Consumer Alert
AVOIDING DANGEROUS FOODS

by Peter M. Ligotti
pmligotti@earthlink.net

You bite into what you perceive to be a carefully prepared, lovingly seasoned, perfectly cooked potato casserole tonight during your evening meal. You assumed the food to be safe. You had no idea that the chemical and genetic engineering industries had used a radical new technology to artificially mutate the DNA in your potatoes. The genetically altered potatoes were sold unlabeled, as if they were normal, natural potatoes. In this three-part communication, you will learn about genetically engineered food and the fictional Dr. Frankenfood, and about how the chemical and genetic engineering industries have done exactly the same things that Dr. Frankenfood would have done. You will learn about the immediate dangers of genetically engineered foods, and why national governments and the genetic engineering industry are now releasing untested genetically engineered foods on the world population. You will also learn how to protect yourself and your family by shopping to avoid these foods, and finally, how we can stop the proliferation of these experimental foods.

Let us imagine that the fictional Dr. Frankenstein had a modern day descendent, the evil Dr. Frankenfood. For those people in various parts of the world who do not know the horror story, Dr. Frankenstein created a monster using electricity and various dead body parts. The evil Dr. Frankenfood, like his famous forefather, might also want to do bizarre technical research. But let us imagine that Dr. Frankenfood has a great personal fondness for the food industry. Let us imagine Dr. Frankenfood's mad experimentations. Being in the food industry, and following in his ancestor's recombinant footsteps, he might want to make strange, bizarre food products combining vastly different species. He might create radical new species in the laboratory that could never exist in nature. If he did so, let us imagine what he would do. He would go deep with electon microscopes and sever nature's potato DNA, for example. He would cut the DNA, the precious, living, twirling genetic nucleotide staircase guiding nature's potato with complete instructions of how to build itself and how to interact in any environment thousands of generations hence. He would cut the genetic code formed through millions of years of reproductive natural evolution, natural selection, and reproductive crossbreeding and hybridization.

With a radical experimental technology utilizing a new instrument known as a gene gun, Dr. Frankenfood would replace natural selection with his own unnatural personal selection. He would create a Frankenfood potato by splicing wax moth insect DNA and the DNA of genetically engineered bacterium onto the severed natural potato DNA. He would also use his gene gun to dice and splice the DNA of fish with tomato, pig with human, bacteria with soy, virus with corn.

What if Dr. Frankenfood was also in charge of the USDA (the United States Department of Agriculture), the FDA (the Food and Drug Administration); and what if he was also in charge of giant multi-national chemical companies such as Monsanto, DuPont, Calgene, and Novartis that have become major players in the new global genetically engineered food business? He would then have access to immense capital resources for his strange experimentations. He would wield nearly limitless power, and he could learn how to manipulate the rest of the government, the laws, and even the courts with his influence. He would give grant money to labs in the USDA and to university labs and technicians all over the world. He would have universities, the USDA and the FDA under his control. They would carry out his recombination experiments with the DNA of different species as he directed, and then he would feed these experimental foods to the population unlabeled and without careful testing. He would stealthfully export his mad experimental products to other countries, and if they refused his products, Dr. Frankenfood would use his money, power, influence, and connections to threaten them with trade war.

Of course Monsanto, DuPont, Calgene, Novartis, the chemical corporations, the USDA, and the FDA cannot really have such evil intentions. They are doing their best to do their jobs. Dr. Frankenfood is a mere dramatization. But the chemical companies, the USDA, the FDA, and all of their hardworking food technicians are doing the exact same things that the evil Dr. Frankenfood would do if he was in charge. The multi-national chemical companies, the USDA and the FDA, although well-meaning, operate based on short-range vision and greed. As scientific technicians, they appear to have minimal ability to see long-range consequences. The chemical/genetic engineering industry and the USDA recombine the DNA of vastly different species creating new organisms that have never before existed on earth. The genetic engineering industry then lobbies for regulatory loopholes that allow them to rush their experimental foods to market. Due to large PAC money payments (legalized bribes), good-ole-boy networks, corporate welfare, and continuing conflicts of interest between the USDA, FDA and multi-national chemical/genetic engineering companies, the U.S. and many other governments have encouraged and approved these synthetic foods. The genetic engineering industry sells these products untested and unlabeled. And finally, the U.S. government threatens other nations with WTO sanctions and trade war if they label or reject genetically engineered foods.

