Genetic Roulette: The Documented Health Risks of Genetically Engineered Foods |  | Author: Jeffrey M. Smith
Publisher: Chelsea Green
Category: Book
List Price: $27.95
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Rating:  11 reviews
Sales Rank: 229745
Media: Hardcover
Pages: 312
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 2.5
Dimensions (in): 11 x 8.7 x 1.1
ISBN: 0972966528
Dewey Decimal Number: 660
EAN: 9780972966528
ASIN: 0972966528
Publication Date: January 31, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
Eating genetically modified food is gambling with every bite. The biotech industrys claim that genetically modified (GM) foods are safe is shattered in this groundbreaking book. Nearly forty health risks of the foods that Americans eat every day are presented in easy-to-read two-page spreads. The left page is designed for the quick scanning reader; it includes bullets, illustrations, and quotes. The right side offers fully referenced text, describing both research studies and theoretical risks. It is presented in the clear, accessible style that made Jeffrey Smiths Seeds of Deception the worlds best-selling book on genetically engineered foods. The second half of Genetic Roulette explores why children are most at risk, how to avoid GM foods, false claims by biotech advocates, how industry research is rigged to avoid finding problems, why GM crops are not needed to feed the world, the economic losses associated with these crops, and more. This book, prepared in collaboration with a team of international scientists, is for anyone wanting to understand GM technology, to learn how to protect themselves, or to share their concerns with others. As the worlds most complete reference on the health risks of GM foods, Genetic Roulette is also ideal for schools and libraries. Consider some findings: Animals fed genetically modified (GM) foods developed bleeding stomachs, potentially precancerous cell growth, damaged organs and immune systems, kidney inflammation, problems with blood and liver cells, and unexplained deaths. Soy allergies skyrocketed in the United Kingdom after GM soy was introduced. Genes from GM crops transfer to human gut bacteria. This might transform our intestinal flora into living pesticide factories.
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 11
 The last word on GM risks June 8, 2007
Ms. C. J. Robinson (Devon, UK)
84 out of 87 found this review helpful
What's your response when someone comes out with a statement they've picked up from somewhere to the effect that "There's no evidence that GM food is harmful"?
If you have time and energy, perhaps you manage to scrabble together bits and pieces from memory, the web, or an article. But considering the number of calls that the business of living places on us, perhaps you just shrug your shoulders and muse that the world is going to hell in a handbasket of Bush, Blair, and Monsanto's making and there's nothing you can do about it.
Well, now there is. Just point them in the direction of the latest book from Jeffrey Smith, Genetic Roulette.
A must-read for policy-makers, educators, and journalists, it's also invaluable for anyone who wants to sharpen their weaponry in the battle against the imposition of GM foods. And judging by emails I've received from students asking about the risks of GM food, every educational institution and public library needs a copy.
Those who enjoyed Smith's previous book, Seeds of Deception, should be warned that this isn't the same sort of read. Seeds laid out the fraud of GM through its stories: the honest scientists who were gagged, threatened, and persecuted; the consumers who got sick and died from eating a supplement produced with GM bacteria, only to have their suffering covered up by a government protecting industry interests. Genetic Roulette is not a book of stories, but an easy-to-use reference book of scientific and other documented findings on the risks of GM foods.
Contrary to what the industry would have us believe, a considerable number of findings show GM causes harm, and they are clearly presented in this book. Given the worrying lack of substantial published research, Smith also draws upon unpublished studies, case studies, medical reports, media reports, and eyewitness accounts. Unlike the notorious pronouncements of biotech industry supporters, statements of opinion are never misrepresented as scientific fact. The author has gone to great lengths to maintain accuracy, having each section of the book checked by at least three scientists.
Conspicuous by their absence are follow-up studies to those that show harm from GM foods. The book details tactics that industry uses to bury inconvenient research, including ignoring it, attempting to discredit the research or its authors, and funding competing studies so poorly designed that no meaningful findings can be extracted. If all else fails, industry-aligned researchers discount deaths of experimental animals or claim that statistically significant results have, magically, no significance at all.
