SIGHTINGS



Canola - Canada's
Oil Spill Onto The
American Market
By Janet Allen <janetplanet1@earthlink.net>
c. 1997, 2000 All Rights Reserved
2-3-2000
 
 
"Knock knock..."
"Who's there?"
"Canola..."
"Canola who?"
"Canola you scientists please explain what's so good about eating
oil from the genetically altered rapeseed plant?"
 
 
 
When it comes to the fats and oils we Americans use for cooking, whether at home or in the commercial food industry, Canola oil can best be de- scribed as the "new kid on the block." A Neighborhood Watch of sorts, however, has been organized recently by health and consumer advocates who have some well-founded suspicions that this biotech test-tube baby is not all that its seeds are cracked up to be. Although the official image of Canola oil has been almost that of a panacea, a heart-healthy, make-your-doctor-proud alternative to other naughty fats, perhaps it's time to flip the coin of opinion and wander into the territory of those who beg to differ. After all, some degree of controversy is brewing on this front, and the new kid you've welcomed into your frying pan just may be playing with matches, ready to watch your good health go up in smoke.
 
KING 'LEAR': WHAT'S IN A NAME?
 
But first...a little background on the defendant: A brainchild of the Canadian seed-oil industry, Canola was fashioned from its genetic ancestor as a safer, more palatable variety of what was previously referred to there as "lear oil" ("low erucic acid rapeseed"). Its name was changed for the international market to an abbreviated version of the term Canadian oil, hence: "Canola." Distracting the public's attention from any association with the word "rape" was just the first of many premeditated ploys to coax the blank-slate consumer into accepting this promising new culinary commodity.
 
The Rapeseed plant has been grown for thousands of years for camp oil and cooking oil, and in the 1940's was employed as a lubricant for steam locomotives and ship engines (soon being replaced by diesel fuel). In addition, this semi-drying oil is used as a fuel, soap base, synthetic rubber base, and illuminant for slick, magazine-style, color pages. A member of the mustard family, Rape oil, according to some sources, is also used to produce the chemical warfare agent "Mustard Gas," as well as the more benign homeopathic remedy "Thiosinaminum." Canadian farmers were initially introduced to it as an oil crop in 1942, but not until 1957 was an edible form of its oil first extracted. However, its versatility was limited as a commercial crop due to some inherently negative characteristics. It contained high amounts of two undesirable substances: ERUCIC ACID, which can be harmful to humans, and GLUCOSINOLATES, which have the damaging effect of inhibiting livestock growth. But scientists will be scientists, and eventually breeders were successful in developing varieties low in both of these compounds. In 1974, researchers at the University of Manitoba, Winnipeg utilized genetic engineering techniques to alter its chemical composition, making Canola more suitable for consumption.
 
According to the Canadian Canola Growers Association (CCGA) based in Manitoba, "Canola is a multi-million dollar industry that contributes immensely to the Canadian economy through job creation and trade." That's not too surprising, considering the Canadian government provides large agricultural subsidies to growers of this crop. Whereas in the 1940's, a mere 6,000 acres of rapeseed was harvested there per year, the nineties decade has seen the figure multiply to 10.5 million acres annually, nearly half of that grown in Saskatchewan. Now that the Canola boom has hit hard, American farmers have grabbed a piece of the action in our Pacific northwest, north central, and southeast, where blossoming fields of the bright yellow flower is a familiar sight in summer. Each plant produces numerous pods (about one-fifth the size of pea pods, but similiar in shape), within which are tiny round seeds that are crushed to obtain the 40% oil they contain. The remainder of the seed is processed into canola meal, sold as a high-protein animal feed. Currently, Canola holds the position of fifth in the world trade in agricultural crops, after rice, wheat, maize, and cotton. It is the third most significant Canadian grain export, after wheat and barley.
 
All sounds fine and dandy...so where's the problem?
 
