Approximately seven out of 10 food items in your grocery store have been genetically modified (GM) by artificially integrating one species’ DNA with another. For example, in some cases, tomato DNA has been spliced with fish genes to increase freezing tolerance in the tomatoes, and other produce has been genetically altered to contain its own pesticide, such as corn engineered to kill off corn-eating bugs.

Thanks to genetically engineered corn, some monarch caterpillars may never spread their wings. As noted in Country Living’s Healthy Living (Sep./Oct. 1999), scientists have discovered that pollen from corn plants genetically engineered to produce Bt insecticide is fatal to the monarch caterpillars feeding on it. Nearly 20 million acres of Bt corn is now growing in the United States, causing concern for the safety of some 19 butterfly and moth species already designated as endangered.