by Wendy Bloomendahl
(© 2001. No portion of this essay, text or image, may be reproduced without author's consent.)

Abstract:

Genetically modified, or “transgenic,” foods were released into the market in 1992 and they already make up a large percentage of the food that we purchase; at least 50% of soybeans, for example, are genetically modified. The official defense of genetically modifying crops is to increase yields, with the ultimate purpose of ending hunger. Yet tests have shown that conventional crops typically outperform the transgenic crops; 30 out of 38 varieties of conventional soybean, for example, produce higher yields than their transgenic counterparts. As many of these crops now have pesticides in every cell, they have the further problems of causing illness among agricultural workers, creating herbicide-resistant weeds, and upsetting the delicate balance of ecosystems. Though the science is in its infancy and though the current evidence weighs against genetically modified foods, agricultural corporations are plowing forward with aggressive business practices—undercutting the independent seed producers and creating monopolies—in the pursuit of higher profits, not better yields.