Genetically Engineered Food: A Self Defense Guide for Consumers

by Ronnie Cummins and Ben Lilliston

Book Overview

Stormy debates about genetically engineered (GE) food have raged throughout the world in recent years, and the issue is now more potent than ever. Seventy to eighty percent of processed foods now sold in supermarkets contain genetically engineered ingredients, and the trend is growing at a startling rate. This second, completely revised edition of Genetically Engineered Food is an all-in-one guide written specifically to help consumers educate themselves...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1569244693
• ISBN13: 9781569244692
• Release Date: June 2004
• Publisher: Balance
• Length: 240 Pages
• Weight: 2.10 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.6" x 8.2"

Customer Reviews

Self defense against GMO

This is a classic loaded with a comprehensive overview on the American GMO products. They list the source, market, name blends, which primary GMO and their consumer products to avoid. It is a must read if you eat and try to avoid GMO into your kitchen by shopping local farmer market for organic fresh fruit and vegetables. In America, health is a human right and we cannot afford to be sick as hospital bills and health cost may bankrupt as America is number one in cost but #37 status in WHO. Who trap us in such slave system with high drug cost? This book is an enlightenment to all Americans with the desire to keep healthy!

DECIDE BEFORE YOU EAT IT !

Genetically engineered food has not been proven that causes obvious dangerous results.This is what the major food companies claim to be true and this is what they use as a strong argument for not labeling the products that contain genetically engineered ingredients. This book does what governments should have done around the world years now uncovers all the companies that use such ingredients after have been tested. Explains why the dangerous disinformation we get from the promoters of the gene foods can be dangerous not only for our health but for the future of humankind and goes even deeper analyzing the structure of this propaganda and how it works. At the end includes a list of companies with real organic foods and many sources like books lists catalogues web sites were you can find the informations you need to find what we should eat. I must mention that i had really good time reading this book and specially the part that mentions the six myths that the companies use to present us the genetically engineered food as the panacea that is going to save the world. I doubt that your life is going to be the same after you will gather all these information. P.S. it deserves five stars because it makes you feel much safer after you read it.

A Resourceful Book

This is a wonderful, resourceful book that captured my attention as I read all about genetically engineered food and the companies that deal with them. I particularly liked the resources found in the back, ranging from the CSA's to listings of Organic Seed Companies. I also appreciated reading about the names of companies that do not produce genetically engineered food. Excellent!

A Book that Needed to be Written

I knew instinctively that I was against GE foods, and absolutely in favor of mandatory labeling of GE foods, but I did not know the actual facts behind the argument against GE foods. This book lays out those facts clearly. The authors make no attempt to hide the fact that they are against GE foods, but they do not let their bias get in the way of their reporting of the facts. There's no ranting and raving or kook-talk going on here. True, there are not enough facts to go around on this issue, but what few *independent* studies have been done have produced alarming results. The book also does an excellent job of illustrating how so many other countries around the world have absolutely rejected GE foods. The costs paid by the American farmer are also discussed. And there is a ton of consumer-related info. If you eat food, you need this book.

Taking the Offense with "GE Food: A Self Defense Guide"

This new book on the dangers of genetically engineered or modified foods is a great lay persons' guide through the scientific jargon and concepts of genetic engineering or modification. Ronnie Cummins and Ben Lilliston have helped readers to become citizen scientists and to be prepared to answer and discuss the many issues surrounding the genetic engineering of our food systems. Whether you are preparing for a meeting with an elected official about food and technology policies, or meeting with your chapter of the PTA, this handbook will place facts and figures at your fingertips.They begin their story with the basics of genetic engineering agricultural biotechnology and weave through the health and ecological risks associated with this techology. But this book is not just about the risks and social and ethical hazards modern societies face with genetic engineering.The book offers practical information about what genetically modified food products and ingredients one should avoid, and the companies who make them. In presenting information about the regulatory processes in the United States and other parts of the world, Cummins and Lilliston give us all the necessary information to bring to bear on government officials and agencies to act for the public good. There are also tips about calling and writing to companies that produce or distribute ge foods. In fact, the movement to regulate ge/gm foods may have its greatest impact upon these companies who are very sensitive to public opinion and the marketability of these new products.Besides recommendations for avoiding ge foods, their vision includes acting and shopping with a purpose. The last chapter, where to find out more, is worth the price alone as an invaluable resource for educating and agitating in your community. "Genetically Engineered Food: A Self-Defense Guide for Consumers" offers the kind of information and inspiration for us all to come back to the table of plenty by seeing a sustainable food system that re-unites consumers and producers. Get to know the farmers in your area and grow your own.If you care about what you eat and who is growing our food, this easy to read book will help you develop a better understanding of the issues and what you can do about them.

If You Eat, You Must Read This Book

Forget the feel-good hype that advertisers, marketing types, and "bioscientists" are trying to make you believe: an untested, unknown, and uncontrollable technology has been released into our food supply, and we will be living with the consequences for generations to come. Corporate agriculture holds the farmer and consumer hostage in the never-ending quest for ever-greater profits. The research conducted by so-called bioscientists is shoddy and sparse, and what has been done to farmers in America and abroad is sickening. Particularly alarming is the lack of data on long-term ingestion of these products, especially in children. Cummins and Lilliston provide information on how to determine whether products contain GE ingredients and how to avoid GE-tainted food. Ways to get involved--at the very least we should be loudly insisting that these products be labeled--are provided as well. If you think tobacco companies are dishonest and greedy, wait until you read about corporate agriculture. If you eat, you must read this book.