Agroecology/Sustainable Agriculture Program. “How Are They Approved?” 2001 <http://www.aces.uiuc.edu/~asap/expanded/gmo/gmo.html#gmo> (cited 10 Jan 2006)

This site is the web resource page from the University of Illinois ASAP. It provides a variety of links and contact information for professors in the program as well as information about both sides of the controversy over GM crops. The page covers what GMOs are, how long they have been around, how they differ from traditionally bred plants, how they are approved, and why the approval process is controversial, as well as further information about issues associated with GMOs.

Altieri, M. A. and Rosset, P. (October 1999). Ten reasons why biotechnology will not ensure food security, protect the environment and reduce poverty in the developing world <http://www.foodfirst.org/progs/global/biotech/altieri-11-99.html>

Altieri from the University of California, Berkeley and Rosset from Food First/Institute for Food and Development Policy, Oakland, California collaborated on the article, which appeared in Sierra Magazine. The article discusses that biotechnology companies often claim that GMOs are essential scientific breakthroughs needed to feed the world, protect the environment, and reduce poverty in developing countries. According to the article, “This view rests on two critical assumptions, both of which we question. The first is that hunger is due to a gap between food production and human population density or growth rate. The second is that genetic engineering is the only or best way to increase agricultural production and thus meet future food needs.”

Berry, W. 2003. Citizenship Papers. Washington D.C.: Shoemaker and Hoard.

This volume of essays by Wendell Berry proved to be the most poignant source for this paper due in large part to the essay Twelve Paragraphs on Biotechnology. In his essay Berry attacks biotechnology on the grounds of oversimplifying solutions to complex problems and being hostile to farmers. He proposes the need for an authentically new science of agriculture, one that is focused on the relationship between farming and its ecological and cultural supports.
In another essay, Let the Farm Judge, Berry provides an overview of his own farm in Henry County, KY. This portion provides a more personal perspective of Berry in his farm and home and was helpful for background information. I found this to be particularly interesting since my home of 23 years and the current home of my parents is in Campbell County, KY, about 80 miles from Henry County.

In the essay Tuscany, Berry discusses the revelations he had while in the northern Italian province. His idea of a viewing the world as a collection of places, differing from one another according to climate, soil, day length, altitude, exposure, drainage, and ecology, as well as cultural demand and economic need was used in the paper.

Berry, W. 1997. The Unsettling of America, Culture and Agriculture 3rd Edition. San Francisco: Sierra Club

This book is, perhaps, Wendell Berry’s most definitive work. The book is a review of modern agriculture and focuses on many of the policies set in motion by former Secretary of Agriculture Earl L. Butz. Berry worked on the book from 1974 to 1977, but his observations and criticisms have held true over the years to be as poignant now as ever.
Chapter Three: The Ecological Crisis as a Crisis of Agriculture proved to be the foundation of the paper. Berry critiques the industrialization of agriculture and draws out the issues with human detachment from nature due to the specialization of professions leading to a narrow-minded experience of the world. Among the topics covered are outlines of the dramatic changes in the American household, the concept of conservation, the view of food as a weapon, and the concept of kindly use of the land.

Chivian, E. 2005. Personal communication. Center for Health and the Global Environment, Harvard Medical School.

Eric Chivian has compiled a book titled Sustaining Life, How Human Health Depends on Biodiversity to be published by Oxford University Press in 2006. The book is part of the Biodiversity: Its Importance to Human Health project under the auspices of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and the World Conservation Union (IUCN) which has involved more than 60 scientists compiling what is known about the complex relationship between biodiversity and human health. I worked for Eric Chivian as a research assistant from July through December 2005. My position entailed assisting with the acquisition of images, permissions, and information for the book. Eric frequently explained topics that will appear in the book and was an excellent source of information and guidance.