POLITICS AS USUAL
 
In 1988, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration permitted the coined name "Canola" to be used as a generic name for "lear oil," resulting in a significant increase in its importation into this country. Today, we purchase in excess of 80% of Canada's total production of edible vegetable oils, 63% of which is Canola. As a matter of public record, the Canadian government and industry paid our (FDA) $50 million dollars to have Canola oil placed on the GRAS ("Generally Recognized As Safe") list, part of a scheme to sidestep the otherwise lengthy and much more expensive approval process. Thus a new industry was created. What's more, absolutely no medical research on humans was required or completed (similar to the approval of food irradiation and genetically engineered foods) to establish the oil's safety or benefits before money was spent to promote it in this country. However, the misconception that experimentation with non-human species is a viable tool for determining safety apparently led scientists to engage in studies with laboratory animals that were "disastrous. Rats developed fatty degeneration of heart, kidney, adrenals, and thyroid gland. When canola oil was withdrawn from their diets, the deposits dissolved but scar tissue remained on all vital organs." Yet the ironic thing is that, even though these studies were mistakenly believed to have some validity, they were nevertheless disregarded anyway...just another good example of bad science, wasted revenues, and unnecessary suffering.
 
GREASE IS THE WORD, IS THE WORD THAT YOU HEARD
 
The nutritional springboard off which Canola oil's career was launched involves the discovery by dietary experts that it has the lowest level of saturated fat content (6-7%) of any oil, contains more cholesterol- lowering monounsaturated fat (58-62%) than any except olive oil, and has a moderate level of polyunsaturated fat (32%) The latter two are deemed to be essential sources of energy and possible factors in lowering the risk of heart disease. Like all non-animal derived, plant-based fats, it is cholesterol-free. Another selling point is Canola's distinction of containing Omega-3 (10-15%) and Omega-6 (23%) fatty acids, reputed to lower both cholesterol and triglycerides, as well as contributing to brain growth and development. Log onto any Canola industry website, and this is the standard company line you'll encounter, with minor variations. Fazio Foods Intl., a Vancouver-based operation, even went so far as posting: "Nutrition experts recognize canola oil as having the best fatty acid ratio." I guess these "experts" live on one of those other planets where the vastly superior flax, hemp, borage, and blackcurrant oils have yet to be cultivated. In addition to some of the above glowing sentiments, the FOOD LOVER'S COMPANION by Sharon Tyler Herbst states: "The bland-tasting canola oil is suitable both for cooking and for salad dressings." Apparently harboring an ignorance about this devitalized, flavorless ingredient, Ms. Herbst should be informed that all oils lose their naturally nutty, unique, full-bodied tastes and aromas (as well as nutritive content) after the manufacturing industry's tireless assault of an array of destructive processes: Refining; Degumming; Batch acidulation; Bleaching; Deodorization; High temperature expeller pressing; and Chemical extraction methods using gasoline-like solvents. Now doesn't that sound appetizing?
 
HOW SWEET IT ISN'T
 
In speaking with Sam Gerard, health consultant and CEO of The Ultimate Life corporation (manufacturer of health products, including the best-selling The Ultimate Meal nutritional powder), I was delighted to receive a logical, simple outlook on the whole issue of Canola oil's merits: "It's not a matter of how bad it is, but about how great it's not. It's not even in the equation, nowhere near the Top Five best oils, falling way below even Safflower. It might be low in saturated fat, but it's by no means the best in essential fatty acids, which is the primary purpose of consuming oils. No matter how much technology advances, all it's ever trying to do is mimic or duplicate the abundant genius of nature. Emphasizing Canola's good points is a marketing concept, because they are selling Canola oil, and can't tell you to go out and buy the much healthier Flax or Borage or Olive, which are their competition." According to Gerard, Flax ranks in first place (richest in Omega-3 and -6 essential fatty acids) and Borage a close second (the highest source of gamma linoleic acid at 21%, as compared to Evening Primrose Oil at below 10%). As high temperatures would destroy their healing qualities, they should be used cold in salad dressings and cereals, or added to foods after cooking. Extra-virgin Olive oil (third on the list) and Sunflower oil (fourth) are more stable and may be used for frying or other heat-related preparations. Although Hemp oil is the true winner in the "best ratio of essential fatty acids" category, Gerard feels that the product's cleanliness and integrity is still in question because it is such a young industry, with controls and standards not yet in place. (Please call 800/THE-MEAL--or 800/843-6325--for further inquiries about The Ultimate Life products.)
 
