Do You Know What You Eat, is it GM Food?

Most European countries have effectively banned new genetically modified food, yet in America, 70 to 75 percent of processed foods contain Genetically modified ingredients. How dangerous are they?

It sounds innocent enough: Inserting a fish gene into a tomato to help it withstand frost, or arming corn with a bacteria gene that makes it resistant to pests. The wonders of genetically modified (GM) foods created in laboratories or growing on U.S. Farmland promise to feed the hungry and produce heartier, healthier crops that require less pesticide and thereby help preserve the environment.

So what is wrong with this picture? Plenty, says a growing chorus of experts.

The European union member countries have turned up their noses at genetically modified foods, and the Indian and Zambian governments have rejected food aid suspected to contain genetically modified ingredients. More and more Americans are now asking, "Is it safe?"

What are genetically modified foods? In 1994, the American Food and Drug Administration (FDA) allowed the sale of the first genetically modified food, the unpopular Flavr Savr tomato (no longer available). Two years later came the current generation of GM foods, created when one or more genes for desirable traits (such as pest resistance) are inserted from one species into the same or another species. Since then, an increasing amount of genetically modified foods, particularly soybeans and corn, have been creeping into America's cupboards.

According to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), 81 percent of U.S. Soybeans are genetically altered to tolerate herbicides. And 40 percent of the nation's corn is a GM variety that is insect- or herbicide-resistant or both, much of which is created with bacteria gene called Bt that causes corn to produce a toxin that kills certain pests.

Genetically modified derivatives now reside in thousands of processed products, which typically come in cans, jars or plastic wrapping. Indeed, just about any packaged good, with America as origin, that contains more than one ingredient is likely to have some GM-derived food. We estimate that 70 to 75 percent of processed foods contain biotech ingredients. There's a good chance your American imported crackers, canned soup, and your cereal or your corn flakes contain some genetically modified derived elements, as do cake mixes, frozen dinners, candy bars, sodas, bread, pasta sauce, margarine and ice cream. By contrast, the vast majority of whole and fresh foods, like fruits and veggies available in Thailand, have not been genetically modified. Greenpeace sometimes discovers some farmers who illegally farm genetically modified papaya.