In August of 1998, Dr. Arpad Pusztai, a nutrition researcher in Scotland, suggested that a few strains of genetically modified potatoes may actually be toxic to laboratory rats (5). Pusztai claimed that his experiments showed that rats fed on potatoes which had been genetically engineered to express a lectin suffered serious damage to their immune systems and had stunted growths. The lectin is also toxic to insects and nematodes and supposedly toxic to mammals (3).
Pusztai’s experiments were sent by The Royal British Society and reviewed by six independent experts and regarded that his data was not adequate enough to support the claims he had made for a number of reasons. Subsequently, Pusztai sent his results to 24 independent reviewers, who disagreed with the conclusions drawn upon by the previous review committee (3).
Although the results of Pusztai’s experiements are still largely contested, what followed was a European backlash of genetically modified foods. Today, there are strict guidelines and regulations for GM foods in the European market- including labelling and DNA bar codes. Recently conducted surveys still suggest that the public has a negative opinion of GM foods. In fact, third world countries in Africa have even rejected international food aid that have any trace of genetic modification (5).
Opponenets of genetically modified food often refer to genetically modified foods as “Frankenfood,” after the monster in Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein, for whom the book is named, in response to the decision of the FDA to allow the marketing of genetically modified food (3).
The term is also used to voice the fear that the effects of GM crops are not fully understood and have not been accuratley accessed. These effects could be potentially harmful not only to humans but also cause severe disturbances in the balance of our ecosystem (3).
