Published: Monday, September 2, 2013 at 11:49 p.m. Last Modified: Monday, September 2, 2013 at 11:49 p.m.

The 29-year-old Auburndale woman, a private nanny, represents one of the millions of U.S. consumers the Florida citrus industry will have to deal with if it takes the path of using genetically engineered trees as a solution to citrus greening, a fatal bacterial disease threatening commercial citrus production in the state.

Citrus growers are desperate for a long-term solution to greening, and most agree developing new trees tolerant or resistant to greening would be the best solution. But many in the Florida citrus community, fearing a consumer backlash from people such as Harp, question that scientists should pursue genetic engineering in breeding a greening-resistant tree.

Meanwhile, the debate continues with GMO supporters, including chemical and food companies and farmers who grow GMO crops, claiming there's no scientific proof the technology is unsafe. On the other side are people such as Harp with the support of some scientists who argue the GMO technology must be proven safe before its products are released into the marketplace.

Harp was one of the local organizers of the May 25 international "March Against Monsanto," the St. Louis-based company that is one of the leading producers of plants containing genetically modified organisms (GMOs). The Winter Haven march drew a few dozen people, she said.

Harp became an anti-GMO activist because of her 14-year struggle with an intestinal disorder that several doctors could not diagnose, she said. Beginning at age 14 and with increasing regularity into her 20s, Harp experienced debilitating intestinal inflammation that caused "excruciating pain" that kept her bed-ridden, sometimes for days.

She did not return to health until she eliminated meat, wheat, gluten, soy, dairy and most processed foods from her diet, Harp said.

Because many of those products have GMO ingredients, notably soy, Harp associates GMOs with her health problems. She also has religious and moral objections.

"I believe your body is a vessel. In order for your spirit and soul to be in the best shape it can be, you've got to take care of your body," Harp said. "I think it (genetic engineering) is wrong. When you genetically modify something by manipulating its genes, you create a mutant. You don't know what would happen to the human body."

Jan Allen, who runs Pat's Apiaries in Auburndale with husband Patrick, takes a more pragmatic stance against GMO foods.

Continued here:
Nature Vs. GMO: Sides Face Off Over Genetically Modified Food

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