Designer Food » (1st Edition)

The phrase genetically modified food conjures images of apples with eyeballs and tomatoes with toes. But the true story behind this technology is much more complex that anyone may realize. Join Pence's investigation of this latest public issue and take a front-row seat at what will surely become the hottest debate since human cloning.

Library Journal

Public debate still rages regarding the quality and safety of the genetic engineering (GE) of food. Proponents believe that GE foods are safe and have the potential to decrease insect and disease damage to crops, improve nutritional quality, and provide an abundant source of food for the world's exploding population. Critics contend that consumers are being used as testing grounds for new foods that are produced with no government oversight, no research studies, and little knowledge about the effects on consumers and the environment. Hart and Pence both present fact-filled accounts of what works, what went wrong, and what lessons have been learned regarding GE. Hart, a journalist who writes on health and the environment, analyzes the topic via interviews with farmers, scientists, politicians, industry representatives, and officials from countries that have banned the import of GE foods. She explains how biotech corporations use their clout by pressuring the EPA and FDA to stifle testing and regulation. Pence (Flesh of My Flesh: The Ethics of Cloning Humans), a medical ethicist at the University of Alabama, categorizes the issue into four perspectives: naturalism, scientific progressivism, egalitarianism, and libertarian globalism. Although Pence agrees that more research and sound policy is important, he has little patience for the motives of environmentalists, antitechnology activists, and proponents of organic farming, who he claims are deceiving the public with erroneous information and bad science. Pence's chapter on mad cow disease and the public-health consequences of the livestock industry's careless use of biotechnology and lax safety and inspection standards is particularly disturbing. Both books offer a good analysis of the issues in this complex debate; choose Hart if you want journalistic reportage and Pence if you prefer a scholarly and scientific approach. Those who want more commentary regarding the opinions of all players in this complex debate should read Bill Lambrecht's Dinner at the New Gene Caf or Martin Teitel and others' Genetically Engineered Food. For nonpolitical discourse on the achievements of genetic engineering through the ages, don't overlook Sue Hubbell's Shrinking the Cat. Irwin Weintraub, Brooklyn Coll. Lib., NY Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.