There’s something rotten in the refrigerator, and it definitely isn’t that leftover spaghetti. It’s actually a bacterium called Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt), and it’s being put into millions of acres of corn, potatoes and cotton to ward off harmful insects from eating the delicious leafy greens of the crops. What biotech firms don’t want to tell you is that Bt bacterium develops health problems in people who handle it daily. In July 1999, “Science News” reported on Ohio crop pickers that showed “long-term exposure to Bt can provoke asthma or serious allergic reactions.”
Since 1999, Craig Winters, executive director of The Campaign to Label Genetically Engineered Foods, has been trying to show the nation the exact composition of the food being put on our supermarket shelves. “A total ban on genetically engineered [GE] products is far too difficult to pass through Congress, so we focus our efforts on getting these biotech companies to let people know if they’re buying something that they’re allergic to,” Winters explained to me.
Winters co-founded an organization known as Citizens for Health in 1992, which largely deals with dietary supplement issues and passing consumer protection legislation. This rose largely out of the controversial havoc wreaked by genetically engineered tryptophan, a dietary supplement that produces toxic contaminants in those who ingest it. The GE tryptophan was recalled, but not before 37 Americans died, 1,500 were permanently disabled, and a remarkable 5,000 contracted a blood disorder known as Eosinophilia myalgia syndrome, whose symptoms are characterized by debilitating muscle pain and a high Eosinophilia count (a type of white blood cell that is usually found when a toxin or parasitic infection is present). Eventually, Citizens for Health relocated its offices to Washington DC where they continue to lobby the FDA for new regulations regarding dietary supplements.
In 1996, Winters expanded his cause from drugs and dietary supplements to the food being sold in supermarkets nationwide. Scientists discovered soybeans that had been genetically engineered with protein-rich genes of the Brazil nut also contained the allergenic properties of the Brazil nut. The allergenic side effects had not turned up in studies performed on animals. The soybeans were halted immediately, but the case was something indicative of a much larger problem, namely that biotech firms had pushed for genetically engineered crops too quickly without sufficient testing.
“We’re trying to wake the American public up to the fact that this political system is a republic, not a democracy,” Winters comments. “It’s crucial for people to be involved in the political process.”
A large part of the campaign’s work involves pressuring political leaders like Howard Dean, who supported passing legislation like HR 2916, the Genetically Engineered Food Right to Know Act. The act has two main parts: first, it would require food companies to label all foods that contain GE material, and second, it would set up a legal framework to ensure the accuracy of the labeling without creating significant economic hardship on the food production system. Dennis Kucinich helped introduce the bill into Congress, which has been virtually ignored in the past three sessions.
“It’s not a hugely influential issue, but it could be something Kerry can use, if he plays his cards right, to draw votes from Nader,” says Winters. John Kerry has yet to take a stance on the issue, possibly because he holds stock in Monsanto, one of the largest biotech firms in the world. Nader has publicly supported the issue, and Kerry’s support of the issue could affect the votes of thousands involved with organic farming and organic food production, and everyday consumers.
However, it’s not only risks of allergies and asthma that has the Campaign piping mad about the GE food industry. It’s also the threatened existence of the Monarch butterfly.
Researchers at Cornell University have found that genetically engineered corn is harmful and especially deadly to the monarch butterfly, one of the primary ingredients in an eco-system that thrives off pollination. Nearly half of the monarch caterpillars that ate milkweed leaves dusted with GE corn pollen died within four days. The monarchs that survived had smaller appetites than the control group. A later study at Iowa State University found that plants growing in and around the perimeters of GE cornfields were being dusted with enough pollen to kill monarchs. The long-term effects of this are plain to see. As the monarch butterflies die off, so do the plants that rely on them for germinating pollen.
The issue also umbrellas out to larger-scale destruction of the environment, namely cross-contamination of GE crops into organic crops. Winters has organized several letters to congress and has put enormous pressure on Michael Bilirakis, Chairman of the Health Subcommittee to address the fact that organic farms as far away as a mile from GE farms are being affected by cross-contamination. Winters flew to Washington DC in December, spurring hundreds of letters from constituents on the subject. “We want to be a real catalyst in awakening the populace to the political power that they have,” Winters stated.
And then there’s the fact that Mother Nature has a way of getting around any man-made obstacle. Genetic engineers use antibiotic “markers” in almost every genetically modified organism to indicate that the organism has been successfully engineered. Scientists believe these antibiotic markers may contribute to the decreasing effectiveness of antibiotics against diseases. The same holds for a leaf-eating insect, which, over time and prolonged exposure to something like Bt corn pollen, will develop immunity to it.
So far, The Campaign to Label Genetically Engineered Foods (soon to be renamed “The Campaign”) has succeeded in getting local politicians Jim McDermott and Jay Inslee to co-sponsor the legislation. In the middle of March, UC Berkeley will be hosting the Genetic Engineering Action Network Conference, which will draw new supporters and build the mounting pressure on D.C. politicians to publicly address the issues. In 2005, the Campaign will take on multiple issues aside from GE foods, such as food irradiation, global warming, and the like.
Craig Winters and the Campaign to Label Genetically Engineered Foods hosts an informative website at thecampaign.org. To get involved, call 425.771.4049, or write The Campaign, PO Box 55699, Seattle, WA, 98155.
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