WHEN A MONSANTO WHISTLEBLOWER BLOWS THE WHISTLE, IT'S TIME TO PUT ON OUR LISTENING EARSby Laurel Hopwood, Chair, Sierra Club Genetic Engineering Team

11/2/2018If anyone wonders what we’re really feeding our families, please stand up. In my mind, I see a curious crowd rising to their feet.PCBs, Agent Orange, the weedkiller Roundup. Monsanto (now owned by Bayer) has become a household name manufacturing those poisonous chemicals. Most recently, the company claims to feed the world with their GM (genetically manipulated) crops.When the biotech giant learned about the work of energetic Caius Rommens, PhD, the company recruited the scientist. Like a young boy playing with Legos, experimenting with genetic engineering techniques excited him.Rommens developed numerous ways to change the genes of food crops, so it would be easier for farmers to farm. Sounds great; after all, we all need to eat. Rommens focused on the benefits of manipulating genes. It didn't occur to him that there might be a detrimental downside.Do the words French fries or hash browns make your mouth water? The J.R. Simplot Company is well known for making different kinds of potatoes. The business expanded during the 1940s, when it served the military dehydrated potatoes. The company has been eager to improve its potatoes, and, being a corporation like Monsanto, strives to maximize their profits.Simplot recruited Rommens to design a potato that would resist blackspot bruising and browning. He successfully moved genes around to accomplish just that.Most people don’t have a background in molecular biology. But most people buy food at the store and don’t know that two thirds of our food supply contains genetically engineered genes. So what’s the hoopla? We’re not dropping dead, right?Meanwhile, genetic engineering had become Rommens’ obsession. He created at least 5,000 different genetically engineered versions each year—possibly more than any other genetic engineer! But something gnawed at Rommens’ soul.He discovered a first mistake, and it freaked him out. It seemed to him there had to be more mistakes, still hidden from his view. He abandoned his career and began a different life on a small farm, far away.Contemplating his past work, he realized that all gene functions are interconnected. Each genetic manipulation had to cause a ripple effect. These could be problematic and yet no one—not one scientist —could predict the unintentional long term effects on the environment and/or health of the living creatures consuming them.The GM potato varieties he created are currently under the names Innate, Hibernate, and White Russet. The most common potato varieties, such as Russet Burbank and Ranger Russet, may soon be contaminated with genetically manipulated stock.It turned out that the GM potatoes bruise just as easily as normal potatoes, but the bruises are concealed. Even infections may be concealed. They don’t develop the dark color that helps processors identify and trim them. Rommens now worries that consumers may eat potatoes that look perfectly healthy, but might contain toxins and allergens.The scientist’s inner voice spoke to him loudly. He now knows that short-term benefits of genetic changes in the laboratory can be very different from the untested long-term effects in the field and in our bodies. He recognizes that government regulatory agencies fail to consider the unintended effects. He acknowledges that the companies profiting from their propriety products submit their own data to get their products approved.So Dr. Rommens wrote the book “Pandora’s Potato” (available on Amazon) to expose some of the hidden issues of GM potatoes. He wonders if his book is just a tip of the iceberg—one that the American people have a right to know about.When we go to bed at night, we don’t wonder about the unintended, possible harmful effects from genetically engineering food that we’re feeding our families. But maybe we should. Thanks to scientists like Dr. Caius Rommens, that seed has been planted.