We as global consumers have the right to know what we are eating. We have the right to decide whether we want to eat these foods. We have the right to decide whether our children should eat these foods.

Wherever you may live in the world, food markets sell these unlabeled and untested Frankenfoods. Beginning back in 1994, the chemical/genetic engineering industry began to sell genetically engineered tomatoes and milk laced with genetically engineered bovine growth hormone (rBGH). Now in 1997, these companies want to quickly earn back their accelerating research costs, and rush approximately 30,000 untested new genetically engineered food products to market.

SPECIFICALLY WHAT ARE THE DANGERS?

Genetically altered supplements and foods have already caused debilitating allergies, permanent cripplings, and deaths simply because consumers were unaware. Fifty-one people died and 1500 people were permanently disabled from toxic and deadly bacteria created during the production of genetically engineered tryptophan. Severe allergies resulted from the introduction of mutated genetically engineered soy combining DNA from brazil nuts. One can predict that more deaths and negative side effects will continue to emerge. Without clear labeling, health problems cannot be avoided or properly traced back to their source.

Genetic damages to the environment and ecosystem can never be cleaned up, reversed, or recalled. Once released, once the microorganisms, plants, and living beings in the food chain and ecosystem become polluted with these mutant foods, destruction of health and virulent, irreversible, permanent, and incomprehensible living mutations will spiral wildly into the future. Genetic pollution becomes immediately locked-in and self-sustaining -- hosted in the very DNA of living organisms. This contrasts, for example with the threats of hazardous nuclear waste and the potential destruction of nuclear war, which, although devastating, can be eventually reversed and cleaned up with the passage of time.

WHY ARE THEY DOING THIS?

Widespread sales of genetically altered foods increase the profitability of the chemical/genetic engineering industry. The chemical industry wants to quickly recoup their billions of dollars in accumulated genetic research and investment costs. Their strategy involves rushing genetically-altered Frankenfoods to market en masse as quickly as possible.

The USDA, FDA, and their wealthy supporters, the genetic engineering companies, claim that they intend to solve problems of world hunger. But careful scrutiny shows their true motives. Primarily, the U.S. government intends to ensure the continuing success and prosperity of their wealthy yet irresponsible supporters, the genetic engineering industry, and secondly the chemical/genetic engineering industry intends to dominate the global food markets with their experimental products. We appreciate that governments want to support major businesses and industries. We also understand that big business wants to make money. However, in pursuing these goals, the USDA, FDA, and chemical (bio-tech) companies have chosen to disregard the long-range effects of these products on human life.

The chemical industries have genetically altered foods for the following specific traits: to increase profits by artificially increasing product shelf life; to increase profits by increasing the compatibility of plants with the chemical industry's own pesticides and herbicides; and to increase profits by creating seeds that cost more but save producers money because the vegetables or plants create their own pesticide internally.

While taking these actions for immediate short-term profits, the chemical industry claims that their work represents the cutting edge of science.

TRUE SCIENCE AND FRAUDULENT SCIENCE

If Dr. Frankenfood was in charge, his diabolical scheme would not be true science, because he would never bother to safety-test his experimental foods before putting them on our family's plates and serving them up to the world community. True science uses the "Scientific Method." The Scientific Method involves alternating between theory and observation, checking theory to see if it matches past observations and can correctly predict new observations. The checking comes in the form of experience, in other words: experimentation. New technology should not be applied directly to human life until it has proven itself beyond doubt through the test of time to be safe, useful, beneficial. True science does not make the human race into experimental animals, into guinea pigs. Again, we look and see that the chemical industry does exactly what Dr. Frankenfood would have done, marketing these foods to the world population untested and unlabeled.

We know Dr. Frankenfood's history as a descendent of Dr. Frankenstein. Let us also look at the past, at the track record of one of the major chemical/genetic engineering companies, Monsanto. A look at the past may give some indication of what we can expect from this company and other chemical companies now and in the future.

