CAP: GE Information

Information About Genetic Engineering/Modification

Here are some of our favorite resources for
great information and action opportunities!

"We've done the research for you!"

Note: Although the content and activities on some of the websites below can overlap, we have roughly grouped them. We did this to better assist you in more quickly finding the information and action opportunities that best suit your interests and concerns. Also note that GE=Genetic Engineering and GM = Genetic Modification; these terms are generally used interchangeably.

Also see CAP's GE-Free Sonoma County page

PRIMARILY FOCUSSING ON FOOD AND CONSUMERS

* Mothers for Natural Law <www.safe-food.org>. Great GE information, including a description of GE and what scientists say about it. For details on the wide range of foods that now potentially are GEd or contain GE ingredients, see: <www.safe-food.org/-consumer/shop.html>. Also sign their "right to know" petition for labelling GE food. (877) REAL-FOOD (515) 472-2809. (Iowa)

* The Organic Consumers Association <www.organicconsumers.org>. Consumer advocacy for organics. Educates and unites organic consumers to protect and promote sustainable and organic agriculture. Information and email list providing information on GE, factory farming, citizen action, and more.

* Genetically Engineered Food Alert (GEFoodAlert) <www.gefoodalert.org>. A coalition of seven national consumer and environmental groups working to keep untested GE ingredients off U.S. grocery store shelves. Educates consumers; calls on major food corporations to remove all GE ingredients from their products; and calls on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to remove GE food and crops from the market, unless they have been properly safety tested; labeled to ensure the consumer's right-to-know; and the biotechnology corporations that manufacture them are held responsible for any harm. Endorsed by more than 250 organizations and individuals, including consumer, environmental and public health groups, as well as chefs, religious leaders, doctors, and scientists. Website includes sample letters.

PRIMARILY FOCUSSING ON THE SCIENTIFIC/MEDICAL VIEWPOINT

* Union of Concerned Scientists. <www.ucsusa.org/food_and_environment/biotechnology/index.cfm> This includes a list of GE'd foods now on dinner tables across America and information on the experiment that showed GE corn killing Monarch butterflies, and what you can do about it.

* Physicians and Scientists for Responsible Application of Science and Technology <www.psrast.org> <info@psrast.org>

* Council for Responsible Genetics <www.gene-watch.org>. Sign their "No patents on life" petition. <crg@essential.org> (617) 868-0870. (Mass.)

* Statements by Scientists on the dangers of genetically engineered food are at <www.safe-food.org/-issue/scientists.html> and <www.btinternet.com/~nlpwessex/Documents/gmoquote.htm>. For a historical perspective on the risks of technology such as GE, and why labelling is the absolute minimum required, see the essay by award-winning scientist Dr. David Suzuki <http://purefood.org/corp/davidsuzuki.cfm> For more about his thoughts and his organization's work for the planet, see <www.davidsuzuki.org>.

PRIMARILY FOCUSSING ON THE AGRICULTURE VIEWPOINT

* ETC Group (action group on Erosion, Technology, and Concentration) <www.etcgroup.org/>. Information about suicide seeds (like the Terminator), corporations, patents, and more.

* International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM) <www.ifoam.org> International umbrella organization for organic certification organizations. Includes their position statements on genetic engineering.

PRIMARILY FOCUSSED ON CITIZEN/GOVERNMENT ACTION

* Alliance for Bio-Integrity <www.bio-integrity.org>. They are coordinating a broad-based lawsuit against the FDA for failing to label and demand testing of GE food. They have discovered evidence that FDA official policy does not reflect even their own scientists' concerns. <info@bio-integrity.org> (515) 472-5554. (Iowa)

* International Center for Technology Assessment. <www.icta.org> Get information and support their legal actions to insist on labelling GE, to not allow sale of GEd Bt crops and the GEd cow growth hormone rBGH, and more!

* Greenpeace International. <www.greenpeace.org/~geneng> International citizen and community action, news, and links. Includes information on their report on RoundupReady seeds.

* For more information on the lawsuit challenging patents on genetically engineered lifeforms, which had been planned to be heard in the Supreme Court, see this GE Lawsuit information page.

* For more information on the two Florida reporters who charge that Fox-TV and Monsanto attempted to aggressively suppress their report on the GEd cow growth hormone rBGH, see <www.foxBGHsuit.com>. (They recently won their court case as the jury agreed with their complaint!)