DOWN IN THE MOUTH
 
Detouring from this common sense, elimination-by-default approach to Canola oil's fall from glory, other health advocates are taking a more vocal, radical position. Sally Fallon, author of NOURISHING TRADITIONS,
 
writes: "Rapeseed is unfit for human consumption because it contains a very long-chain fatty acid called "erucic acid," which in large quan- tities is associated with fibrotic lesions in the heart. Canola oil was bred to contain little if any erucic acid (2%) and has drawn the attention of nutritionists because of its high oleic acid content. But there are some indications that Canola oil presents dangers of its own. It has a high sulphur content and goes rancid easily. Baked goods made with Canola oil develop mold very quickly. The Omega-3 fatty acids of processed Canola oil contain trans-fatty acids similar to those in margarine and possibly more dangerous to the health." Fallon concludes with the warning that it should be avoided completely. Even the conservative HARVARD HEALTH LETTER refers to trans-fats as "the new enemy," citing mounting scientific evidence that they contribute to heart disease and other adverse conditions. Award-winning researcher Edward Siguel, M.D., Ph.D., author of ESSENTIAL FATTY ACIDS IN HEALTH AND DISEASE, was invited to investigate fatty acids as part of the Framingham Cardiovascular Offspring Study. After developing a sensitive test to determine amounts within the human system, he found a definite correlation between trans-fat levels and cardiovascular illness. In 1994, in a presentation before the Second Annual Symposium on Functional Medicine, Siguel concluded that "the insufficiency of EFA's (essential fatty acids) may underlie many of the chronic diseases so prevalent in Western societies," cautioning as well that low-fat diets not based on whole foods might be hazardous in this regard.
 
Surprisingly, Fallon offers evidence that tropical oils such as Palm kernel and Coconut are actually a healthier option to Canola and believes that the bad rap they have received is a result of intense lobbying by the vegetable oil industry. Extremely stable, they can be stored at room temperature for many months without turning rancid (and thereby carcinogenic). Although they contain between 80-90% saturated fat, over two-thirds of these are in the form of short- and medium-chain fatty acids (often called "medium-chain triglycerides"), including the notable "lauric acid." Found in large quantities in both coconut and mother's milk, it appears to have strong anti-fungal and anti-microbial properties and may safeguard us against bacteria and mold so prevalent in our food supply. She observes that, as one-third of the world's nations in tropical areas have switched to polyunsaturated vegetable oils, the incidence of intestinal disorders and immune deficiency diseases has increased dramatically.
 
"The saturated fat scare has forced most manufacturers to abandon these safe and healthy oils in favor of artifically saturated, hydrogenated soybean, corn, and cottonseed oils--the waste products of America's three biggest crops." (The first two are grown mainly for livestock feed; as much as 80-95% of these crops go to fatten up our animals, not to sustain hungry humans.) And according to Russell Jaffe, M.D., a noted medical researcher, cottonseed oil--which, not being considered a food crop, may be heavily sprayed with toxic pesticides-- contains toxic fatty acids similar to those in the rapeseed oil that was taken off the market 30 years ago after being suspected of causing several deaths. Cottonseed oil is cheap and plays a widespread role in the food industry, commonly used to fry potato chips and in (often times hydrogenated) baked and processed items.
 
UP IN SMOKE
 
The medical community is aware of a rare fatal degenerative disease called Adrenoleukodystrophy (ADL), which is caused by long-chain fatty acids (c22 to c28) building up and eventually destroying the protective sheath (myelin) surrounding our nerves. Canola falls into this category, being a c22 long-chain fatty acid. In addition, it potentially degenerates into dangerous trans-fatty acids when heated above 320 degrees Fahrenheit, which always occurs during commercial processing. Despite manufacturer claims that their product is "expeller-pressed" or "cold-pressed," (meaning no external heat source was applied), very high temperatures are still generated by the machinery and cause extensive damage. Even "lightly refined" canola oil is subjected to most of the chemical processing steps applied to regular grocery store oils, the main difference being that chemical solvents aren't used to extract the oil from the seeds, and that preservatives and defoamers aren't added.
 