Monsanto marketed herbicide 2,4,5-T used as a defoliant in Agent Orange in Vietnam. The version tainted with dioxin killed people. Monsanto also was the sole maker of PCBs, (poly-chlorinated-biphenyls), banned by the U.S. Congress in 1976 because of cancer risk and reproductive harm. Recent studies link it to significant developmental harm in children at minute doses. All humans now carry some level of PCBs in their bodies because the chemical is lipophilic and biomagnifies in the food chain, as does dioxin. This means that it gradually spreads into the physiology of all living beings on earth. Monsanto owns and markets Aspartame, the artificial chemical sweetener marketed as Nutra-Sweet, widely known as a cancer-risk-associated drug yet pushed through the regulatory loopholes as a food additive instead of a drug. In recent years Monsanto, the USDA, and the FDA have worked together to add rBGH, bovine growth hormone -- widely implicated in making cows sick and increasing cancer risk, to consumer's milk. Now Monsanto and other chemical companies want to genetically engineer the global food supply. Can we trust these companies with the food supply?

The chemical companies have now genetically engineered not only potatoes, but also tomatoes, corn, soy, squash, canola, cotton seed oil, and milk. The chemical industry claims that these practices come as a normal, natural extension of time-tested reproductive crossbreeding and hybridization techniques. In reality, this is a new, bizarre experiment on the human race utilizing a radical new technology. Dr. Frankenfood would be well pleased.

Distributors export these mutant foods all over the world. A global crisis now exists because many governments have implicit trust in the U.S. government and its decision to promote these foods. Naive trust of the FDA and the USDA creates complacency in the U.S.A. These chemical companies have made global consumers out to be experimental animals, guinea pigs. Although this is a serious crisis, we can stop the proliferation of these Frankenfoods now.

WHAT CAN I DO?

  1. Learn all you can about the dangers of genetically engineered foods.
  2. Learn how to shop to avoid these foods. Boycott companies using these foods.
  3. Tell all your friends family and loved ones about this problem, both on-line and off-line. Your job is not done until they change their eating habits and they teach their loved one's to do the same.
  4. Start or join consumer groups to label and ban genetically engineered food.
  5. Send letters to your political leaders and representatives.
  6. Write and send letters to the media, writers, editors, networkers.
  7. Forward this communication to influential people all over the world.
  8. Take a leadership role. Contact the sources at the end of part three of this communication.
  9. Request parts two and three of this three part communication from your Leader, who should be listed below.


Relevant Websites About Genetic Engineering:
(Easily accessible with Netscape mail programs)



HOW TO SHOP TO AVOID GENETICALLY ENGINEERED FOODS:
FOODS TO AVOID OR BOYCOTT:
SPECIFIC BRAND NAME PRODUCTS TO BOYCOTT:
THESE COMPANIES USE GENETICALLY ENGINEERED INGREDIENTS IN SOME OR ALL OF THEIR PRODUCTS:

  • Coca Cola (corn syrup and/or Aspartame)
  • Fritos (corn)
  • Green Giant Harvest Burgers (soy)
  • McDonald's French Fries (potatoes)
  • Nestle's chocolates (soy)
  • Karo Corn Syrup (corn)
  • NutraSweet (Aspartame)
  • Kraft Salad Dressings (canola oil)
  • Fleishmann's margarine (soy)
  • Similac Infant Formula (soy)
  • Land o Lakes butter (rBGH)
  • Cabot Creamery Butter (rBGH)


AVOID ALL OTHER CONVENTIONAL (NOT CERTIFIED-ORGANIC) TOMATOES, POTATOES, CORN, SOY, CANOLA OIL, COTTON SEED OIL, AND YELLOW CROOK-NECK SQUASH:

TOMATOES: Genetically engineered with bacteria-derived kanamycin resistance genes, Antisense backwards DNA, antibiotic marker genes, viruses, and DNA of flounder and North Atlantic shellfish. This and the following genetically engineered foods have antibiotic marker genes used to facilitate the genetic engineering process. They can cause allergies and autoimmune disease.

POTATOES: Genetically engineered with wax moth insect DNA; genetically engineered to produce its own pesticide internally with the DNA of bacillus thuringiensis bacteria.

