August 2004Issue 370



Seeds of Deception: Exposing corporate and government lies about the safety of genetically modified food

Product information
by Jeffrey M Smith
Publisher
Yes! Books in North America/Green Books in Britain
Product number
ISBN 1 903998 41 7
Star rating
*****

I should admit that I was sceptical about this book. I have long been opposed to the growing of genetically modified (GM) crops because I believe they pose a serious threat to biodiversity, but I’ve tended to dismiss sensationalist statements that scream about ‘Frankenfoods’ endangering human health. Having read Seeds of Deception my views have changed. Jeffrey Smith’s explanations of how GM foods are produced and what happens when the blunt techniques of this infant science go wrong are gripping. Smith has gone to great lengths to write a book that is both factually accurate and easy to read for non-science types. That’s most of us, after all. He has succeeded and, what’s more, he’s produced a genuine page-turner. Smith’s tales of suppressed evidence about GM foods’ potential to cause cancer, allergies and – in the case of one health supplement sold in the US – long-term disability and death are compelling. But equally important are his short-but-sweet notes on the science behind GM foods. Biotechnology firms like to assure us that they know what they’re doing, but Smith shows that they often don’t. Neither do the regulators charged with protecting us. His book boasts the footnotes to prove it.

Erin Gill




Language Tools
Powered by Ultralingua

Join over 30,000 people just like you. Get e-mail updates about new content, action alerts, contests, and more!

other articles
FROM THIS ISSUE

Let's get literal
A faithful, though perplexed, listener asks for holy guidance from radio show host Dr Laura Schlesinger. Illustrated, with piety, by Brick.

Mixing it
Novelists Ben Okri and Amy Tan talk to Bel Mooney about their eclectic spirituality.

Interview with David Hartsough
Few pacifists can put themselves in danger as much as David Hartsough, co-founder of the Nonviolent Peaceforce.

Who needs religion?
David Boulton asks the big question.

Justice vs Vatican
Brazil’s rebellious priests are still putting the poor first. Jan Rocha reports.

recently
IN THIS COLUMN

Natural Selection
Szperling's short, punchy novel paints a vivid pen-portrait of the savage and amoral nature of this stratum of Argentinean society.

Thursday Night Widows
Nominally a thriller, Thursday Night Widows is less concerned with the 'whodunnit' aspects of plotting than with a psychological dissection of a social class obsessed with bickering and petty jealousies as the pillars of their world dissolve.

2666
It takes a singular talent to make a book of 1,000 pages that is as hard to put down as it is to pick up. Despite its size, 2666 retains the agility of a thriller.

Working
A graphic adaptation of the book by Studs Terkel by Harvey Pekar and Paul Buhle.

Murder In The Name Of Honour
A grim but compelling reading – a fitting testament to all the women killed who had sex outside marriage.






Voices from the margins:

Multimedia: video, podcasts, and more.


Subscribe to NI now!