in the world is soybean. In everything from bread to baby food, soybeans are utilized. Scientists at Monsanto have developed a new form of soybean, one that has been genetically altered so that it is more resistant to pesticides. The genetic engineering was conducted by Monsanto, one of the largest producers of seeds and pesticides in the world. However, the soybeans were altered only to resist Monsanto’s pesticide, Roundup “The new strain, created by the U.S. chemical firm Monsanto and altered so that the soybean plants can tolerate the company’s market-leading Roundup herbicide, accounts for 2% of this year’s American crop” (Geary, 1996, 1).
The most common genetically altered crops are corn, soybean, cotton and potatoes. Scientists and many governments and government agencies, like the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), argue that there is no different between genetically engineered foods and conventional foodstuffs. In 1992, the FDA declared there was no difference between genetically engineered foods and conventionally produced ones. Because of this declaration, genetically engineered foods have been quietly finding space on supermarket shelves with no form of labeling to designate them as such, “The rigorous testing to which new products are normally subjected in the U.S. has not been applied to genetically engineered foods. The result is that no labeling is required for genetically engineered foods in the U.S. and no special safety tests are carried out” (Biotechnology, 2000, 2).
In addition to foodstuffs being available to consumers before many proponents of genetically engineered foods believe we know enough about their potential hazards to human health, millions of acres around the world are being seeded with crops of genetically engineered seeds which environmentalists and others believe pose a potentially great danger to the environment. Seeds are genetically altered for many different reas...