Caius Rommens, a genetic engineer who first worked at Monsanto and then for J.R. Simplot, published an editorial today on the Independent Science News website saying that he “renounces” his development work at Simplot and urges that the genetically altered potatoes he personally developed for that firm “should be withdrawn from the market.”

October 8, 2018 — Rommens reveals his own scientific experiences within the biotech industry in a new book, Pandora’s Potatoes, now available on Amazon. 

We encourage you to read his bylined report on Independent Science News. The link at left also leads to the link on Amazon to purchase his book.

Update October 9: Sustainable Pulse published an interview with Rommens which offers more personal detail. It’s an insightful view into the entire genetic engineering industry from an insider’s viewpoint.  Check it out at this link.

Rommens is the second distinguished scientist to sound alarms about genetically modified potatoes. The first was in 1999, when Arpad Pusztai, a 35-year veteran of genetic work at the Rowett Institute, Aberdeen, Scotland, was fired for revealing potential health problems. He had been commissioned to demonstrate the nutritional safety of GMO potatoes. But when extended work with test animals revealed severe problems, he reported the facts. And he was summarily fired and issued a gag order. He was forced to remain silent for seven months. 

The classic case of Arpad Pusztai is chronicled in Jeffrey Smith’s book, Seeds of Deception, published in 2003.