Eating in the Dark : America's Experiment with Genetically Engineered Food

New York, NY, U.S.A.: Pantheon Books - A Division of Random House Inc., 2002. First Edition First Printing Stated . Hard Back. Fine/Very Good. 6 1/4" x 9 1/4. 338 Pages Indexed. Dust jacket price $25 is unclipped. Most Americans eat genetically modified food on a daily basis. Yet many of us are barely aware that we're eating something that has been altered. Food labels do not inlude information on ingredients that have been genetically modified, and the subject has received surprisingly little media coverage. Even as genetically engineered foods spread throughout America, most consumers abroad have refused to eat them. Opposition to genetically engineered food is now beginning to surface in the United States, where biotechnology is becoming a major issue for the new century. Here is the story of how these new foods, most of which are engineered either to produce or to withstand heavy doses of pesticides, quietly entered America's food supply. The author explores the potential of this new technology to enhance nutrition and cut farmers' expenses. She also reveals the porcess by which regulatory agencies decided to allow the biotechnology industry to sell its products without first submitting them to thorough testing for possible long-term threats to consumer health and the environment. Hart has talked to scientists, farmers, industry memebers, and activists, and she has gained unprecedented access to the inner chambers of the Environmental Protection Agency, the United States Department of Agriculture, and the Food and Drug Administration, where the crucial decisions have been made to allow these foods into our stores. Combining a balanced perspective with a sense of urgency, this is a revelatory guide to a subject of paramount importance.