CORN: Genetically engineered to tolerate high quantities of the chemical pesticide glufosinate, and genetically engineered with a virus and the DNA of the bacteria bacillus thuringiensis.

SOY: Genetically engineered and DNA-altered by Monsanto with bacteria; capable of tolerating heavy doses of Monsanto's Roundup brand chemical pesticide (glyphosate).

YELLOW CROOK NECK SQUASH: Gene-spliced with two experimental viruses and arbitrary marker genes, capable of causing unpredictable and unexpected effects.

CANOLA OIL: Genetically engineered and DNA-altered with California bay turnip and various viruses and bacterium in order to produce high quantities of lauric acid.

COTTON SEED OIL: Genetically engineered and DNA-altered with Arabidopsis bacterium, and viruses to be able to withstand large applications of the chemical pesticide bromoxynil. Bromoxynil causes birth defects in human beings.

AVOID ALL PRODUCTS DERIVED FROM THE ABOVE NON-ORGANIC ITEMS
As of the beginning of 1997, these products will have been genetically engineered and on the market as a percentage of the total conventional food supply. Since they are sold unlabeled in the conventional market, there is no way to tell specifically which tomatoes, potatoes, corn, soy, etc. have been actually genetically engineered. If you live in a nation which may receive imports from the U.S. and Canada, you should also avoid these non-organic foods as a safety precaution. Your own nation or another exporting to yours may be doing genetic engineering. Eat only organic food if possible. Even if you buy seeds to grow your own food, buy only organic seeds.

AVOID EATING IN NON-ORGANIC RESTAURANTS
Unless the restaurant management makes it clear in writing that they are committed to using only non-genetically engineered foods and products, avoid eating out as much as possible. Since genetically engineered foods are not labeled, they also have no idea which of their tomato, potato, corn, soy, canola, yellow-crook-neck squash products may be genetically engineered.

READ LABELS CAREFULLY: BE CAREFUL WITH ALL PROCESSED FOODS
WATCH OUT FOR CONVENTIONAL, NON-ORGANIC CORN AND SOY, BECAUSE THEY ARE IN SO MANY PRODUCTS:
Avoid corn syrup, fructose, and fructose corn syrup in almost all beverages and sodas (even health food brands), and in almost all sweet products, yogurt, and aspirin. Avoid corn oil, corn starch, corn meal, baking soda, baking powder, glycose syrup; Avoid soy; soy flour in baked goods; pizza, cookies, cakes, pasta; fillers in meat products, (for example Big Macs) vegetarian meat substitutes, (for example tofu, tofu burgers, tofu hot dogs) soy milk, infant formula, baby foods; diet and protein shakes, protein bars; chocolate and candy bars; margarine; ice cream; pet food; soy oil in salad dressings & snack chips; soy sauce; lecithin and soy lecithin. In all, well over 30,000 products!

AVOID rBGH MILK & DAIRY PRODUCTS (apologies to strict vegans):
Monsanto's genetically engineered bovine growth hormone (rBGH), marketed through veterinarians and injected into dairy cows, causes increased milk production and horrible mastitis. These cows then require constant medical supervision and continuous high doses of antibiotics. Their milk contains high levels of pus. The cow's milk and dairy products made from this milk also contain rBGH, bovine growth hormone. This hormone increases cancer risk in human beings.

EAT ONLY ORGANIC RENNETLESS CHEESE (apologies to strict vegans): Most non-organic cheeses are made with a genetically engineered rennet called chymosin.

AVOID DOUGH CONDITIONER:
This is a code word for a combination of genetically engineered enzymes and other components, found in cheaper breads and baked goods.

OTHER GENETICALLY ENGINEERED ADDITIVES AND ENZYMES
Avoid Amylase (used in making bread, flour, whole wheat flour, cereals, starch), Catalase (used in making soft drinks, egg whites, liquid whey) and Lactase.

