(© Robert Sholl | Dreamstime.com)

Most taxpayers in the United States are probably unaware that they’ve been paying for a big helping hand to immensely wealthy biotech corporations such as Monsanto. But according to U.S. embassy cables published by Wikileaks, the taxpayer-funded U.S. diplomatic corps has been working hard to get foreign countries to approve genetically engineered (GE) crops, especially in Europe.

France and six other countries in Europe (Luxembourg, Germany, Austria, Hungary, Bulgaria and Greece) currently have a ban on the growing of GM crops, a ban based on safety concerns.

U.S. diplomats have made efforts to influence the biotech policies of developed countries such as Egypt and Turkey, but France continues to stand out as a high-profile target. There is widespread popular resistance to genetically engineered food in France, and a French farmers movement militantly opposed to GE crops.

According to a U.S. diplomatic cable from 2007:

Monsanto, Dupont/Pioneer, Dow Agro-Sciences…raised concerns about security conditions, i.e., increasing acts of vandalism, particularly in light of an expected regulation which could require French farmers to make public the location of their biotech plots. The three companies emphasized their concerns about the security of their information, property and staff, due to the annual destruction of two thirds of biotech test plots in France, demonstrations and attacks on their buildings and on a silo containing GM corn harvested in 2006 (Reftel). Consequently, the companies loose (sic) money and data, while staff morale suffers.

A report by Mike Ludwig of Truthout says, "Several cables describe 'biotechnology outreach programs' in countries across the globe, including African, Asian and South American countries where Western biotech agriculture had yet to gain a foothold. In some cables American diplomats ask the State Department for funds to send U.S. biotech experts and trade industry representatives to target countries for discussions with high-profile politicians and agricultural officials."

Organic Garlic (©photo by Scott M. Liddell, courtesy of morgueFile.com)

Why the Safety Concerns?

The nonprofit Union of Concerned Scientists states on its web site:

So far, scientists have identified a number of ways in which genetically engineered organisms could potentially adversely impact both human health and the environment…In addition to posing risks of harm that we can envision and attempt to assess, genetic engineering may also pose risks that we simply do not know enough to identify.

GE Foods Are Not the Answer to World Hunger

As for the claim that GM foods are needed to feed a hungry world, Doug Gurian-Sherman, a senior scientist in the Union of Concerned Scientists Food and Environment Program has concluded "...that GE (genetic engineering) has done little to increase overall crop yields." And a major study conducted at the University of Kansas has found that the controversial technology actually reduces crop yields.

In May of 2009, the American Academy of Environmental Medicine called on “Physicians to educate their patients, the medical community, and the public to avoid GM (genetically modified) foods when possible and provide educational materials concerning GM foods and health risks."

Require the Labeling of GM Foods

Many people are unaware that they are regularly consuming GM foods because they are not labeled as such. Giant agribusinesses do not want the labeling of GM foods because consumers don’t want to buy them. They are even opposed to the labeling of foods as GM-free. (GM foods are prohibited from being used in food that carries the USDA’s organic label.)

As Elise Pearlstein, producer of the Oscar nominated film Food Inc. has said, "It's outrageous that genetically modified foods don't need to be labeled...Whatever your position, you should have the right to make informed choices, and we don't."

More than 30 countries have mandatory labeling of GMO's, including all the European Union countries, Japan, Korea, Australia and New Zealand. Why not the U.S.? Because the Big Biotech industry doesn't want such labeling. As one biotech executive put it, “If you put a label on genetically engineered food you might as well put a skull and crossbones on it.”

To view tips from the Organic Consumers Association on avoiding GM foods, go to: Non-GMO Shopping Guide

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