The Rural Voice, 1999-09, Page 771
Asking those
disturbing
questions
Reviewed by Keith Roulston
Even before reading the title —
Fannageddon: Food and the Culture
of Biotechnology — anyone with
knowledge of Brewster Kneen knows
he isn't going to have much positive
to say about biotechnology.
For one thing, biotechnology in
agriculture is being driven by some
of the same huge multi -national
companies that Kneen has criticized
repeatedly in his newsletter The
Ram's Horn and his books like Froin
Land to Mouth: Understanding the
Food System and Trading Up — How
Cargill, the World's Largest Grain
Company is Changing Canadian
Agriculture. In other words, open this
book expecting a bias.
The surprising thing is, Kneen
takes so long to Toad up the guns and
start blasting — several chapters in
fact. When he does, however, he
makes some points that hopefully,
even supporters of biotechnology
Book Review
will pay attention to. He prop ides
enough questions to make anyone a
bit nervous.
For instance, anyone who worries
about possible unknown effects of
biologically altered foods is assured
that products of biotech-
nology are approved by
agencies like the Canadian
Food Inspection Agency
(CFIA). This claim brings
to mind images of dozens
of scientists growing the
product (say Bt corn) and
testing it on humans, or at
least animals, to prove it is safe.
The reality is that the research is
done by the company wanting the
product approved for sale — say
Monsanto. CFIA officials simply
review the data provided by the
applicant and decide if it is based on
sound science.
Moreover, Kneen claims that
during on-farm testing of BST in
Ontario, the milk from treated
animals was allowed into the Ontario
milk pool, even though the hormone
hadn't been approved for use in
Canada.
Farmageddon
And, he says, in the case of BST,
no studies have ever been done to see
• if milk from BST treated cows had
any affect on human health.
A leap of faith in the pro -biotech
scientific community says such
research is not required. When a new
product comes along, say Bt
potatoes, the maker must only prove
that it is "substantially equivalent" to
ordinary potatoes.
In fact, Kneen contends that.
though Targe companies often pretend
to hate regulation. bodies like the
Food and Drug Administration in the
U.S. and CFIA in Canada. are the
best public relations weapon the
companies can have because they can
always claim the supposedly
unbiased researchers fully
investigated, and approved the
product.
Likewise, the lack of requirement
for labeling foods becomes a circular
protection, Kneen claims. Since the
product is not labeled. no one knows
if they have become sick because of
something in genetically altered
food. The person has "eaten the
evidence". Therefore, it will be
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Fall Fair
September
10 to 13
Victoria Park
Giant Midway
Highlightg of the Fair
Thursday - evening
4-H Calf Show
Western Horse Show
Friday
Exhibits, quilt and craft show (everyda,
Grey -Bruce 4-H regional show
GLTPA Sanctioned tractor & truck
pull. plus local truck & tractor pull
Saturday
Hereford & Blonde d'Aquitaine show
Pet show
Heavy horse pull
Simmental & Charolais Shows
Demolition Derby
Sunday
11 a.m. - 3 p.m.
Quilt and craft show and exhibits
See Sun Times for schedule
SEPTEMBER 1999 73