Don’t Let Agribusiness Gobble Up Our Food

Re “EU Fear-Mongers’ Lethal Harvest,” Opinion, Aug. 18: It becomes obvious from a brief review of Ronald Bailey’s work that he believes more in the rights of a corporation to generate profits than the rights of the public to enjoy a diverse and healthy source of food. The primary intent of agribusiness is to gain control of the vast “people have to eat” market. Widespread distribution of genetically modified organisms puts complete control of human nutrition into the hands of a few corporations. In 2000, seeds marketed by Monsanto made up 91% of all genetically engineered crops.

This is a battle we always have to fight. What bothers me more is Bailey’s attempt to misinform the public by referring to the corn as “genetically enhanced to protect it against insects.” The only reason the corn was modified was to gain a profit, in the short run or the long run. The corn was shown to have two Monsanto modifications, Roundup Ready and BTExtra. “Roundup Ready” means the crop is not affected by Roundup herbicide, an herbicide that Monsanto sells. Next it will want to bottle the air.

Ken Aaron

Los Angeles

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Again and again we gullible consumers have been told that various substances (DDT and other chemicals, smog, asbestos, many drugs) with which we come into daily contact, some courtesy of agribusiness, are safe, only to find out later, sometimes many years later, that they are anything but. Why should we now believe that the “safe” genetic manipulation of the food we eat will turn out any differently? No “Frankenfood” for me.

Jaycie Ingersoll

Beverly Hills