"Genetically modified means an organism in which the genetic material has been changed through gene technology in a way that does not occur naturally by multiplication and/or any natural recombination."–United Nations, 2000.  The first commercial production of genetically modified rice was approved by the USDA in late 2000.

With consistent reports of countries refusing to import food grown in the United States, I feel it is incumbent upon me to begin a discussion about the US government's fascination with food modification.  Genetically Engineered ("GE") or modified foods/products include rice, wheat, soy,  sugar beet (and cotton, but more about that in a later post).  Governments will argue that without GE foods we will not be able to feed the world's rapidly growing population. Why? Because modifying foods both increases yields and infuses it with vitamins otherwise lacking (this latter point is supposedly especially important for third world countries).  The questions are a)with such a short history do we know for sure that GE foods are really safe?; and b)are foods being modified in a way that really increases value for otherwise deprived nations?  

You may also want to know that Dennis Kucinich, U.S. Representative (10th District, Ohio) introduced 5 bills in 2002 about  GE foods. The bills would require food companies to label all GE foods including foods that were made with GE ingredients, increase FDA monitoring and protect consumers and farmers from corporations (and our government) that seek only to make profits from GE foods.  The Bills and their status are:

• H.R. 4812 The Genetically Engineered Crop and Animal Farmer Protection Act of 2002
• H.R. 4813 The Genetically Engineered Food Safety Act of 2002
• H.R. 4814 The Genetically Engineered Food Right To Know Act of 2002
• H.R. 4815 Real Solutions to World Hunger Act of 2002
• H.R. 4816 The Genetically Engineered Organism Liability Act of 2002
  

Here I am an avowed vegetarian with allergies to wheat and flour... I won't eat eggs either unless I have a personal relationship with the chickens and even then I need to know exactly what table scraps they are eating ("--you are what you eat eats"). So I'm thinking I'm eating healthy.  Well, maybe not so much.  While I only eat Basmati rice purchased in Indian stores, I also on ocassion drink Almond Milk prepared with brown rice and eat cream of rice cereal and rice flour pasta, etc.  No matter how vigilant we think we are, the US and corporate America are always one leap ahead:

The following countries are currently growing or producing genetically modified/engineered ("GE") foods and products:

United States (50+ foods in total)  

The Pew Initiative on Food and Biotechnology said in 2004 that 45% of all corn, 85% of all soybeans and 76% all cotton grown in the United States is genetically modified. The Grocery Manufacturers of America estimates that 60 to 70% of all processed foods contain genetically modified ingredients as of 2002. Most of the 50 US products have dealt with introducing herbicide-resistant or pesticide-producing genes into corn, cotton, and soybeans.

Canada (30 foods)
Japan (22 varieties of 6 crops)
European Union, especially Spain and France (9 foods)
Argentina (3 foods)
Mexico (3 foods)
Australia (2 crops + 6 field trials)
Brazil (1 food)
South Africa (1 food)
China (1 crop)
Russia (1 crop)
India (1 crop)
Vietnam (1 crop)

Countries Developing GE Rice:

United States
China
Japan
Korea
Philippines
Switzerland
Mexico
Australia
Italy

Countries with labeling laws, restrictive agriculture, environmental, or import policies, or prohibitions on GE foods:

 Australia
 Austria
 Brazil (attempted ban)
 Denmark
 Ethiopia
 France
 Germany
 Greece
 Italy
 Luxembourg
 Japan
 Korea
 Mexico
 Namibia (banned)
 New Zealand
 Norway (banned)
 Russia
 Saudi Arabia (banned)
 Sri Lanka (banned)
 Switzerland
 Taiwan
 Tasmania (banned)
 Thailand
 Uganda (banned)
 United Kingdom
 Wales (banned)

Major Biotech Companies:

 Aventis (French company combining Hoechst and Rhone Poulenc)
 Monsanto (U.S. company, subsidiary of Pharmacia and Upjohn)
 DuPont (U.S. company operating under Pioneer Hybrid division)
 Syngenta (Pending merger of Novartis and AztraZeneca in Europe)
 Dow Chemical (U.S. company)

Products that may contain GE rice:

Whole grain rice (brown rice, unpolished rice, unhulled rice)
White rice (polished rice, converted rice, parboiled rice)
Amasake (sweet rice beverage)
Rice cakes
Rice syrup
Rice milk Mochi (pounded sweet rice)
Rice miso (soybean paste with rice)
Rice noodles
Rice balls
Sushi
Rice crackers
Puffed rice
Rice dumplings
Rice croquettes
Rice cream
Rice porridge
Rice pilaf
Rice bread
Rice flour
Rice flakes
Rice bran
Rice cookies
Rice salad
Rice pudding
Rice custard
Rice vinegar
Rice bran oil
Rice tea

Permission to reprint the educational material above is granted by Amberwaves, Box 487, Becket, MA 01223.