Field of Genes: Genetically Modified Foods, Uncommon Knowledge. Online video Hoover Institution, 1999. <http://www.uncommonknowledge.org/winter00/404.html>

The public affairs television program Uncommon Knowledge, produced by the Hoover Institution and hosted by Peter Robinson in conjunction with KTEH-TV, San Jose on Public Broadcasting Service. This program featured Henry Miller, a Senior Research Fellow at the Hoover Institution, Walter Anderson a Fellow at the Meridian Institute, and Peggy Lemaux Associate Cooperative Extension Specialist in Plant Biotechnology at the University of California, Berkeley discussing their views on GMOs. The group agreed that GM foods are safe and made clear that GM foods provide all manner of advantages for foods and food production and that GMOs provide much greater choices for farmers, consumers, and food producers. In a series of scenarios provided by the host, all three scientists held firm that GM foods and the peripheral issues are of little to no concern to them and that the public fear is unfounded.

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. “Biotechnology in Food and Agriculture,” 15 March 2000 <http://www.fao.org/biotech/stat.asp> (cited 11 January 2006), para 2-4

This document contains a statement by the FAO, which was published on the occasion of the "Codex Alimentarius Ad Hoc Intergovernmental Task Force on Foods Derived from Biotechnology" meeting in Japan. The document includes information about the potential benefits and risks of GMOs and the controversy surrounding the use of GMOs in foods. It reveals that FAO’s view on proceeding with the use of GMOs as supporting a science-based system that would objectively determine the benefits and risks of each GMO. They recommend a cautious, case-by-case approach to address legitimate concerns for the biosafety of each product or process prior to its release. They acknowledge that the possible effects on biodiversity, the environment and food safety need to be evaluated, and the extent to which the benefits of the product or process outweigh its risks assessed. They also call for careful monitoring of the post-release effects of these products and processes, which is also essential to ensure their continued safety to human beings, animals and the environment.

GM Watch. “Welcome to GM Watch,” 2006 http://www.gmwatch.org/p1temp.asp?pid=1&page=1> (cited 10 Jan 2006)

This site provides continual updates in the GM world, quotes, and an extensive list of resources for background on the parties involved in the GM debate. It includes a list of, “Who’s who in the fight to force feed us GMOs”

Grubbs, M.A. (1995, Nov. 10). Wendell Berry: People Land and Fidelity. <http://spider.georgetown.edu/htallant/border/bs10/grubbs.htm> (cited 2 Nov 2005).

This article comes from Border States: Journal of Kentucky-Tennessee American Studies Association. It provides an overview of Wendell Berry’s books and recounts an address Berry made in June 1989 at the College of the Atlantic in Bar Harbor, ME. In the address Berry lists ten commandments which the writer refers to as, “…at the heart of Berry’s personal and literary world, and collectively they express the thesis informing all of his work…” The article continues with quotes from Berry and those who hold him in high regard to provide a summary of Berry’s beliefs and areas of concentration.

Monsanto (2005). Seeding Values: Monsanto 2005 Pledge Report. <http://www.monsanto.com/monsanto/content/media/pubs/2005/promise_technology.pdf> (cited 10 Jan 2006)

The report outlines Monsanto’s reasons and strategies to alleviate hunger and help farmers. The report also includes a timeline for milestones in GM crops production, case studies of small, successful farmers using GM crops, plans for drought tolerant corn for Africa, the new paradigm of parallel development, the savings of pesticides, increased farmer incomes, and a look to the future.

