Eating in the Dark: America's Experiment with Genetically Engineered Food

by Kathleen Hart and Kathleen Hart

Book Overview

Most Americans eat genetically modified food on a daily basis, but few of us are aware we're eating something that has been altered. Meanwhile, consumers abroad refuse to buy our engineered crops; their groceries are labeled so that everyone knows if the contents have been modified. What's going on here? Why does the U.S. government treat engineered foods so differently from the rest of the world? Eating in the Dark tells the story of how these new...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0375724982
• ISBN13: 9780375724985
• Release Date: August 2003
• Publisher: Knopf Publishing Group
• Length: 352 Pages
• Weight: 1.00 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.2" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

Do you know what you're eating?

I read Seeds of Deception prior to reading this book and subsequently found Ms. Hart's work to mostly review of what I already knew. Some of her interviews brought new faces and personalities to the stories of protestors and farmers embroiled in the conflict. It amazes me that with all the evidence and scientific uncertainty surrounding GMO's, America still does not have labeling laws! Pass this title and others like it along to your friends and family. Know what you're eating!

Be very, very afraid

Kathleen Hart's "Eating in the Dark" documents how genetically engineered (GE) foods have been widely introduced without the American public's knowledge or consent. As such, the book is a sobering story of deeply-entrenched corporate interests and the trampling of consumer rights.Ms. Hart is an experienced journalist who has done an excellent job documenting the activities of the biotech industry and its opponents. The author shows that much of the so-called debate that has played out in the media has been mostly pro-industry propaganda and public relations, with most Americans remaining blissfully unaware of the risks they may be taking by eating GE food products. This contrasts sharply with Europe, Japan and elsewhere, where the public has prevailed upon their representatives to enact labeling laws and keep most biotech food out of their countries.Ms. Hart discusses scientific studies that are critical of GE products to make the case that more study is needed before approval is granted. The protestations from the biotech industry that these studies represent "junk science" are beside the point. It is not unreasonable to demand that radical food products -- such as potatoes and corn that produce their own pesticides -- are thoroughly tested before being released into the environment; this would seem especially true when one considers that there is absolutely no nutritional benefit for the consumers who ingest these products. But of course a strict regime of testing does not serve the interests of capital, which must recoup its investment and earn profits as quickly as possible. Hence the pressure on U.S. government agencies filled with powerful ex-industry executives to hastily approve these dubious products for sale.Ms. Hart provides abundant evidence that consumers and environmentalists should be very, very afraid of the captains of biotech and their products; their penchant for mischief could hardly be imagined by the most talented writers of fiction. For example, Monsanto's aborted "terminator" seed project threatened to introduce crops that would produce sterile seeds in a corporate scheme that would have made the world almost totally dependent on its products for the maintenance of the food supply. Another example is "bio-pharming", which is the insane idea of using food crops to grow pharmaceutical products in an open-air environment. Unfortunately, bio-pharming could result in cross-pollination with native plants and might ultimately ruin staples that humanity has depended on for thousands of years. Ms. Hart makes it clear that such risks are totally unnecessary and deserves much greater attention from the public if we are to avert disaster in the future.On the positive side, the book helps us understand that the new science of genomics might render GE techniques obsolete, providing researchers with tools that merely enhance age-old plant breeding practices and deliver on the promise of more healthy and nutritious foods. Let's hope that

A stunner that will have you eyeing groceries in a new way..

This book is an excellent introduction to anyone looking to learn more about genetically modifyed food. I asked my husband what he thought of genetically modifyed food, he answered that "It's good isn't it? Aren't they developing food with more vitamins that will grow with fewer pesticiedes?" This would have been my answer had I not read this book. According to the author, and this reviewer, the American public doesn't realize that they're eating genetically modyfied food NOW. It's in your "Betty Croker" mix and in a bag of potatoes, it's in your polenta corn meal mix and milk. This author carefully chronicles how the EPA, FDA and USDA have failed to inform the public of this change in our food chain and worse -- the have utterly and completely failed to ensure that it's safe to both eat and grow despite public opinion to the contrary. While other industirlized nations (European Union, Japan, etc.) have instituted lableing the US has not. The documented disregard for the public's safety will have you wondering who's money is in who's pocket and exposes the biggest loophole in federal regulation.

Extraordinarily alarming

This book is frightening. Bioengineered food is mixed into everything we eat, and, while it may be harmless to humans and the environment (though tests and "gene pollution" of the environment indicate otherwise), the huge chemical companies who created the genetically engineered crops persuaded the FDA, USDA, and the EPA to let them put the products on the market without fully testing the foods. The European Union, Japan, and, well, essentially every other country in the world refuses to import bioengineered food from the USA - and after reading this book, you'll understand why.