The nation's food safety authority, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), does not require genetically engineered food crops to be labeled. Translation? None of us know whether the food we eat is genetically engineered or not...or safe!

Potato Spuds Registered as a Pesticide:

Monsanto's "New Leaf" potato, which has been genetically engineered to incorporate a pesticide, BACILLUS THURIENGENSIS (Bt), into every cell in the potato, to kill potato beetles, is required to be registered as a pesticide with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)! This means if you buy potatoes from the supermarket, you likely are consuming an EPA registered pesticide. The problem is since neither the EPA or FDA require labeling disclosing the fact, no one can make an informed choice not to purchase such spuds.

The label on a bag of Monsanto's pesticidal potatoes in the supermarket lists all of the nutrients and micronutrients in the potato, but fails to mention that the potatoes have been genetically engineered or that they are legally a pesticide. Food labeling is ordinarily the responsibility of FDA.

EPA-approved pesticides normally carry an EPA-approved warning label. For example, a bottle of Bt bears a label that warns people to avoid inhaling Bt and to avoid getting Bt in an open wound. However, in the case of Monsanto's pesticidal potato, EPA says FDA has responsibility for requiring a label because the potato is a food. But, the FDA only requires genetically engineered foods to be labeled if they contain allergens or have been "materially changed," and the FDA has determined that Monsanto did not "materially change" the New Leaf potato by turning it into a pesticide. Therefore no FDA label is required.

Furthermore, the law that empowers the FDA (the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act) forbids FDA from including any information about pesticides on food labels. Pesticide labels are EPA's responsibility. Wow, talk about the run around!

Just another example of our tax dollars at work, folks.

Whether or not you are comfortable eating food laced with Bt is your decision. Everyone, however should have the right to know what goes in the food they eat. Genetically engineered or altered food changes thousands of years of what natural food is or isn't.

No one knows the long term effects GE foods may have on human health or the environment. To promote GE foods for the sake of profits at the expense of health and environmental concerns demonstrates the greed and selfishness that rules our world. Editor - Essential Oils Online. . . .

More Information on Genetically Engineered (GE) Foods:

To learn more about GE foods and the pesticide laced potato.
Seeds of Destruction

For related articles on Genetically Engineered (GE) Foods:
Biotech in Trouble - Part I
Biotech in Trouble - Part II

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