National Family Farm Coalition. “Food From Family Farms Act,” 2006 <http://www.nffc.net/resources/factsheets/Food%20From%20Family%20Farms%20Act.pdf> (cited 10 Jan 2006)

The NFFC, founded in 1986, provides a voice for grassroots groups on farm, food, trade and rural economic issues to ensure fair prices for family farmers, safe and healthy food, and vibrant, environmentally sound rural communities here and around the world. It represents family farm and rural groups in 30 states whose members' face the challenge of the deepening economic recession in rural communities caused primarily by low farm prices and the increasing corporate control of agriculture. The act covers food sovereignty disclosing that trade and farm policy should respect every country’s right to establish policies based on needs and traditions for food security, conservation of natural resources, and distribution of economic opportunity. The FFFA’s calls for the creation of various reserves to enhance food, energy, and national security and also includes proposals for market price support, inventory management, conservation compliance, a disaster program and a conservation security program. Another provision is the increased funding of direct farm ownership and operating loans, which helps ensure that farmers can meet their responsibility to conserve productive capacity and biodiversity for future generations. It also calls for federal and state programs to encourage entry into farming through access to affordable credit by beginning and minority farmers is critical.

Philpott, T. (2006, Jan. 9). Monsanto's Man at the U.S. Trade Office.
<http://gristmill.grist.org/story/2006/1/9/13258/06199?source=weekly> (cited 10 Jan. 2006)

The article comes from Grist Online Magazine, which provides environmental news and commentary. In the article, Philpott attacks the Bush administration for placing individuals with strong corporate ties in international positions, which have major influence on policies established effecting their formal industries. The appointment of a biotech executive to be the chief agricultural negotiator for U.S. Trade Representative Rob Portman is cause for the article. Upcoming decisions by the WTO on critical issues concerning biotechnology make this appointment a clear assist to the biotechnology industry by the Bush administration. Of particular concern is the fact that The United States is locked in a dispute with the European Union over the acceptance of GM crops. To maintain their high growth rates, Monsanto and other companies desire access to the giant European market for corn and soybean seeds. The U.S. government has predictably taken up the GM seed industry's cause, petitioning the WTO to strike down the EU's anti-GM stance.

Reuters (2005 May 13). EU Postpones Key Vote on Approving New “Live” GMO <http://www.gmwatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=5234>

The European Commission has postponed a watershed vote of EU environment experts on whether to allow a new GM crop, maize known as 1507, to be grown in Europe's fields. A discussion on whether to authorize the GMO, made jointly by Pioneer Hi-Bred International, a subsidiary of DuPont Co., and Dow AgroSciences unit Mycogen seeds, was the agenda for a June meeting that was postponed.

Rosengrant, M.W. and Cline, S. A. December 2003. Global Food Security: Challenges and Policies. Science. 302: 1917-1919

Global food security will be a global concern for the next 50 years and beyond. Recent declines in crop yield are due to declining investments in research, infrastructure, and water scarcity. Climate change and the spread of HIV/AIDS are important factors affecting food security in some regions. Agroecological approaches offer promise for improving yields, but a greater impact in developing countries could be made by increased investment and policy reforms.

Sayre, P., and Seidler, R. J. 2005. Applications of GMOs in the U.S.: EPA research and regulatory considerations related to soil systems. Plant and Soil. 275: 77-91

Concerns have been raised about transient unintended environmental effects of organisms with unique genetic compositions (GMOs) that have been released in to the environment. However, long-term perturbations to soil processes and non-target species have yet to be demonstrated. Significant growth has occurred in the biotechnology industry and in the regulatory review process associated with risk evaluation of GMOs. Much of the increased regulatory standards resulted form the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). It is important to use multi-phasic approaches to adequately assess the safety of the introduction of GMOs, specifically to gain a deeper understanding of community relationships between soil organisms and their broader environments.

Sierra Club Genetic Engineering: “Genetic Engineering at Historic Crossroads” March 2001 <http://www.sierraclub.org/biotech/report.asp#Terminator%20technology> (cited 10 Jan 2006)

This page contains the full Sierra Club Genetic Engineering Committee Report. The report conveys that, “We are now at a turning point in history. We can continue to allow the virtually unrestricted release of genetically engineered organisms to the environment, or we can bring this technology under strict control. If we continue on our present path of unrestricted releases of GMOs, we will eventually live in a genetically engineered world, as the genome of each species now on earth is either deliberately altered by genetic engineering or indirectly altered by inheritance of transgenes from a genetically engineered organism. In such a world there would be nothing left of living nature, as every species would have been deprived of its genetic integrity, and every ecosystem would thereby have been irreversibly disrupted.” The report continues to cover topics related to genetic engineering including medical uses, feeding the world’s hungry, terminator technology, biodiversity, threat to organic farming, health issues, the precautionary principle, regulatory process, proposed legislation, moral and religious issues, what individuals can do, and definitions of key terms.

