Fw: [] The FDA--Public Enemy #1

[Guest guest]

This is WRONG, WRONG, WRONG!

Patty

FDA GENETIC FOOD POLICY DENIES AMERICANS THE RIGHT TO KNOW WHAT THEY

> ARE

> EATING

>

> FDA fails to require testing and labeling of gene-altered food

> despite

> medical and scientific warnings

>

> WASHINGTON, January 17, 2001 - The rights of American consumers to

> know

> what they are eating and feeding their families was today denied them

> by

> the Food and Drug Administration. The new FDA policy proposal, posted

> on

> the web today, does not require labeling or any pre- market safety

> testing of genetically engineered foods. Instead, FDA has sided with

> the

> biotech industry, which vehemently fights mandatory labeling of

> gene-altered food.

>

> " This is a terrible day for American consumers-the government has

> failed

> to protect their health and their interests, " said , a

> Greenpeace Genetic Engineering Campaigner in San Francisco. " While

> the

> rest of the world is moving to label genetic foods, U.S. consumers

> are

> still denied free choice in the grocery store. Americans deserve to

> know

> what's in their food, yet FDA is working with industry to keep

> genetic

> engineering a secret ingredient. " Last week, a report by the Consumer

> Federation of America echoed Greenpeace's calls for mandatory

> labeling of

> all genetically engineered food.

> Labeling of genetically engineered foods is required throughout

> Europe,

> and in Japan, Russia, Australia, New Zealand and other countries.

>

> Food makers do not have to inform consumers if their products contain

> genetically engineered ingredients under the new FDA policy. FDA will

> allow gene-altered foods on the market without long- term safety

> tests

> for effects in the diet or the environment.

>

> A new Greenpeace report, Genetically Engineered Food: Still Unlabeled

> and

> Untested, has found that only three health studies on genetically

> engineered foods have been published in peer-reviewed journals. None

> of

> these met scientists' recommendations that gene altered foods be

> tested

> for 90 days, nor did they meet the FDA's own testing requirements for

> food additives that would require, in some cases, up to two years

> multiple feeding studies. The biotech company studies that FDA relies

> on

> to assess new altered crops are generally not submitted for peer

> review

> and not available for public scrutiny.

>

> Doctors and scientists warn that genetically engineered foods could

> trigger allergies, have increased levels of toxins, or could hasten

> the

> spread of antibiotic resistance. The medical journal the Lancet has

> stated: " It is astounding that FDA has not changed their stance on

> genetically modified food.. Governments should never have allowed

> these

> products into the food chain without insisting on rigorous testing

> for

> effects on health. "

>

> Last fall, Greenpeace released the True Food Shopping List, a

> detailed

> report of thousands of foods made with genetically engineered

> ingredients. " FDA has refused to require labels, so Greenpeace took

> action, " added . " We labeled genetically engineered food to

> give

> consumers a fighting chance when they go to the store. "

>

> http://www.greenpeaceusa.org/ge/