Those who will defend Canola may bring attention to the fact that the Chinese and Indians have used for centuries with no ill effects, but according to Udo Erasmus ("FATS THAT HEAL, FATS THAT KILL"), their oils were in an unrefined form, which makes a world of difference. However, according to an article in the Wall Street Journal on June 7, 1995 by Amal Kumar Maj, smoke emitted from rapeseed oil used for stir frying in China was found to emit carcinogenic chemicals, increasing the incidence of lung cancer in that country. And an ABC news report broad-cast on Feb. 15, 1994 aired results of a medical study which confirmed a definite link between the consumption of Canola and Soy oils and the development of prostrate cancer in men.
 
John Thomas, author of "YOUNG AGAIN: HOW TO REVERSE THE AGING PROCESS,"
 
is another opinionated health activist who sees no need to mince words. "Rape is the MOST (emphasis is his) toxic of all food plants...a toxic weed...deadly poisonous...does NOT belong in the body." Thomas argues that its tendency to form latex-like substances causes agglutination (clumping or sticking together) of the red blood corpuscles, thereby resulting in congested blood flow throughout the body and an antagonizing of the central and peripheral nervous systems. He claims that hair loss, anemia, constipation, irritability, pulmonary emphysema, respiratory distress, glaucoma and even blindness may be the result for both animals and humans consuming Canola oil.
 
Yes, baldness. Due to starvation of the scalp's cells due to inadequate blood and lymph flow and poor removal of accumulated wastes. Yes, blindness. From tissue death similarly due to reduced circulation. "Agglutinated blood corpuscles CANNOT squeeze through the extremely tiny capillaries of the posterior eye and therefore cannot deliver oxygen to the mitochondria. When they die, the cells die and the tissues of the retina atrophy...Loss of vision IS a known characteristic side effect of canola oil."
 
But the worst isn't over. Thomas goes on to explain several more constituents of Canola oil that wreck havoc on our well-being. Large amounts of "iso-thio-cyanates," or cyanide-containing compounds, inhibit the mitochondrial production of ATP (Adenosine Triphosphate), the energy molecule that fuels the bio-electric body and keeps us young.
 
It is rich in "Glycosides," as well, which interfere with biochemistry. (In rattlesnake venom, it is this ingredient that inhibits your muscle enzymes and causes instant immobilization.) He claims that both canola and soy oils act as inhibitors of our metabolic enzymes by binding to their active sites and blocking activity. Additionally, the organic alcohols they contain depress the immune system by causing our "white blood cell defense system--the T-cells--to go into a stupor and fall asleep on the job...Canola alcohols are extremely 'PURE' and far more toxic than man-made fermented products--even hard liquors." All in all, he feels the astronomical onslaught of these oils from processed psuedo-foods is causing a pile-up of biological insults, accelerating our descent into premature old age. (Since John Thomas' book is not footnoted and makes no scientific refer-
 
ences, his intriguing statements no doubt demand further investigation.)
 
SWIMMING IN THE GENE POOL
 
As biotechnology extends its greedy tentacles into almost every imaginable crevice of the food supply, applications to the further improvement of the Canola crop were inevitable. During the mid-1980's, the International Development Research Centre began funding agricul- tural projects in which Canadian, Chinese, and Egyptian scientists began collaborating on the exchange of germplasm to create a new hybrid seed (available to Canadian farmers in 1995) with promising advantages: crop yield increases, disease-resistance, shorter growth cycles, and the ability to adapt to conditions in countries (India, Ethiopia) that could not before support it. Also on the agenda are several new genetically-engineered strains of B.t. (Bacillus thuringiensis), an effective, natural, biological pest control agent used to protect Canada's fields of Canola. Harmful only to certain insects, though not to people, animals, or the environment (going on the assumption that bugs are not part of the "environment"), the new strains are being specifically developed for use in different climates and against a wider range of insect species. Long-term implications are frightening, however, according to Dr. Joseph Cummins, Professor Emeritus of Genetics, University of Western Ontario: "It has been shown in the laboratory that genetic recombination will create highly virulent new viruses from such constructions. Modified viruses could cause famine by destroying crops or cause human and animal diseases of tremendous power."
 
