Seeds of Deception: Exposing Industry and Government Lies About the Safety of the Genetically Engineered Foods You're Eating / Edition 1

by Jeffrey M. Smith, Frances Moore Lappé

Overview

Without knowing it, Americans eat genetically modified (GM) food everyday. While the food and chemical industries claim that GMO food is safe, a considerable amount of evidence shows otherwise. In Seeds of Deception, Jeffrey Smith, a former executive with the leading independent laboratory testing for GM presence in foods, documents these serious health dangers and explains how corporate influence and government collusion have been used to cover them up.

The stories Smith presents read like a mystery novel. Scientists are offered bribes or threatened; evidence is stolen; data withheld or distorted. Government scientists who complain are stripped of responsibilities or fired. The FDA even withheld information from congress after a GM food supplement killed nearly a hundred people and permanently disabled thousands. While Smith was employed by the laboratory he was not allowed to speak on the health dangers or the cover-up. No longer bound by this agreement, Smith now reveals what he knows in this groundbreaking exposé.

Today, food companies sell GM foods that have not undergone safety studies. FDA scientists opposed this, but White House and industry pressure prevailed and the agency's final policy—co-authored by a former Monsanto attorney—denied the risks. The scientists' concerns were made public only after a lawsuit forced the agency to turn over internal documents.

Dan Glickman, former Secretary of Agriculture, describes the government's pro-biotech mindset: "You felt like you were almost an alien, disloyal, by trying to present an open-minded view. . . . So I pretty much spouted the rhetoric. . . . It was written into my speeches."

In Seeds of Deception Smith offers easy-to-understand descriptions of genetic engineering and explains why it can result in serious health problems. This well-documented, pivotal work will show you how to protect yourself and your family.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780972966580
Publisher:	Yes! Books
Publication date:	09/01/2003
Edition description:	First Paperback Edition
Pages:	254
Sales rank:	690,825
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.75(d)

About the Author

International bestselling author of Seeds of Deception and Genetic Roulette, Jeffrey M. Smith is a widely popular spokesperson on the documented health risks of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and how biotech companies rig research, gag critics, hijack regulators, and spin fantastic unfulfilled promises. His Institute for Responsible Technology's Campaign for Healthier Eating in America is designed to achieve the tipping point of consumer rejection of GMOs to force them out of the food supply. He lives in Fairfield, Iowa.

Table of Contents

Foreword / Frances Moore Lappé
Preface / Arran Stephans
Introduction
1. A lesson from overseas
2. What could go wrong - a partial list
3. Spilled milk
4. Deadly epidemic
5. Government by the industry, for the industry
6. Rolling the dice with allergies
7. Muscling the media
8. Changing your diet
9. What you can do
Epilogue
Appendix A: GM foods at a glance
Appendix B: Enzymes and additives

Editorial Reviews

Publishers Weekly-
Recent news headlines have focused on the disagreement between the U.S. and Europe over genetically modified foods: the U.S. exports them, but the European Union doesn't want to import them, believing their safety remains unproven. Are genetically modified foods safe? Longtime anti-GM foods campaigner Smith presents the "opposing" case. He offers cases where GM produced results that were at best unexpected (increased starch content in potatoes), at worst grotesque (pigs without genitals). He describes how one corporation reportedly tried to bribe Canadian government scientists into approving genetically engineered bovine growth hormones they deemed unsafe; how some scientists have reported their careers were threatened as a result of their refusal to approve certain GM products in the U.S.; and how "conflicts of interest, sloppy science, and industry influence" can distort the approval process. The cases Smith presents are scary and timely, but he explores only one side of the story. Readers looking for a balance consideration of genetically modified foods will want to look elsewhere.—This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

"Jeffrey Smith masterfully combines the art of storytelling and investigative reporting. The result is riveting, enlightening, and disturbing."—Jennifer Read Hawthorne, co-author of Chicken Soup for the Woman's Soul

"The revelations in this powerful exposé could spark the revolution that the topic [of genetically engineered foods] deserves."--Hunter Lovins, co-author of Natural Capitalism

"This book, which is the best written on the subject, is essential reading for food activists and concerned consumers."—Ronnie Cummins, National Director of the Organic Consumer's Association

"Seeds of Deception lays bare the blockbuster food safety issue of the 21st century. Every American should read this book."--James S. Turner Esq., author of The Chemical Feast: The Nader Report on the Food and Drug Administration

From the Publisher

Recent news headlines have focused on the disagreement between the U.S. and Europe over genetically modified foods: the U.S. exports them, but the European Union doesn't want to import them, believing their safety remains unproven. Are genetically modified foods safe? Longtime anti-GM foods campaigner Smith presents the "opposing" case. He offers cases where GM produced results that were at best unexpected (increased starch content in potatoes), at worst grotesque (pigs without genitals). He describes how one corporation reportedly tried to bribe Canadian government scientists into approving genetically engineered bovine growth hormones they deemed unsafe; how some scientists have reported their careers were threatened as a result of their refusal to approve certain GM products in the U.S.; and how "conflicts of interest, sloppy science, and industry influence" can distort the approval process. The cases Smith presents are scary and timely, but he explores only one side of the story. Readers looking for a balance consideration of genetically modified foods will want to look elsewhere. (Sept.) Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

Publishers Weekly