FOODS TO FAVOR:

BUY AND EAT ONLY CERTIFIED ORGANIC FOODS:
Certified organic tomatoes, potatoes, corn, soy, canola oil, cotton oil, and yellow-crook-neck squash are safe. Many other genetically engineered products will be coming to market in 1997 and 1998 if the bio-tech industry has its way. By buying only organic foods of every type, you will protect yourself and your family from Frankenfoods. Almost everything that can be found in your conventional food market is also produced by the organic food industry. If you buy a few carefully chosen conventional foods, keep up-to-date on which few conventional foods are safe through the websites and mailing lists at the end of this consumer report.

MEAT AND POULTRY (apologies to vegetarians)
Most livestock are being fed genetically altered feed, as well as a disgusting mix of ground-up and often diseased and discarded animal carcasses. The only safe beef and poultry will be those fed only organically grown grain. Avoid commercially produced seafood. Commercial pork has been genetically altered with DNA from human beings. Great time to decide to be vegetarian.

FAVOR DAIRY PRODUCTS FROM COMPANIES THAT DO NOT USE (rBGH) BOVINE GROWTH HORMONE (apologies to strict vegans)
Research and buy only from suppliers that promise on the package or in other writing that their products are rBGH-free. Be especially careful with butter. Buy only organic butter, because even otherwise good companies buy cheap rBGH milk to make butter, or else they buy their butter (rBGH) from other companies.

DR. FRANKENFOOD WANTS TO DESTROY ORGANIC FOOD
If Dr. Frankenfood was in charge, he would create biological warfare crops that would destroy organic foods, destroy the competition. Just as the evil genius would have hoped, the USDA has allowed genetically altered foods into the conventional market which threaten organic farmers. Scientists of virtually every persuasion realize that Bt soy, corn and potatoes predictably will create Bt resistant insects. Organic farmers use Bt as their main line of defense against insects. Bt resistant insects could wipe out organic crops and organic farming. Destroying the competition just makes good business sense, reasons Dr. Frankenfood.

As of now, certified organic food is still safe. But, just like the evil genius might have planned, the bio-tech industry and the USDA now are attempting to lower U.S. organic standards relative to the rest of the world, and to allow genetically altered foods into the organic market as a new category known as "synthetic organic."

The U.S. Organic Standards Board, comprised mainly of environmentally- conscious and health-conscious organic producers and consumers, will make recommendations to the USDA. Unfortunately, this board has no real power. They can only recommend, and the USDA will decide independently whether genetic alteration of the seeds will be relevant in deciding whether or not an organism can be labeled "organic." Another point for Dr. Frankenfood.

CONTACT THE USDA:
DEMAND AN IMMEDIATE END TO THIS OUTRAGE
Soon, the USDA will publish its new proposals and decisions on organic standards, and any changes to the organic standards that they wish to make in the United States. The USDA invites comments from the public on the issue regarding organic standards. Let the USDA know that we will not tolerate this continuing outrage. Keep up to date on this through the USDA website:

http://www.aphis.usda.gov/bbep/bp

CONSIDER STOCKING UP ON SAFE FOODS
Frank Ford, in his book, "The Coming Food Crisis," says that events are pointing to a food crisis of unbelievable proportions. With genetic engineering of the food supply, only a relatively small part of the total food supply can be known to be safe. Since 95% of the food supply contains conventional corn or soy, the rules of supply and demand show that there could possibly be a shortage of safe food over the next several years. You may consider taking advice from Frank Ford's book. He advises stocking up on organic or safe conventional dry foods that are low in oil content--wheat, beans, lentils, grains, dried fruits. If possible, stock enough for yourself, your family, and if possible your friends to live comfortably for two or three years. Create local food co-ops so you can pool resources and make large bulk orders, saving everyone money.

ELIMINATING FRANKENFOODS: JOIN THE FOOD FIGHT!
You can help your loved ones, family, friends, and associates by forwarding them this three-part communication. The next step will be to send parts one and two to consumer groups, writers, editors, media people, journalists, teachers, food producers, organic food producers, food retailers, network marketers, restauranteurs, small companies, and large companies. Send this communication to anyone that eats food. Especially be sure to forward parts one and two to the best, brightest, most creative, most successful, and most well-educated people that you know. Forward this information to people that you respect, to people who are knowledgeable and well-connected. Interested and motivated consumers will request that you send any missing section(s). By not sending everything at first, you qualify them and learn about their level of interest. We need to systematically, step-by-step get this three-part communication to the top people in society. They can easily spread this information far and wide through their network of associates and contacts.

