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INDUSTRY-MANIPULATED APPROVAL After overseeing GMO policy at the FDA, In the early
PROCESS IN THE U.S. Mr. Taylor worked on GMO issues at the U.S. De-
One would hope that our government would partment of Agriculture, and then later became 1990s,
take every precaution before allowing GMOs in Monsanto’s vice president and chief lobbyist. In scientists at the
our food and environment. After all, any health the summer of 2009, he was appointed by the United States
issue with GMOs could theoretically impact Obama administration as the U.S. food safety
everyone who eats. And once GMO crops are czar back at the FDA. Food and Drug
released into the environment, the pollen and Although the United States government Administration
seed movement contaminate the natural gene policy today is built upon the false notion that (FDA)
pool on a permanent basis. Moreover, the stated GMOs are totally safe, evidence accumulated
goal of the leading biotech company, Monsanto, over nearly two decades now vindicates the origi- repeatedly
is to genetically engineer all commercial seeds nal FDA scientists and validates their concerns. warned their

in the world. This would permanently replace superiors that
the products of billions of years of evolution and ANIMAL FEEDING STUDIES
thousands of years of agricultural crop develop- INDICATE HEALTH ISSUES GM foods
ment with a new, untested technology, promoted After seeing all scientific precaution could create
by the same company that told us Agent Orange, stripped away from the government’s approval serious health
PCBs, and DDT were safe. process of GMOs, FDA microbiologist Louis
But with the safety of the food supply and Pribyl accurately predicted in 1993 that “Industry problems.
the integrity of our ecosystem at stake, just the will do what it has to do to satisfy the FDA ‘re-
opposite happened. All precaution was thrown quirements’ and not do the tests that they would
to the wind, and the U.S. government engaged in normally do because they are not on the FDA’s
what arguably can be called the greatest gamble list.” In reality, the safety research conducted
1
of our lives. by the biotech industry remains superficial in its
The story at the FDA is typical. In the early scope and sparse in its volume. A 2007 review of
1990s, scientists at the United States Food and published scientific literature on the health risks
Drug Administration (FDA) repeatedly warned of GM plants, for example, described the number
their superiors that GM foods could create of studies and available data as “very scarce.” 2
serious health problems. According to secret Nonetheless, a careful analysis of both industry
documents later made public from a lawsuit, and independent studies does demonstrate sig-
the scientific consensus at the agency was that nificant harm to animals fed GMOs.
GM foods were inherently dangerous and might Based on their review of this body of re-
create hard-to-detect allergies, toxins, new dis- search, in May 2009 the American Academy
eases and nutritional problems. They urged their of Environmental Medicine (AAEM) publicly
superiors to require rigorous long-term tests. But condemned GMOs in our food supply, saying
the White House under George H. W. Bush had they posed “a serious health risk.” They called
ordered the agency to promote biotechnology; on the U.S. government to implement an im-
the FDA responded by recruiting Monsanto’s mediate moratorium on all GM foods and urged
former attorney, Michael Taylor, to head up physicians to prescribe non-GMO diets for all
the formation of policy on GMOs. That policy, patients.
which is in effect today, denies knowledge of AAEM members have a tradition of looking
the agency scientists’ concerns. In fact, it falsely for new disease trends and their causes. As such,
claims that the FDA is not aware of any informa- they have come to be known as the “Academy
tion that shows genetically engineered food to of Firsts.” They were the first U.S. medical or-
be significantly different from other food. On ganization to describe or acknowledge Gulf War
that basis, no safety studies on GM foods are Syndrome, the first to acknowledge chemical
required. The government leaves it up to GMO sensitivity, the first to characterize food allergy/
companies, including Monsanto, DuPont, Dow, addiction, and the first to introduce or acknowl-
Syngenta and Bayer, to determine whether their edge more than a dozen other medical issues.
own foods are safe. They are one of the first medical organizations
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