You are what you eat, but what are you eating?

Genetically modified foods is one of my pet hobbyhorses. While there is a case to be made for advanced science in agriculture as the world population expands, the problem with GM foods is the products are woefully undertested for the long range effects on our bodies and the looming environmental impact of depending on Frankenstein seeds that cross polinate heirloom species out of existence. Scientific American takes on the shadowy underbelly of the business.

Research on genetically modified seeds is still published, of course. But only studies that the seed companies have approved ever see the light of a peer-reviewed journal. In a number of cases, experiments that had the implicit go-ahead from the seed company were later blocked from publication because the results were not flattering. “It is important to understand that it is not always simply a matter of blanket denial of all research requests, which is bad enough,” wrote Elson J. Shields, an entomologist at Cornell University, in a letter to an official at the Environmental Protection Agency (the body tasked with regulating the environmental consequences of genetically modified crops), “but selective denials and permissions based on industry perceptions of how ‘friendly’ or ‘hostile’ a particular scientist may be toward [seed-enhancement] technology.”

Make no mistake, the ulimate goal of corporations like Monsanto is to control the international food supply chain. And they're quietly succeeding by degrees, as the world is distracted the latest shiny outrage.

[More posts daily at The Detroit News]