If you have cut, copy, and paste ability with your e-mail program, you can create clean copies of this three-part communication. If you are new to e-mail and the Internet, get help from a personal friend or computer whiz who knows about such things. If you need a new clean copy of this three-part communication, you can order one from your Leader, a person taking a consumer leadership role. Your Leader's e-mail address should be at the bottom of each section of this three-part series.

If you, like many other consumers, feel that this situation regarding the food supply deserves immediate attention and immediate action, then take the first step. Proceed to make a list of everyone that you know. First list loved ones, relatives, family, and friends. Then list associates, everyone else that you know on a first name or on a more formal basis. Pull out your personal phone directory, and your Christmas card list and/or other social register. Then use paper and pen and the phone book to jog your memory about people that you know that you may have temporarily forgotten. Be systematic. Examples: Use the white pages. Ask yourself: Who do I know with the last name Adam; Anderson; Atkinson; etc... Also use the yellow pages. Ask yourself: Do I know any accountants? bankers? commodity brokers? etc...Psychologists have discovered that virtually everyone knows at least 1000 people on a first-name basis. You do too! Bring these people to mind. Make a list of everyone that you know, and send as many of them as possible this three-part series by e-mail.

If you live in a small town, or if most people that you know live nearby, you can simply print this three-part series and hand it out. Teach people to teach others to make copies and give them out to all of their loved ones, relatives, and connections. If you want to send someone this three-part series, but you don't have their e-mail address, try calling them briefly and asking them for their e-mail address. If they don't have e-mail, you can arrange to send this information to one of their nearby friends or relatives who may have an e-mail address. You can also print this three-part communication and mail the printed copies. After giving or sending this communication, follow up with a note or phone call. Use the power of your personal influence. Personally encourage all of your loved ones to avoid genetically engineered foods. By following these suggestions, you will easily find your three Leaders and you will build your own consumer action group. (See "Defeating Dr. Frankenfood" below) In any case, try to get this three-part communication out to at least 50 people that you know personally, and into the hands of as many other consumers as possible.

If you have experience with e-mail and the Internet, then you know that a "flame" is an angry e-mail, and "spam" is generally defined as any unwanted commercial e-mail. You can send part one and part two of this three-part series to on-line mailing lists and to other people that you do not know personally, but this takes more care and more attention. For example, if you send the first section or two to people that you do not know, you may occasionally get "flamed" by people who do not appreciate the message. They may feel that you have "spammed" them.

For every person that flames you, there will be two or twenty who will appreciate this information. As more and more people receive this communication, some may complain that they have already seen it. You may consider e-mailing flamers with a polite note explaining that reading the three-part communication is not enough. People need to change their eating habits and to inform their loved ones. You can prevent flames by first sending short and sweet e-mail notes telling consumers that you will be sending some important information about the food supply. Don't wait for a response, simply go ahead and send the first section or two of this communication.

Leaders, people taking a leadership role, will network together and keep each other informed about events as they happen. They will also have supporting documentation and other information that they can hand out or forward to each other. Leaders will always have the best and most current information. They can work either on-line or off-line or both. Many Leaders will be fundamental to our success in stopping Dr. Frankenfood.

TAKE ME TO YOUR LEADER
If you feel inspired to become an on-line Leader, record your own Leader's e-mail address. E-mail to your Leader, and tell him or her of your intention to take a leadership role. Ask for his or her list of ancestral Leaders and their e-mail addresses. Leaders can also get information from the mailing lists, websites, and information sources at the end of this third section.

New Leaders should use cut-and-paste, creating a new fresh version of the three-part series and then delete or cut their own Leader's e-mail address at the very bottom of all three sections and carefully write or paste in their own e-mail address. They should also proceed to make their own personal list and then continue with the plan as previously outlined. As a Leader, you will receive periodic requests to forward fresh copies of this three-part communication. You can expect to receive, on average, one or two requests to forward every day.

