themtj's review against another edition
3.0
Surprisingly easy read. The cover and title make it look like a conspiratorial work but it is packed full of helpful information. For all its information its not a dry work, the data he delivers is done through compelling and well-told narratives.
I only gave it three stars because it does provide a lot of information but its application is weak. He does offer a chapter (chapter 8) on how to get GMO out of your personal diet. As for changing the food system, he sees political sway as the only means. As an average joe the only thing you can do is to buy copies of his book for him to give away to celebrities and politicians as he meets them. Surely in the information era we can be more involved than that.
I only gave it three stars because it does provide a lot of information but its application is weak. He does offer a chapter (chapter 8) on how to get GMO out of your personal diet. As for changing the food system, he sees political sway as the only means. As an average joe the only thing you can do is to buy copies of his book for him to give away to celebrities and politicians as he meets them. Surely in the information era we can be more involved than that.
One of the most dangerous aspects of the genetic engineering of food is the consistent attempt to silence those with contrary evidence or concerns. - p. 264
djinn_n_juice's review against another edition
3.0
Do you know what you're eating?
The question is rhetorical, and I can't say that I know the answer better than anyone else. I've done research, I've thought long and hard about which ethical issues matter to me the most, and we've changed the way we buy food. But, can I say we aren't contributing to the big food companies that operate in dishonest ways in order to control the U.S. food industry? I still can't know for certain.
It works like this: Monsanto is a huge company that contributes a lot of money to political parties. Political parties (both of the big ones), as a way of saying "thank you," ignore the fact that genetically modified foods--which are on the shelves of almost every grocery store in the U.S.--haven't been scientifically tested to any reasonable extent.
This is an issue that is glossed over completely by the press in the U.S., but it isn't an issue ignored around the world. These products aren't on the shelves in numerous countries, from Canada to India to France, because they've been banned due to a lack of research. To give a sense of how tied the U.S. government is to GMO foods, emails have surfaced through WikiLeaks that show some members of the government think we should retaliate against France for not allowing Monsanto's modified products to be sold there.
In short, the very few studies that have been done on GMO foods have shown they have unpredictable nutritional value and also unpredictable side-effects in mice (including death).
So, that's one of the major health risks. Another is the fact that, once this new modified version of corn is introduced, it quickly becomes impossible to keep track of where this corn is. In other words, if we finally start investigating this food and discover side effects, it will be extremely expensive to eliminate the modified plant or animal from the food supply--if it is still possible. This isn't a theoretical problem: it has already happened. Several European countries refuse to buy modified vegetables from the U.S., and shipments of U.S. corn have been halted because it has been discovered that modified forms of corn were mixed in with the rest.
And, despite this impossibility to segregate corn crops, it is ILLEGAL FOR FARMERS TO USE MONSANTO'S SEED if they aren't paying Monsanto for it. In other words, a farmer can be sued if seeds blow from a Monsanto crop into his crop. Because of this, numerous farmers who tried to avoid using genetically modified food have been driven out of business, and then the property has been bought up by Monsanto.
Maybe it's just me, but it doesn't make sense that you can copyright something that's alive.
So, the policies of both the U.S. government and Big AgriBusiness are working together to make it easier for the food market to be monopolized in the same way as the news, Hollywood, and essentially every entertainment industry. Do you want to know why this consolidation of power is bad for us? Have you SEEN how shitty most movies and popular CDs are? Do you want your food to suck that badly?
If not, do the little research into the food you eat. Verify that I'm not just making stuff up. Read this book, learn about the food industry. It doesn't take a lot of research to realize you're taking an unknown risk when you eat food that has had untested changes performed on its DNA, and the government has declared that it's illegal for companies to advertise that they use only non-GMO products...apparently, this would be bad for business, because it would raise the question of whether modified foods are safe.
It's theoretically possible they're safe. From the tiny amount of investigation that has been done, it doesn't look like they are. This has health implications. It has ecological and economical implications. It has political implications, as another industry consolidates into the hands of the very few, pushing out family farmers and reducing variety in the supermarket.