The genetic modification of agricultural commodities is almost exclusively a money-making venture, although claims are to the opposite.
 
Regardless of the fact that the vast majority of consumers (85%) have made it clear in surveys that they prefer gene-altered foods be labeled so they may avoid purchasing and eating them, farmers, food processors, and multinational pharmaceutical/chemical companies are plowing their biotech steamroller right through the kitchens of those keeping them in business. Bruce Dalgarno, President of the Canadian Canola Growers Association, in the press release dated April 18, 1997, notes that both "the CCGA and grower group boards have passed motions supporting the development of novel trait canola, including herbicide-resistant varieties," also providing guidance to government and corporate scientists.
 
However, health, ecology, and consumer advocate organizations such as THE PURE FOOD CAMPAIGN and FOOD AND WATER know big business too well to buy all the hype or to trust the glib tongue and pat-on-the-back approach of their slick public relations campaigns that there is nothing to worry about. A growing number doctors, microbiologists, and genetic experts are jumping on the bandwagon, greatly concerned about the potentially devastating effects of tampering with, rearranging, and attempting to fool Mother Nature. Various field and medical research has already demonstrated some of their fears to be true, including adverse health reactions (including allergies) and rampant, uncontrollable biological pollution of ecosystems.
 
Brian Tokar, a Harvard biophysicist and Food and Water's Biotechnology Consultant, points to one sure indicator that behind the corporate, well-intentioned, Cheshire cat humanitarian facade crouches a beast of purely economic incentive: "For years, the $50 billion biotechnology industry has claimed that their new genetic technologies are going to feed the world, relieve population pressures, cure all the deadliest diseases, etc. The reality, unfortunately, is very different...The single most popular area of research has been for chemical companies to try to engineer crops that are resistant to their own brand of herbicide." True enough when it comes to Canola. Monsanto and Hoechst/AgrEvo are both experimenting with varieties that would be able to withstand high doses of two deadly weed killers: Glufosinate and Glyphosate. Bacteria genes would be inserted into Hoechst's variety to achieve this result. Along the same lines, Calgene's "Laurical" canola (approved for sale by the USDA and FDA in 1995 for use in soap and food products) has been shot up with bacteria and virus genes as well, in addition to California bay, turnip, and rape.
 
Canola was introduced to the masses as a magic bullet, another quick-fix solution to so many health problems we dig ourselves into with our knife and fork. Now it appears that government and industry may have been profiteers firing blanks, making a whole lotta noise so we would flock in droves to the Canola circus. Once again, we must become our own detectives. As Roger Bacon once wrote: "Since the days of revelation, the same four corrupting errors have been made over and over again: submission to faulty and unworthy authority; submission to what it was customary to believe; submission to prejudicies of the mob; and worst of all, concealment of ignorance by a false show of unheld knowledge, for no other reason than pride."
 
_____
 
 
FRANKENCROPS AND BIODEVASTATION: CANOLA AND OTHER GENETICALLY ENGINEERED FOODS
 
By Janet Allen <janetplanet1@earthlink.net c. 2000 All Rights Reserved
 
 
This article is a continuation on the subject of two previous columns published in the California Sun: In the February/March 1998 issue, we investigated the development and manipulation of canola as a food crop, how it was incorporated into the human diet on a grand commercial scale, and researched claims about some negative health effects that are not generally publicized. In the June 1998 issue, we explored additional scientific and medical research along these lines, as well as watching how biotechnology and genetic modification had succeeded in extending their greedy tentacles into almost every imaginable crevice of the world,s food supply. We will now delve deeper into the matter of genetically engineered organisms (GMO,s) and the irreverent push by corporations to force them down the throats of an unwilling public.
 