If your Leader has changed his or her e-mail address, and if you therefore cannot find your Leader or your ancestral Leaders, you can still make good of the situation. You can build and create your own group. You can use the information in this three-part communication and those resources and websites listed at the end of this third section. You can find other Leaders who will be happy to work with you. They will probably be subscribed to the mailing lists listed at the end of this third section.

FEEL FREE TO PRINT ANY INFORMATION
You can print this entire three-part communication and give it out to consumers off-line. They can go to their computer, if they have one, and they can contact their Leader. You also may wish to print the first two sections and hand them out to people in health food stores, supermarkets, or anywhere. If consumers make request, give them a copy of this third section. Be sure to teach everyone working off-line to make their own list of contacts, to make copies of this three-part communication, and to give copies out to all their friends, relatives, associates, and connections. A more detailed consumer action plan for working off-line will be available. Check with your Leader to see if he or she has it or can get it for you. People can use their local copy machine and should teach others to use their local copy machine, etc, etc....If many people tell many consumers about this situation, soon we will have many Leaders and soon consumers everywhere will know about this situation, therefore we will all be able to protect ourselves. Everyone has permission to use this three-part series to write press releases, magazine articles, booklets or books. Request help from your Leaders and your Leader's Leaders. Creative people will be able to build huge consumer information networks on or off-line using this information by utilizing the general duplication strategy, and by utilizing the contacts and information sources at the end of this section three.

DEFEATING DR. FRANKENFOOD USING THE INFORMATION SUPERHIGHWAY
Imagine if an evil Dr. Frankenfood had an evil plan to secretly rage biological warfare against the world population. It's really happening! Well, they are not really so evil intentioned, but Monsanto, DuPont, Calgene, Ciba-Geigy, the rest of the bio-tech industry, the USDA, and the FDA are doing exactly what an evil-intentioned genius would do. They are almost worse, because they do not even know that they are doing something wrong. They have narrow, limited, short-range vision of what they are doing. We have to react to what they are really doing, not to their stated good intentions. Along these lines, it may be interesting to note that the Internet was originally started as an experiment by the U.S. military. The original purpose of the Internet was to create a non-centralized network, an evenly spread-out communications network for military use. A non-centralized network would be impossible to stop, because an enemy could never locate and knock out its central operating intelligence. If some part of it was stopped, the rest would just keep going and going....

This consumer action plan, designed to take advantage of this natural strength of the Internet, has no center that could be knocked out. Therefore, it cannot be stopped. This plan is to systematically create hundreds of thousands of consumer Leaders worldwide. The plan also uses the principle of exponential growth. For example, if three Leaders get three Leaders, who in turn get three Leaders, etc.....3 x 3 x 3 x 3... through 15 levels, equals hundreds of thousands of Leaders who in turn will inform millions of consumers. Since this information will be going out over a period of many months all throughout 1997 and 1998, this would not be any kind of burden on Internet bandwidth -- on communications traffic flow. It will come out at peak to be quite manageable, with many hundreds of e-mails per hour worldwide. Exponential mass marketing in this case becomes highly ethical and necessary. Sometime in 1997 or 1998 this issue of genetically engineered food will become a big story on television as well as in magazines and newspapers in the United States and every part of the world. That will be the sign that we will be on the verge of succeeding in our mission to first label and then ban genetically engineered foods. But we have to continue until we have total disclosure and total labeling of all genetically engineered food products, including complete information about all additives and production agents. Then we must continue towards a worldwide ban and moratorium for 50 years.

To be most effective, this consumer action plan needs speed. Your loved ones, your friends, your family, your relatives may be eating genetically engineered Frankenfoods right now. Do not procrastinate. Once begun, this global consumer movement cannot be stopped. New Leaders will be constantly created. The bio-tech industry, made up of multi-billion dollar companies, will try to save their Frankenfood project. They will lobby the government and create new laws. They will work with the USDA and do multi-million dollar pro-genetic engineering campaigns. They will do everything and anything possible to stay in business, to try to stop us from informing our loved ones and fellow consumers about what they are doing. But rest assured: they are doomed. We will not fail. By joining in, by taking action, by making your personal list, by becoming a Leader, and by forwarding, printing, and handing out this three-part communication, you will be completely in harmony with the original purpose of the Internet. We will quickly create an invincible, unstoppable, global communications network. Together, we will use the Internet to stop Dr. Frankenfood from destroying our health, our families, and our planet.