If you want to avoid genetically modified foods, you can. But, it isn't as easy as looking for a warning label...unless you look FOR a label that says "organic." If it says organic, it's GMO-free.
And, since you endured my whole review full of pessimism and frustration, here's a pair of otters playing in a bathroom:
And a baby trying to eat a cat:
////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
(The original "review")
So, let me tell you what kind of person Brian is. (Brian the bird, not that other Brian.) Brian is the kind of person who invites you out to lunch, and engages you in entertaining conversation for HOURS, and when the waitress brings the bill, SNATCHES it away, not even letting you buy him a BEER. (Not until later, anyway.)
Then, later on, when you're hanging around and drinking on the couch and talking some more, and the subject turns to books, he says he'll "send you a couple books." So, in your innocent, inebriated state, you give him your address.
And THEN, a couple weeks later, you get a package in the mail with "a couple books" BRAND FUCKING NEW from Amazon.
So, that should tell you what kind of person Brian is.
Correct. He's a COMPLETE ASSHOLE.
The question is rhetorical, and I can't say that I know the answer better than anyone else. I've done research, I've thought long and hard about which ethical issues matter to me the most, and we've changed the way we buy food. But, can I say we aren't contributing to the big food companies that operate in dishonest ways in order to control the U.S. food industry? I still can't know for certain.
It works like this: Monsanto is a huge company that contributes a lot of money to political parties. Political parties (both of the big ones), as a way of saying "thank you," ignore the fact that genetically modified foods--which are on the shelves of almost every grocery store in the U.S.--haven't been scientifically tested to any reasonable extent.
This is an issue that is glossed over completely by the press in the U.S., but it isn't an issue ignored around the world. These products aren't on the shelves in numerous countries, from Canada to India to France, because they've been banned due to a lack of research. To give a sense of how tied the U.S. government is to GMO foods, emails have surfaced through WikiLeaks that show some members of the government think we should retaliate against France for not allowing Monsanto's modified products to be sold there.
In short, the very few studies that have been done on GMO foods have shown they have unpredictable nutritional value and also unpredictable side-effects in mice (including death).
So, that's one of the major health risks. Another is the fact that, once this new modified version of corn is introduced, it quickly becomes impossible to keep track of where this corn is. In other words, if we finally start investigating this food and discover side effects, it will be extremely expensive to eliminate the modified plant or animal from the food supply--if it is still possible. This isn't a theoretical problem: it has already happened. Several European countries refuse to buy modified vegetables from the U.S., and shipments of U.S. corn have been halted because it has been discovered that modified forms of corn were mixed in with the rest.
And, despite this impossibility to segregate corn crops, it is ILLEGAL FOR FARMERS TO USE MONSANTO'S SEED if they aren't paying Monsanto for it. In other words, a farmer can be sued if seeds blow from a Monsanto crop into his crop. Because of this, numerous farmers who tried to avoid using genetically modified food have been driven out of business, and then the property has been bought up by Monsanto.
Maybe it's just me, but it doesn't make sense that you can copyright something that's alive.
So, the policies of both the U.S. government and Big AgriBusiness are working together to make it easier for the food market to be monopolized in the same way as the news, Hollywood, and essentially every entertainment industry. Do you want to know why this consolidation of power is bad for us? Have you SEEN how shitty most movies and popular CDs are? Do you want your food to suck that badly?
If not, do the little research into the food you eat. Verify that I'm not just making stuff up. Read this book, learn about the food industry. It doesn't take a lot of research to realize you're taking an unknown risk when you eat food that has had untested changes performed on its DNA, and the government has declared that it's illegal for companies to advertise that they use only non-GMO products...apparently, this would be bad for business, because it would raise the question of whether modified foods are safe.
It's theoretically possible they're safe. From the tiny amount of investigation that has been done, it doesn't look like they are. This has health implications. It has ecological and economical implications. It has political implications, as another industry consolidates into the hands of the very few, pushing out family farmers and reducing variety in the supermarket.
