The views of farmers, scientists, biotechnology critics, federal regulators
and the food industry, all caught up in the intensifying debate over
genetically modified food.
President of The Foundation on Economic Trends, he is a longtime opponent of
biotechnology. He outlines why GM food is radically different from classical
breeding and discusses how there are better ways to apply bioengineering to
agricultural products. He also counters the argument that GM food is a solution
in helping to feed a hungry world and talks about the threat of life science
companies like Monsanto employing antitrust tactics in their patenting of gene
technology. (Interview conducted August 2000.)
A senior staff scientist with the Union of Concerned Scientists, she talks
about why bioengineered plants present a new kind of uncertainty in
crossbreeding and the lack of substantive testing to date. She also discusses
why U.S. regulatory agencies seem satisfied with this new technology and the
difference between genetic engineering for medicines vs. for food. (Interview conducted October 2000.)
A genetic engineering specialist with Greenpeace, he criticizes U.S. regulatory
agencies' performance in monitoring GM foods, explains why GM technology
deserves special scrutiny, points out the developing world is not unanimous in
accepting biotech food, and outlines why Greenpeace's main concern with GM
crops is the environmental risk. (Interview conducted October 2000.)
A California organic farmer, Muller talks about long-term costs and doubts
associated with GM food, outlines the problems caused by large industrial
farming, and explains why he believes farmers are on a dangerous treadmill in
embracing biotechnology. (Interview conducted October 2000.)
He farms 2,700 acres in southern Minnesota, growing only corn and soybeans. He
discusses U.S. agriculture's "monstrous farms," how GM technology helps his
crops, and his vision of tying together the production and the processing of
crops in order to benefit the farmer. (Interview conducted October 2000.)
President emeritus of the Boyce Thompson Institute for Plant Research at
Cornell University, he is working on making safer vaccines for viruses which
kill millions in the developing world. He discusses his work developing edible
vaccines (inside GM bananas, tomatoes, or potatoes.) He also talks about
Europe's opposition to GM foods and science's hopes for applying GM techniques
to future foods, medicines, and environmental cleanup. (Interview conducted
September 2000.)
A professor of food science and toxicology at Cornell University, he compares
genetic engineering to traditional crossbreeding of plants, explains how
science evaluates risk and how toxicity is tested. He also discusses why
allergenicity is the most difficult risk issue with foods, why the current U.S.
regulatory framework is adequate, and the problems that would arise if
mandatory labelling is introduced. (Interview conducted September 2000.)
She is director of the Biotechnology and Life Sciences Informatics Program at the University of California, Davis. She offers an overview of crossbreeding techniques over the centuries, how it compares with new GM technology, and explains how much of human genes already are shared with plants. She also addresses Europe's GM food fight, U.S. food safety and regulatory performance, and multinational companies' intellectual property rights on GM seeds. (Interview conducted August 2000.)
He was U.S. Dept. of Agriculture Secretary in the Clinton administration. He
discusses the number of GM crops so far approved, the lessons of StarLink (when
animal feed corn containing a potential allergen was found in taco shells), his
concerns about intellectual property law issues surrounding GM crops and how it
effects farmers, and why he believes GM food labelling is coming. (Interview
conducted October 2000.)
Biotechnology coordinator at FDA, he discusses the risk of allergenicity with
GM technology and the challenges facing regulatory agencies if mandatory
labeling is implemented. He also points out the complexity of the U.S. food
supply, which makes it difficult to segregate GM food from non-GM food. (Interview conducted October 2000.)
He is chief operating officer for Monsanto. In this interview he addresses the
issues of gene migration and pest resistance with GM crops, the refuge
strategy, the U.S. public's perception of biotech products, the lessons of
StarLink (the animal feed GM corn, which hadn't been approved for human consumption, that was found in taco shells), and the issue of
labelling GM food products. (Interview conducted December 2000.)