LAYING DOWN THE LAW OF THE LAND When we left off, the battle over the labeling and safety testing of biotech foods had reached a new level of intensity in the United States when a coalition of 31 highly visible environmental, farming, and scientific organizations filed a formal legal petition to the Environmental Protection Agency on September 16, 1997. Groups including Greenpeace, the Sierra Club, the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM), and the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy charged the federal agency with gross negligence over its approval of genetically engineered crops, calling for their removal from the market, as well as fundamental changes in the U.S.,s presently lax regulatory laws governing these agricultural products. The EPA failed to give a substantive response within the following 90-day answer period, providing an opportunity for further action. In a resounding shot over the bow of the biotech establishment and the Clinton administration, attorneys from the International Center for Technology Assessment (ICTA) filed a comprehensive lawsuit on behalf of consumers, scientists, environmentalists, chefs, and religious groups to force the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to require mandatory labeling and adequate safety testing of all genetically engineered foods and crops. The lawsuit was announced at a well-attended press conference in Washington, D.C. on May 27, 1998.
 
According to Andrew Kimbrell, Executive Director of ICTA and co-counsel on the case, "The FDA has placed interests of a handful of biotechnology companies ahead of their responsibility to protect public healthThe agency has made consumers unknowing guinea pigs for potentially harmful, unregulated substances. According to ICTA attorney Joseph Mendelsohn, current FDA and USDA labeling policies not only ignore public surveys concluding that 90% of American consumers want mandatory labeling of GMO,s, but also blatantly contradict federal laws. For example, the "Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act mandates the labeling of "materially altered foods such as those exposed to nuclear radiation. What,s more, the lawsuit calls attention to the fact that current "no labeling policies constitute a violation of many Americans, spiritual and religious beliefs, posing a significant threat to religious freedom and ethical choice. Segments of the population including Jews, Muslims, Seventh-Day Adventists, and vegetarians need to avoid foods which contain substances derived from animals, whose genes are currently being inserted into the DNA of numerous vegetable and grain crops. (Genetic material from pigs have been inserted into spinach, human genes into pigs, fish genes into tomatoes, firefly genes into tobacco, and bacteria and virus genes into numerous crops.) Additionally, genetic pollution of the environment, irreversible reduction of the diversity of the world,s most significant food crops, and an upsetting of the balance of numerous ecosystems could very likely be the untimely legacy of this technology out-of-control. Greenpeace,s BenediktHaerlin is convinced that an all-out ban is our one saving grace. "Regulators around the world are well aware of this problem, but have not dared to draw the necessary conclusions. Instead, they have agreed to the thoroughly inadequate voluntary resistance management, presented by the chemical industry. The genetic modification of agricultural commodities is almost exclusively a money-making venture, although claims are to the opposite. Regardless of the fact that the vast majority of consumers (85%) have made it clear in surveys that they prefer gene-altered foods be labeled so they may avoid purchasing and eating them, farmers, food processors, and multinational pharmaceutical/chemical companies are plowing their biotech steamroller right through the kitchens of those keeping them in business. Bruce Dalgarno, President of the Canadian Canola Growers Association, in the press release dated April 18, 1997, notes that both "the CCGA and grower group boards have passed motions supporting the development of novel trait canola, including herbicide-resistant varieties," also providing guidance to government and corporate scientists. However, health, ecology, and consumer advocate organizations such as THE PURE FOOD CAMPAIGN and FOOD AND WATER know big business too well to buy all the hype or to trust the glib tongue and pat-on-the-back approach of their slick public relations campaigns that there is nothing to worry about. A growing number of doctors, microbiologists, and genetic experts are jumping on the bandwagon, greatly concerned about the potentially devastating effects of tampering with, rearranging, and attempting to fool Mother Nature. A variety of field and medical research has already demonstrated some of their fears to be true, including adverse health reactions (including allergies) and rampant, uncontrollable biological pollution of ecosystems. Brian Tokar, a Harvard biophysicist and Food and Water's Biotechnology Consultant, points to one sure indicator that behind the corporate, well-intentioned, Cheshire cat humanitarian facade crouches a beast of purely economic incentive: "For years, the $50 billion biotechnology industry has claimed that their new genetic technologies are going to feed the world, relieve population pressures, cure all the deadliest diseases, etc. The reality, unfortunately, is very different ...The single most popular area of research has been for chemical companies to try to engineer crops that are resistant to their own brand of herbicide." True enough when it comes to Canola. Monsanto and Hoechst/AgrEvo are both experimenting with varieties that would be able to withstand high doses of two deadly weed killers: Glufosinate and Glyphosate. Bacteria genes would be inserted into Hoechst's variety to achieve this result. Along the same lines, Calgene's "Laurical" canola (approved for sale by the USDA and FDA in 1995 for use in soap and food products) has been shot up with bacteria and virus genes as well, in addition to California bay, turnip, and rape.
 
