The basic question is not well formulated. Very likely, some genetically modified foods are safe and others, or other potential foods are not. What is really scary is the casual way we are assured by the industry that they are all safe, and the extremely casual way they seem to go about testing them. I've heard Mr. Clinton's last Secretary of Agriculture (my memory for names is unreliable) twice on the radio, assuring everyone that this stuff was absolutely safe, and also assuring us that it's o.k. to have the industry do their own testing -- much too slow, and too expensive, to have the government do that. And that anyone who objects to genetically modified foods can go buy stuff labled "organic." Now, that I call scary! And it seems unlikely that the Republicans are going to do more than that to protect us.

Another interesting question: The purpose of genetically modifying crops is to make them Roundup Ready. Is anyone all that sure that Roundup is safe? I have heard epidemiologists say that certain cancers cluster in parts of the Midwest where certain herbicides are used. They did not specifically mention Roundup. Anybody know more about that?