recombination.

From Professor Joe Cummins (professor Emerutuis of Genetics) of

University of Western Ontario in his article found at

www.natural-law.ca/genetic/JoeWolfin.html

: " Cattle are being treated with genetically engineered hormones that

cause the animals to suffer pain and have diseases of the teats leading

to excessive use of antibiotics and spread of disease resistance. The

hormone is being used even though there is evidence that drinking milk

from treated cows will increase breast cancer in people. Cattle suffer

from the 'shipping disease,' a nervous anxiety and anorexia when being

shipped to market. A human hormone gene was found to cure that problem. "

Genetic engineering is the process of " modifying " cell information.

It's where the genes of one organism is transferred to another. Example:

the genes from a fish were inserted into a tomato to create a more

durable tomato.

www.natural-law.ca/genetic/biotechNews/biotechnov96.html

Europe is making a stand against genetically altered products while

Americans seem to be a nation of willing guinea pigs for the

corporations that control our food supply.

Nestle UK has promised not to use bio-engineered ingredients in European

products, but they make no promises for their North-American division.

Check labels for these commonly altered items:

soy, corn oils, and flour, lecithin, canola, and soy protein isolates.

Web-sites for Further Reading and Knowledge on GE Foods & Crops:

In Motion Magazine

Cornell Cooperative Extension Home Page (Genetically Engineered Foods &

Crops - Online Resources)

Mothers for Natural Law of the Natural Law Party

Use Common Sense in Licensing GE Crops

S/R 19: Family Farmers Warn of Dangers of Genetically Engineered Crops

The Campaign

Pandora's Pantry

Wild Oats...it's only natural

Natural Foods - GE Foods - Answers To Frequently Asked Questions

Keep in mind that these following products may be genetically altered,

contain or originate from genetically engineered organisms because

reading labels is no guarantee you can find which foods contain these GE

ingredients, and not every enzyme or organism is listed.