OVERALL INFORMATION AND ACTION

* Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy. Includes biotech information and resources. The first page has good information and links into their website. Additional information can be found in their "IATP Listserv Archives." <www.iatp.org>

* Dr. Ron Epstein webpage <http://online.sfsu.edu/~rone/GEessays/gedanger.htm> Compilation of a wide range powerful essays and information on "Genetic Engineering and Its Dangers."

* Natural Law Party/GE page <www.natural-law.ca/genetic/geindex.html> Good compilation of information. For instance, see "Responding to Common Claims about Genetic Engineering" at <www.natural-law.ca/genetic/biotechNews/biotechfeb97.html>. Valuable email list available.

* Pesticide Action Network. PAN's keyword searchable database has lots of great information on biotechnology and much more <www.panna.org>.

* DNA files <www.dnafiles.org>. Information and resources on a wide range of biotech topics, including the basics.

* The Natural Law Party in Wessex England. Summary of problems with GE, including with crops and as food. <www.btinternet.com/~nlpwessex/Documents/gmagric.htm>

* Center for Ethics & Toxics (CETOS) <www.cetos.org>. Their offerings include their book "Against the Grain: Biotechnology and the Corporate Takeover of Our Food." (707) 884-1700. (CA)

* Ecologist Magazine <www.theecologist.org> Includes GE issues in their exposes. Their fact-filled Monsanto issue (Sept/Oct 1998) is highly recommended. To get a copy in the US, contact (510) 527-3873 (CA).

Thanks to the above activist organizations and people for gathering such great information on this vital topic. Also thanks to the Occidental Arts and Ecology Center (OAEC), Occidental CA, for their input into this list. For information on OAEC's classes on permaculture, corporations, and more, you can call (707) 874-1557.

GOVERNMENT/CORPORATE VIEWPOINT

Want to hear the official information? Here are some resources...

* Monsanto Corporation <www.monsanto.com>. One of the primary corporate promoters and developers of GE technology and products. Their GE products include: Roundup Ready soybeans, RoundupReady canola, Bt and Roundup Ready corn, Bt cotton, RoundupReady cotton, and Bt potatoes. They seem to be no longer making the often-criticized claim "Sustainable development for the world's future." We recommend reading this site skeptically, as key assertions have been disproven and/or ignore essential facts. Monsanto has a history of acting to suppress information that is inconsistent with their profit interests. Now a part of Pharmacia.

* Syngenta <www.syngenta.com>. Formed from Novartis and Zeneca. Offering GE Bt corn and more.

* US Regulatory Oversight in Biotechnology - This USDA website summarizes the US regulatory rules <www.usda.gov/agencies/biotech>. This page <www.usda.gov/agencies/biotech/laws.html > includes information on regulation by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

For additional USDA information, you can go to <www.nal.usda.gov/bic>.

For additional EPA information, you can go to the EPA site <www.epa.gov> and do a keyword search. For information on their approach to regulating GE plant pesticides, like Bt crops, and the role of different agencies, see <www.epa.gov/oppbppd1/biopesticides/indexsav.htm>. For information on their procedures for those wishing to commericialize "intergeneric microorganisms" plus biotech links see <www.epa.gov/opptintr/biotech/index.html>.

For additional FDA information, you might want to see <http://vm.cfsan.fda.gov/~lrd/biotechm.html> as well as the articles listed by this search, <http://vm.cfsan.fda.gov/cgi-bin/ws?QUERY=biotechnology&STYPE=OR>, including the GE foods they've OKd at <http://vm.cfsan.fda.gov/~lrd/biocon.html>.

Information courtesy of:

"Information Empowering Action for a Healthier World"

We hope this information (and our work) is valuable to you,
and supports the health and well-being of yourself,
your family, our community, and our world.
If it is, please let us know. It makes us happy to hear!

You can support our work and ensure that it continues. For instance, you can link to our site and let others know about it. Or become a CAP member! For more information, click on the "About CAP" button above.

If you find a broken link or outdated information, or want to suggest an addition or edit to this page, please let us know by emailing info[at]healthyworld.org. Please include both the webpage name and the relevant information.

Thank you to everyone who supports our ability to offer this information
to our community, for our planet!