Background: GMOs stand for Genetically Modified Organisms. This means altering an organism in a way that does not occur through mating or some other natural means. For example, Monsanto developed their patented insecticide-producing “Bt corn” this way: the insecticide is actually produced inside the plant, so it is impossible to wash it off. This is accomplished by inserting genes from the bacteria Bacillus Thuringiensis into the corn.
I learned from Cornell University that this GMO corn’s pollen kills Monarch butterfly larvae. (source)
Plus an interesting read:
The author of this book is Steven M. Druker. He is a public interest attorney who, as executive director of the Alliance for Bio-Integrity, initiated a lawsuit that forced the United States FDA to divulge its files on genetically engineered foods. This revealed that politically appointed administrators had covered up the warnings of their own scientists about the unusual risks of these foods and then allowed them to be marketed illegally. In organizing the suit, he assembled an unprecedented coalition of eminent scientists and religious leaders to stand with his organization as co-plaintiffs – the first time scientists had sued a federal administrative agency on the grounds that one of its policies is scientifically unsound.
“Without doubt, one of the most important books of the last 50 years. I shall urge everyone I know who cares about life on earth, and the future of their children, and children’s children, to read it. . . . Steven Druker is a hero. He deserves at least a Nobel Prize.”–Jane Goodall, Ph.D. (from the Foreword)