DAVID VERSUS GOLIATH - Foodopoly: The Battle Over the Future of Food and Farming in America - page 157

crops that are genetically engineered to produce pesticides. These insect-resistant crops contain genes that
deter insects but may have other unintended consequences.
In the case of StarLink corn, created by the European pharmaceutical giant Aventis, the EPA approved
it in 1998 for livestock feed and ethanol, even though there was evidence that it could cause severe allergic
reactions in humans when ingested. Aventis assured the EPA that it would have farmers sign agreements
that the corn would not be used for human food, which obviously is a poor method of regulating an item
that looks like food but is dangerous when eaten.
In 2000 Friends of the Earth had corn products tested and found that Taco Bell corn tortilla shells had
been contaminated by StarLink. Aventis paid out millions in the multiple lawsuits and class actions that
resulted from the widespread allergic reactions, as well as the economic impact on farmers and grain elev-
ators caused by the recall.
Despite the FDA's approval of common GE crops, questions about the safety of eating these crops per-
sist. GE corn and soybeans are the building blocks of the industrialized food supply, from livestock feed to
hydrogenated vegetable oils to high-fructose corn syrup. Safety studies on GE foods are limited, because
biotechnology companies, in their seed-licensing agreements, prohibit cultivation for research purposes. 31
Some of the independent, peer-reviewed research on biotech crops has revealed some troubling health
implications. A 2009 International Journal of Biological Sciences study found that rats that consumed GE
corn for ninety days developed a deterioration of liver and kidney functioning. 32 Another study found ir-
regularities in the livers of rats, suggesting higher metabolic rates resulting from a GE diet. 33 And a 2007
study found significant liver and kidney impairment of rats that were fed insect-resistant Bt corn, affirming
that “with the present data it cannot be concluded that GE corn MON863 is a safe product.” 34 Research
on mouse embryos showed that mice that were fed GE soybeans had impaired embryonic development. 35
Even GE livestock feed may have some impact on consumers of animal products: Italian researchers found
biotech genes in the milk from dairy cows that were fed a GE diet, suggesting the ability of transgenes to
survive pasteurization. 36
Also, evidence suggests that the most common GE-affiliated herbicide, glyphosate, may pose animal
and human health risks. A 2010 study published in Chemical Research in Toxicology found that
glyphosate-based herbicides caused highly abnormal deformities and neurological problems in verteb-
rates. 37 Another study found that glyphosate caused DNA damage to human cells even at lower exposure
levels than those recommended by the herbicide's manufacturer. 38 Nevertheless, glyphosate use on
Roundup Ready crops has grown steadily, with application doubling between 2001 and 2007. 39
In the fifteen years since herbicide-tolerant crops were first introduced, weeds already have become
resistant to the herbicides. Ubiquitous application of Roundup has spawned glyphosate-resistant weeds, a
problem that is driving farmers to apply more toxic herbicides and to reduce conservation tilling to combat
weeds, according to a 2010 National Research Council report. 40
The EPA regulates pesticides and herbicides, including GE crops that are designed to be insect resistant.
A pesticide is defined as a substance that “prevents, destroys, repels or mitigates a pest,” and all pesticides
that are sold and used in the United States fall under EPA jurisdiction. The EPA also sets allowable levels
of pesticide residues in food, including GE insect-resistant crops. Between 1995 and 2008, the EPA re-
gistered twenty-nine GE pesticides engineered into corn, cotton, and potatoes.
Bioengineered pesticides are regulated under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act
(FIFRA), enacted in 1947. 41 New pesticides—including those designed for insect-resistant GE
crops—must demonstrate that they do not cause “unreasonable adverse effects on the environment,” in-
cluding polluting ecosystems and posing environmental and public health risks. 42 The EPA must approve
and register new GE insect-resistant crop traits, just as the agency does with conventional pesticides. 43 Bi-