The California ballot initiative that would require labeling genetically modified food ingredients has generated much media attention in health and wellness circles over the last several months. With all this focus on GMOs, the timing of the release of Jeffrey Smith's movie Genetic Roulette: The Gamble of our Lives couldn't be better. This documentary, produced by the Institute for Responsible Technology, features interviews with medical doctors, veterinarians, farmers, educators, nutritionists and scientists from many fields.

The movie starts by examining the increase in chronic illness over the past decade, speculating on possible causes. The narrator notes how food allergies, asthma, autism, digestive and autoimmune problems have increased dramatically as genetically modified food items have become more prevalent in the marketplace.

The movie explains the difference between traditional hybridization techniques and the gene splicing process that occurs with GMOs and how this process can significantly alter the nature of a food. Much of the movie focuses on GM "roundup ready corn" and how it works its way through the food chain from the actual corn itself to food ingredients, animal feed, meat and milk products. Scientists present convincing evidence about how proteins and toxins related to the addition of roundup linger in the gut, destroying gut flora and leading to a host of digestive and other health concerns. Study after study reveals the health problems caused by consumption of genetically modified foods in both animals and humans.

The movie presents many actual cases of animals and people eating a GMO vs. non GMO diet and the corresponding physiological impact. The graphic display of unhealthy livestock, sick pets and cattle dying after eating GMO cotton stalks in India leaves one with a strong visual impression of the serious complications GMO foods can cause.

No movie on this topic would be complete without a discussion of the politics and business concerns that pervade the GMO food industry. We learn how organizations advocating for GM products have used power and influence to promote their own vested interests, despite all the contrary evidence and at the ultimate expense of you and me.

Whatever your opinion about genetically modified foods, this movie is a must see for anyone who eats. It is our right to know what we are putting in our mouths. This movie serves as a wake up call, informing consumers of important scientific findings and urging us all to take an active role in defending our food supply and, ultimately, our own health.

For more information visit the Genetic Roulette movie website.