BLUE GENES
 
Critics and watchdogs of the speeding-out-of-control biotech and genetic engineering industries have long felt that they are disasters waiting to happen. Aldous Huxley forecast problems in his 1932 book BRAVE NEW WORLD, while Erwin Chargoff (eminent biochemist and Father of molecular biology) categorized such technologies as a "Molecular Auschwitz. In his book HERACLITEAN FIRE, he notes the "awesome irreversibility of genetic experi- mentation and warns that this technology poses a greater threat than the advent of nuclear science. He writes, "I have the feeling that science has transgressed a barrier that should have remained inviolate. You cannot recall a new form of life. A severe shortage of legislation demanding government regulatory and enforcement agencies, strict fines, and codes of ethics has all too often left the fox guarding the henhouse in numerous enterprises, inviting widespread neglect and abuse of potentially harmful technologies. The corporate "Hall of Shame within the food irradiation industry is lengthy enough to fill a roll of toilet paper, and there,s little chance of wiping that slate clean when it comes to the biotech bulletin board. Already, the evidence of dangerous carelessness has started to roll in, with Canola topping the bill. On April 18, 1997, the St. Louis POST-DISPATCH carried the story (only 84 words long, under a confusing headline, and buried deep in a news wrap-up column on the business page) of Monsanto,s discreet recall of "small quantities of a genetically engineered Canola seed containing an unapproved gene that had gotten into the product by mistake. However, Canadian government officials claimed the amount was not small, as 60,000 bag units of two different varieties (sufficient to seed some 60,000 to 750,000 acres of land) had to be retrieved. Some had already been planted when Monsanto discovered the error, which apparently had gone undetected for a substantial period of time. The recalled "Roundup Ready Canola was genetically manipulated to withstand increased spraying with Monsanto,s billion-dollar herbicide, glyphosate, marketed under the trade name Roundup. This agricultural wonder product is responsible for a large proportion of the chemical giant,s annual profits, being utilized by farmers and backyard gardeners alike to kill weeds. Ordinarily, it is so lethal to the plants that it must be used more sparingly, but Monsanto, with its eye on boosting sales, found a way to allow plants to be douse with many times the usual dose. Inserting the wrong gene configuration into a commercial product is precisely the kind of catastrophe that opponents have been predicting for a decade. Despite proponent,s insistence that such mistakes could never happen due to rigorous quality-assurance programs and tight government regulations, this incident proves a more threatening scenario: That the system is a failure and our safety is at risk. If this could happen in Canada, where stricter controls are in place, it could definitely occur in the United States at some future date. Limagrain Canada Seeds, Inc. of Saskatchewan, which was selling the Canola seeds under license, appeared to blame Monsanto squarely for the mistake. Company spokesperson Gary Bauman explained that only Monsanto, who possesses the expertise to detect genetic differences, could have discovered the apparent contamination. In addition, tracing the exact origin of the error will be difficult this late in the game, because the seeds now available for testing are progeny (offspring) of the originals. "We may never know how it happened.
 
Small comfort from the scientific experts we are asked to trust. With our food, with our health, with our lives, with our future. _____
 
For more information, please contact: PURE FOOD CAMPAIGN: (310)399-9355; (800)253-0681 Website: www.purefood.org TEN SPEED PRESS (Dr. Lee Hitchcox): (800)841-BOOK PLEXUS PRESS (John Thomas): (800)659-1882 or 1885

 
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