Experts Interviewed (Dossier)

William Engdahl
Author of Seeds of Destruction

Mr. Engdahl describes where leading World Trade Organization decision-makers come from in terms of industry experience and corporate background. During the interview, he explains how, exactly, policy decisions are shaped to help those industries and not the countries upon which they apply economic and legal pressure.

Peter Rossett
Food First/Institute for Food and Development Policy

Mr. Rossett describes his center's research, which concludes that golden rice is perhaps a good marketing tool to present genetically engineered food as helpful in combatting vitamin A deficiency (VAD) disease, which often results in blindness. In actuality, enormously unrealistic amounts of golden rice would need to be ingested in order to obtain sufficient amounts of vitamin A. He also explores how modern technology serves industry, but does not serve either the farmer in the developed world nor in the developing world.

Pal Maliga
Rutgers University Geneticist and Lecturer

Perhaps nothing so exciting in the realm of genetic engineering since the inception of the terminator gene has happened. Dr. Maliga and his team have patented the idea of tranfering code via plastids. While most of the genetic data is stored in the nucleus (20,000 to 75,000 genes), there are about 100 to 150 stored in the plastid (where photosynthesis occurs). By transferring new events or genes in this area, bioscience has an answer to one big criticism and concern of the sceptics. The DNA stored in the plastid is not passed by the male plant, only via the female plant. Dr. Maliga explains that the significance of this is that an organic farm's organic status will not be compromised by the GMOs of its neighboring farms, via the spread of pollen, by the wind and pollinating insects, such as bees.

Dayna Tolley
Former security agency employee

This EMS (a disease that has killed over 100 people, allegedly caused by a genetically engineered food supplement manufactured by Showadenko KK) survivor talks about her illness, her testimony to Congress and the corporate cover-up in the aftermath of the extensive news coverage.

Jagoda Munic
President, Zelena Akcija (Green Action)

A grant from USAID promised to provide the Croatian affiliate of Friends of the Earth with an office they can own, rather than rent. The office rejoiced. A few weeks later, a US embassy employee, representing the US Department of Agriculture, told the non-profit green organization that their strong position against GMOs is not appreciated and that it needs to be toned down. Zelena Akcija refused. Shortly thereafter, the USAID grant promise was withdrawn. Ms. Munic explains more in details.