The layout of the book is an exemplar of clarity and should serve as the model for any reference book. It is designed to make the material accessible to three levels of reader: scanners, casual readers, and those who want detail. Each double-page spread is devoted to a problem with GM foods, with the left-hand page having the topic heading, a quote by an expert, and a few summarizing bullet points; the right-hand page gives technical detail. You don't need a science background to understand it. While the book is not bedtime reading, terms are defined and the boggle factor is kept low. The table of contents enables the reader to scan the problems with GM food and quickly to access the evidence on each.
Smith has to be the best science communicator alive today, and this book stands as the final word on GM health risks. It's the definitive answer to those who don't know, those who don't want to know, and those who know but don't want anyone else to know.
Great reference on GM foods September 18, 2007
Christine H. Farlow (Escondido, CA United States)
32 out of 34 found this review helpful
Genetic Roulette is well organized, well researched and well documented. It's layout makes it easy to pick out the main points of a topic or get all the details. It makes a handy reference and a good resource for plowing through all the specifics.
Jeffrey Smith is a stickler for accuracy. When I contacted him to use some excerpts from his books in my new editon of FOOD ADDITIVES: A Shopper's Guide..., it was very clear to me that he wanted to make sure that I was absolutely accurate with my facts. He demonstrated to me, his commitment to complete and total accuracy and publishing only factual information.
If you want to know the truth about genetically engineered food, I highly recommend this book.
GENETIC ROULETTE is a unique reference not to be missed. August 6, 2007
Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA)
25 out of 27 found this review helpful
GENETIC ROULETTE: THE DOCUMENTED HEALTH RISKS OF GENETICALLY ENGINEERED FOODS is a recommended pick for college-level health libraries: it covers everything from genetic transfer issues and risks for children and newborns to safety-related assumptions that have been proven wrong, signs of toxic reactions, and more. Packed with charts, FDA review information, details on regulatory issues and industry studies, and overall health concerns, GENETIC ROULETTE is a unique reference not to be missed.
Excellent, if just for the references alone! August 16, 2009
Brian (Tacoma, WA)
14 out of 15 found this review helpful
This is an excellent companion to The Gmo Trilogy, for readers who wish to go into greater depth. The book explores possible medical risks associated with eating genetically modified foods, and comprises 1-2 page abstracts and essays by researchers. There are a lot more hypotheses than actual conclusions here, so none of these works have reached the stage of becoming peer-reviewed articles in scientific journals. Skeptics may attach whatever significance they wish to that fact, but the references to each article are published, verifiable, and legitimate. In fact, if the dangers of GMO foods is a topic of interest to you, this book is a worthwhile purchase for the references alone! The articles are all of a scientific nature, and do not address social, political, or economic issues.
One recurring theme which comes up in these pages is the idea of drug resistance transmitted from ingested foods to intestinal flora. A common trait of many genetically modified plants is selective pesticide resistance. The desired crop can then be sprayed with these pesticides. It was previously believed that stomach acid would break down the plasmids which confer pesticide resistance, but that has been shown to be incorrect. Intact plasmids have been recovered from intestinal washings. There is prescedent to hypothesize that these plasmids could be transferred to gut flora, and under the right conditions, could cause a multidrug-resistant intestinal infection.
I don't have the expertise to judge the danger this may represent (maybe nobody does), but I would be interested in comments from anybody scientifically trained in these fields
This is a must own book. April 29, 2010
L. A. Olson (Port Orchard, WA)
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
I knew absolutely nothing about Monsanto or GMOs until a good friend put some brochures in my hand on March 31. She had been to a seminar where Jeffrey M. Smith was speaking. Those brochures can be found at [...].
This book is important in that it gives people like me who are 100% in this fight something to say to people who haven't a clue. "Go read Genetic Roulette" please. Do it for your health and your children's health.
I for one, don't remember signing up for this lab experiment. Maybe I'm wrong, but don't people get paid for participating in Scientific Experiments? That our government should put us through this and not even bother to let us know what is going on our dinner table really makes me angry with them. I thought things had to be labeled in this country. The UK bans this stuff, China gets labels... and in the USA most people don't even know what a GMO is.
We have been GMO free, (as much as possible without proper labeling), and my daughter's stomach aches are gone. My son's growing pains are gone. My headaches are gone. We are all losing weight without even trying. I'm convinced.
I don't need Jeffrey M. Smith to tell me this is a huge issue. But I am so thankful to him for bringing it to my attention, first in the brochures and then with the books. Life is too sweet to spend it feeling ill.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 11
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