GeneWatch

About the author: GeneWatch is an independent British organization concerned with the ethics and risks of genetic engineering.

Large multinational chemical companies see the development of genetically engineered (GE) foods as a business opportunity. These corporations are building large international networks to market GE crops throughout the world. Calling themselves "life sciences" industries, they are engineering characteristics into plants that give the company quick paybacks, patenting GE seeds, and producing GE foods mainly for developed countries while ignoring the needs of the developing countries they claim they will save from starvation. In fact, GE crops may act against food security by creating viruses and pests that are immune to the toxins produced by the new crops and by failing to address the underlying causes of...