'Frankenfoods' Film Showing in Raleigh

Corporations in search of new ways to turn a profit are turning to the fundamental structure of the food we eat. By tinkering with the genetic makeup of plants, they are creating new products to patent and sell on the world market.

But serious concerns haunt genetically modified crops -- or what some critics have dubbed "Frankenfoods" after the monster that ruined its creator. Last summer, for example, Italian researchers published findings that indicate absorption of transgenic soy by mice induces changes in liver cells. Other scientists have observed responses related to allergic reactions in animals fed transgenic foods. (For information on these and other studies, visit the Organic Consumers Association's Web site.)

And then there are the regulatory issues raised by these laboratory creations. In 2000, for example, Kraft Foods was forced to recall taco shells that contained genetically modified corn produced by Aventis CropScience headquartered in Research Triangle Park -- corn that had been approved only for animal feed and not for human consumption.

These and other issues surrounding transgenic food will the topic of discussion next Tuesday, April 18, when the Code Green Coalition shows the film "The Future of Food" at Helios Coffee at 413 Glenwood Ave. in Raleigh. An in-depth investigation by award-winning filmmaker Deborah Koons Garcia, widow of Grateful Dead frontman Jerry Garcia and a former UNC-Chapel Hill student, the film interviews farmers from Saskatchewan, Canada to Oaxaca, Mexico about the impact genetic technology has had on their lives. The film also considers alternatives to large-scale industrial agriculture.

Following the 7 p.m. showing, there will be a discussion led by Tony Kleese, director of the Carolina Farm Stewardship Association. Kleese will talk about what's happening around transgenics in North Carolina -- and how citizens can take action to create a food system that's good for the consumer, the farmer and the environment.