Snow, A. A., Andow, D. A., Gepts, P., Hallerman, E. M., Power, A., Tiedje, J. M., and Wolfenbarger, L. L. 2005. ESA Report Genetically Engineered Organisms and the Environment: Current Status and Recommendations. Ecological Applications. 15(2): 377-404

The Ecological Society of America has evaluated the ecological effects of current and potential uses of GMOs released in the field. Current and possible risks are outlined, as well as possible role of GMOs in sustainable agriculture, forestry, aquaculture, bioremediation, and environmental management. Recommendations supported by the ESA include: design of GMOs to reduce environmental risks; there is a need for more extensive studies of the environmental benefits and risks associated with GMOs; environmental release of GMOs should be prevented if scientific knowledge about possible risks is clearly inadequate; ecologists, agricultural scientists,, molecular biologists and others need broader training and more collaboration to address these issues.

United Nations World Food Programme. “Introduction,” 2006 <http://www.wfp.org/aboutwfp/introduction/hunger_causes.asp?section=1&sub_section=1> (cited 11 January 2006), para 17

They pose the question: food has never before existed in such abundance, so why are 815 million people in developing countries going hungry? Part of the introduction to the organization, the page covers the major causes of hunger. Included are: nature, war, the poverty trap, agricultural infrastructure, and overexploitation of the environment.

Wikipedia. (2006, Jan. 10). “Wendell Berry” <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wendell_Berry> (cited 12 Jan 2006)

Wikipedia is the free online encyclopedia. The information on Wendell Berry includes a bibliography, ideas in his work, a review of the Port William fiction, and quotations. Also included is Berry’s status as an environmental writer, Wendell Berry is an important figure in the history of American nature writing, along with Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry Thoreau, John Muir, Aldo Leopold… Rachel Carson… and others.”

Wisner, R. (2004 Nov. 18). Consumer resistance remains strong in Europe and Asia. <http://www.gmwatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=4636> (cited 4 Jan 2006).

Dr. Robert Wisner is an Economics professor at Iowa State University. He says, "Consumer resistance remains strong in Europe and Asia, and consumers remain the driving force in countries where food labeling allows choice." Western Organization of Resource Councils distributed the article, which reports commercial introduction of GM wheat poses the risk of losses of half of the U.S. wheat export and a potential drop in prices by a third. This is an economic risk of GM crops, which is the main concern of the U.S.

Wolfenbarger, L. L. and Phifer, P. R. 2000. The Ecological Risks and Benefits of Genetically Engineered Plants. Science. 290: 2088-2093.

A review of the existing scientific literature on the state of genetically engineered plants reveals that key experiments on both the environmental risks and benefits are lacking. The broad implications of national and international regulations underscore the policy and research communities’ need for current scientific information and for awareness of where information gaps occur. Factors of risk investigated include the potential for GM plants to become invasive, effects on soil ecosystems, nontarget effects on native and beneficial organisms, bioaccumulation and persistence of pesticidal proteins, new viral diseases, and variability and unexpected results. Benefits investigated include reduced environmental impacts from pesticides, reduced pesticide use, soil conservation, increased yields, and phytoremediation. Sustainability of GMOs was also addressed. One of the authors, Lareesa Wolfenbarger, reviewed the section titled Genetic Modification of Food Species for Eric Chivian’s forthcoming book (Chivian 2005).