SHORT VERSION, ELIMINATING FRANKENFOODS: WHAT CAN I DO?

  1. Learn all you can about the dangers of genetically engineered foods.
  2. Learn how to shop to avoid these foods. Boycott companies using these foods.
  3. Tell all your friends family and loved ones about this problem, both on-line and off-line. Your job is not done until they change their eating habits and they teach their loved one's to do the same.
  4. Start or join consumer groups to label and ban genetically engineered food.
  5. Send letters to your political leaders and representatives.
  6. Write and send letters to the media, writers, editors, networkers.
  7. Forward this communication to influential people all over the world.
  8. Take a leadership role. Contact the sources at the end of part three of this communication.
  9. Request parts two and three of this three part communication from your Leader, who should be listed below.


Sample Query Note For the Three-Part Series:

Dear Friends, Mary, Editor of Time Magazine, Senator Torry, Veggie mailing list, etc., etc., etc.
(NOTE: everyone who eats food needs to know about this!!)

I have some critically important information about the food supply that all consumers need to know about.

(Exactly what you say depends on your relationship to the receiver--use your own words and if possible make it personal)

Your name and
Your e-mail address

THIS TYPE OF SIMPLE NOTE WILL HELP TO "BREAK THE ICE" AND HELP MAKE THE "3 x 3 Plan" POWERFULLY EFFECTIVE AROUND THE WORLD


ORGANIZATIONS WORKING TO STOP GENETICALLY ENGINEERED FOOD

Greenpeace
1436 U Street N.W.,
Washington, D.C. 20009
U.S.A.
Telephone in U.S. (800) 381-4712

Tell them you want to join the crusade against genetically engineered foods.

http://www.greenpeace.org/~usa/


The Pure Food Campaign
1660 L St. N.W. #216
Washington, D.C. 20036

or
The Pure Food Campaign
860 Hwy 61
Little Marais, Minnesota 55614

Telephones: (202) 775-1132, (218) 226-4164, or (218) 226-4155
Fax: (218) 226-4157
Toll Free: (800) 253-0681
e-mail: purefood@aol.com

WHAT IS THE PURE FOOD CAMPAIGN?

The Pure Food Campaign (PFC) is a non-profit, public interest organization dedicated to building a healthy, safe, and sustainable system of food production and consumption in the US and the world. The PFC's primary strategy is to help build a national and international consumer/farmer/labor/progressive retailer boycott of genetically engineered and chemically contaminated foods and crops. The PFC is sponsored by the Washington, D.C. based Foundation on Economic Trends, whose President is the author and technology critic, Jeremy Rifkin. The Pure Food Campaign serves as a global clearinghouse for information and grassroots technical assistance to citizen activists and non-governmental organizations concerned about agriculture, food safety, life form patenting, and genetic engineering. The PFC also provides interviews and background material for journalists and news organizations worldwide. The Campaign utilizes a variety of tactics including targetted boycotts, grassroots lobbying, litigation, progressive media and public relations, activist networking, and direct action protests and media events.
The PFC National Director is Ronnie Cummins.

Website:

http://www.geocities.com/Athens/1527/


Mothers for Natural Law
P.O. Box 1177
Fairfield, Iowa 52556
U.S.A.
Telephone in U.S. (515) 472-2809
Fax in U.S. (515) 472-2683

They have a valuable "Safety First" Information pack --
They need $3.00 U.S. for shipping and handling.
Make checks payable to "Mothers For Natural Law."


HOW TO ORDER NEW COPIES OF THIS THREE-PART SERIES

This three-part series and its action plan was carefully crafted and designed to inform people all over the world about the travesty of GE food.

Your friends, relatives and associates can receive their own original copies of the complete three-part series and/or any missing sections by sending an e-mail with the subject heading "Avoiding Dangerous Foods" to their leader, who should be listed below and at the very end of each section of the three-part series.

IMPORTANT: Your Leader's e-mail address:
pmligotti@earthlink.net