If you want to avoid genetically modified foods, you can. But, it isn't as easy as looking for a warning label...unless you look FOR a label that says "organic." If it says organic, it's GMO-free.
And, since you endured my whole review full of pessimism and frustration, here's a pair of otters playing in a bathroom:
And a baby trying to eat a cat:
////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
(The original "review")
So, let me tell you what kind of person Brian is. (Brian the bird, not that other Brian.) Brian is the kind of person who invites you out to lunch, and engages you in entertaining conversation for HOURS, and when the waitress brings the bill, SNATCHES it away, not even letting you buy him a BEER. (Not until later, anyway.)
Then, later on, when you're hanging around and drinking on the couch and talking some more, and the subject turns to books, he says he'll "send you a couple books." So, in your innocent, inebriated state, you give him your address.
And THEN, a couple weeks later, you get a package in the mail with "a couple books" BRAND FUCKING NEW from Amazon.
So, that should tell you what kind of person Brian is.
Correct. He's a COMPLETE ASSHOLE.
chelsea_erceg's review against another edition
4.0
I made a New Years resolution to start reading more non-fiction, and I happened to have this on a shelf, left over as required reading for a college course, which was never actually read. It seemed interesting enough.
Frightening. Frightening is what it is. The information displayed appears credible enough, and brings forward a lot of issues concerning the FDA and biotech industry that I wouldn't have otherwise been aware. I'm not going to summarize the whole thing here, just read it yourself, trust me.. but I'm definitely going to spend the next few days thinking long and hard about the choices I make in purchasing food and how I can make more educated and healthier ones.
Frightening. Frightening is what it is. The information displayed appears credible enough, and brings forward a lot of issues concerning the FDA and biotech industry that I wouldn't have otherwise been aware. I'm not going to summarize the whole thing here, just read it yourself, trust me.. but I'm definitely going to spend the next few days thinking long and hard about the choices I make in purchasing food and how I can make more educated and healthier ones.
dcunning11235's review against another edition
2.0
This book raises some valid concerns, and seems to document quite of bit of what can only be called corruption in the 80's and 90's in e.g. the FDA.
But, again and again, the appeal to emotion over reason... ugh. Again and again, the dangling indictment: "X says Y. But X once worked for Z..." A version of the genetic fallacy... how appropriate. Ugh. And the 'slam dunk' proofs of at least a handful of things haven't aged well. I went and looked into the Arpad Pusztai affair, and it sounds like his research really was incomplete (e.g., a lack of controls... which is pretty f'ing serious... especially someone the book represents as being something like an unimpeachable expert.) Ugh. And the hating on Golden Rice hasn't held up. The technology --the food-- keeps improving... which, to put it a tad harshly, is what happens when people work on something rather than bitch about it.
Sigh.
Again, some entirely valid issues raised. And the book was actually quite readable, which doesn't hurt. So two stars.
But, again and again, the appeal to emotion over reason... ugh. Again and again, the dangling indictment: "X says Y. But X once worked for Z..." A version of the genetic fallacy... how appropriate. Ugh. And the 'slam dunk' proofs of at least a handful of things haven't aged well. I went and looked into the Arpad Pusztai affair, and it sounds like his research really was incomplete (e.g., a lack of controls... which is pretty f'ing serious... especially someone the book represents as being something like an unimpeachable expert.) Ugh. And the hating on Golden Rice hasn't held up. The technology --the food-- keeps improving... which, to put it a tad harshly, is what happens when people work on something rather than bitch about it.
Sigh.
Again, some entirely valid issues raised. And the book was actually quite readable, which doesn't hurt. So two stars.
spacenoirdetective's review
5.0
Monsanto is pure evil and so is everyone that works for them. I hope they all die. I think they are a bigger threat than Al Qaeda. Fuck them forever for what they have done, they are mankind's biggest enemy.
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