New corn heightens Taco Bell's 'power'

As if the nacho cheese chalupa wasn't one reason to avoid the big, bad, bowel-destroyer known as Taco Bell, the brains behind the enchirito have now given us reason number two (hee hee, I said "number two"). Last week Kraft Foods recalled all Taco Bell brand taco shells after tests confirmed they were made with genetically modified corn that wasn't approved for human consumption. The corn, which contains a bacterium gene that makes it toxic to an insect pest, is approved for use only in animal feed because of questions about whether it could cause allergic reactions in people.

Many see the recall simply as a public relations setback for the biotechnology industry and a rallying point for critics who claim the crops are a threat to human health and the environment. Others see no setback at all; government regulators insist the crops are safe, and the Environmental Protection Agency released a study stating that none of the insect-resistant crops that have been developed so far pose any significant risks. In April, a National Academy of Sciences study went so far as to endorse the safety of biofoods, declaring, "We found no distinction between the health risks posed by plants modified through modern genetic techniques [and unmodified plants]."

That consumers and activists are actually worried about possible physical ailments resulting from genetically engineered food seems silly. In 1996 the Food and Drug Agency (FDA) approved Olestra, a fat substitute, for use in certain snack foods, despite findings that the product "may cause abdominal cramping and loose stools in some individuals."

Now just wait one minute. What the FDA is telling us here is that a rare minor allergic reaction is of greater consequence than an incident of explosive diarrhea? I don't think so, and my perennially loose-boweled roommate doesn't think so either. The FDA is simply too afraid to jump on the biotech bandwagon, opting instead to paint a "haunting" picture of the future resembling a Charlton Heston movie. Labeling genetically engineered foods does nothing but create an atmosphere of fear among consumers.

Risk, shmisk, "franken-food," shmankenfood. Who cares about taco shells? It's time for the FDA to get their heads out of the sand and start thinking long-term.

First, we have to be realistic—genetic engineering isn't about to fade into the sunset. The topic made headlines this summer with a very public debate about the Human Genome Project, an effort to identify all the 100,000 genes in human DNA. Safety issues concerning genetically altered foods pale in comparison to the ethical, legal and social implications of the project, including property rights, patents, etc. The question "How much does it cost to guarantee that my son is a pommelhorse specialist?" certainly takes precedent over "How much more will I crap if I eat WOW potato chips?"

Genetically engineered foods are nothing to panic about. The scientific community is not about to market pumpkins made of rat poison, soylent green, or glow-in-the-dark lettuce spiked with firefly genes. It's about cancer-fighting tomatoes, vitamin-enhanced rice and other stuff that does the body good. Genetic engineering holds out the promise of making many foods that are already good for you even better. There is little evidence that altered foods could cause certain people to become allergic to foods they once could otherwise consume. Most scientists advising the EPA agree that the government should no longer allow farmers to grow a crop that isn't approved for human consumption—a reasonable enough requirement—but they also agree that this strain of biotech corn is safe for humans.

Still, none of these issues are going away. It's time to embrace genetic engineering and run with it. Forget taco shells and tomatoes. Let's see engineered dining hall food. It shouldn't be that difficult—Commons has already genetically altered the chicken patties. Have you seen these things? They're huge. Let's get the Yale dining halls to engineer an anti-Freshman 15 garden burger or something. Or clone popular professors to make class sizes smaller, even if they'll probably have an even harder time getting tenure.

Seriously though, this was a voluntary recall of a food product that most likely is not a physical or environmental threat. An FDA spokesman called the recall "prudent," not urgent. Taco Bell even decided to continue selling taco shells obtained from the same supplier as those recalled by Kraft.

I see no reason for biotechnology critics to rejoice. This recall is nothing more than a minor delay for the industry, a small speed bump on the expressway to human lives enhanced by the wonders of genetic engineering.

Graphic by Sarah England.

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