News Update From The Campaign to Label Genetically Engineered Foods

[Guest guest]

Very well put......

I wish I had a place to raise a garden so I could be more in control of my own

food......

 

Hannah

 

 

EBbrewpunx

eco_vegans ; michele;

SandM-Gardening ; stopanimalcruelty;

TFHB ; vegan-network ; ;

veganhumpers ; veganmania

6/12/02 6:28 PM

News Update From The Campaign to Label Genetically

Engineered Foods

 

i think my throat is bleeding from screaming over the tommy thompson

quote

no, we can't label food, that would scare consumers..we can just scare

the bejesus out of everyone with color-coded terrorist warnings, bridges

full of national guardsmen, anthrax scares, dirty bombs, etc...

we can label CD's if they are offensive, but noooo..can't label popcorn

that someone added a fish bladder gene to it...nah....

*hits head on monitor*

 

News Update From The Campaign to Label Genetically Engineered Foods

----

 

Dear Health Freedom Fighters,

 

This News Update will cover several items of interest regarding

genetically engineered foods.

 

REPRESENTATIVE KUCINICH AND SENATOR HARKIN

 

Representative Dennis Kucinich, primary sponsor of the Genetically

Engineered Food Right to Know Act, received the Lifetime Achievement

Award at the National Nutritional Foods Association (NNFA) conference in

Las Vegas on Saturday. I had the opportunity to meet briefly with

Representative Kucinich before his talk. During his presentation to the

packed auditorium, Representative Kucinich mentioned me by name and

encouraged members of the natural products industry to support the

efforts of The Campaign.

 

I also had the chance to speak with Senator Tom Harkin, chairman of the

Senate Agriculture Committee, at the NNFA conference. I began my

discussion with Senator Harkin by giving him my business card. I stated

that I was aware he had received thousands of letters and e-mails about

the concern that organic corn was being contaminated with pollen from

genetically engineered corn. Senator Harkin quickly acknowledged that

this was a problem. Harkin stated that he has friends who are organic

farmers and that they had also expressed concern.

 

I asked Senator Harkin if he would hold Senate Agriculture Committee

hearings on this matter. He indicated that he thought it would be

possible and wrote some notes about the request on the back of my

business card.

 

Tom Harkin is up for re-election this year in his home state of Iowa and

it looks like it will be a tough battle. Senator Harkin has been the

strongest supporter of alternative medicine in the U.S. Senate. His

opponent is a doctor who is receiving hundreds of thousands of dollars

of campaign contributions from the American Medical Association (AMA).

As you may be aware, the AMA has endorsed genetically engineered foods

and they are not favorable to alternative medicine.

 

The Campaign hopes that Senator Harkin will move forward on our request

to hold Senate Agriculture Committee hearings on the contamination of

organic corn. Whether he holds them this year or next year probably has

a lot to do with whether he thinks these hearings will help or hurt his

chances for re-election.

 

Representative Kucinich feels that it is very important that Senator Tom

Harkin gets re-elected to the Senate. The management of The Campaign

agrees. We are confident that Senator Harkin will hold hearings on the

contamination of organic corn when the timing is right. That may be this

year or these hearings may need to wait until next year, depending on

what is most politically correct in this important election year.

 

HHS SECRETARY TOMMY THOMPSON

 

Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson told the Biotech

Industry Organization (BIO) conference on Monday that " Mandatory

labeling will only frighten consumers. Labeling implies that

biotechnology products are unsafe. " The Associated Press article posted

below titled " White House Opposes Biotech Labels " will provide further

details.

 

It is very disappointing news to hear the head of the parent agency that

oversees the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) make such a statement.

The Campaign to Label Genetically Engineered Foods intends to launch an

ACTION ALERT against Secretary Tommy Thompson within a week. We feel

that it is important that Secretary Thompson hear from concerned

citizens that his position is out of line with the will of the American

public.

 

PEW INITIATIVE ON FOOD AND BIOTECHNOLOGY

 

The Pew Initiative on Food and Biotechnology issued a press release on

Tuesday with the headline " Limited Federal Funds Spent on Food Allergy

Research Means Biotechnology Issues Are Not Being Addressed, New Report

Finds. "

 

The press release was issued in conjunction with a new report from the

Pew Initiative titled " A Snapshot of Federal Research on Food Allergy:

Implications for Genetically Modified Food. "

 

The study reviewed the nine federal agencies or institutes that

supervise 33 food allergy research projects. The press release states,

" almost no studies examine the allergenicity of novel proteins

potentially introduced by foods created through biotechnology. "

 

It is quite amazing how the FDA and the Department of Health and Human

Services can claim that there are no harmful health effects from eating

genetically engineered foods when there are virtually no safety studies

being conducted. The only review process that is being done is from the

companies producing these experimental crops. Since the biotech

companies have a financial incentive in seeing their new genetically

engineered crops brought to market, the potential for conflict of

interest is clear.

 

The Pew Initiative press release is posted below and you can read the

37-page report on our web site at:

http://www.thecampaign.org/allergy.pdf

<http://www.thecampaign.org/allergy.pdf>

 

PEW INITIATIVE TO HOLD NATIONAL FORUM ON LABELING

 

The Pew Initiative on Food and Biotechnology will be holding a national

public forum on labeling genetically engineered foods in Chicago,

Illinois on June 27, 2002. I will be one of four panelists on the panel

debating the labeling of genetically engineered foods.

 

Posted below is a press release about the event. It will also be

broadcast live over the Internet and archived for viewing anytime after

the event.

 

If you live in the Chicago area and would like to attend the national

public forum on labeling, the contact information is included in the

press release below. Seating is limited.

 

Craig Winters

Executive Director

The Campaign to Label Genetically Engineered Foods

 

The Campaign

PO Box 55699

Seattle, WA 98155

Tel: 425-771-4049

Fax: 603-825-5841

E-mail: label

Web Site: http://www.thecampaign.org <http://www.thecampaign.org>

 

Mission Statement: " To create a national grassroots consumer campaign

for the purpose of lobbying Congress and the President to pass

legislation that will require the labeling of genetically engineered

foods in the United States. "

 

***************************************************************

 

White House Opposes Biotech Labels

 

Mon Jun 10

By PAUL ELIAS, AP Biotechnology Writer

 

TORONTO (AP) - The Bush administration opposes the labeling of

genetically engineered food, Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy

Thompson told the world's premier biotechnology industry gathering.

 

" Mandatory labeling will only frighten consumers, " he said during a

breakfast speech Monday at the BIO 2002 conference. " Labeling implies

that biotechnology products are unsafe. "

 

Labeling food produced through genetic engineering is a touchy subject

for the U.S. biotech industry, both at home and abroad. Domestically,

the industry worries that labels would sour consumer demand.

 

Abroad, however, 19 countries require labeling and the European Union

has since 1998 banned the sale of any new engineered products. The ban

has angered U.S. exporters and hampered the growth of European

agricultural biotech firms. The EU is expected to consider lifting the

ban later this year, but may require labeling.

 

Some 70 percent of the world's biotech food is grown in the United

States. Soy and corn genetically engineered to be pest- or

herbicide-resistant are used in a wide variety of foods and drinks. The

Food and Drug Administration says the ingredients are just as safe as

those produced by conventional methods.

 

U.S. officials have said the labeling could cost U.S. companies $4

billion a year.

 

Thompson said biotechnology can lead to safer food that are better for

the environment because of improved crop yields, among other benefits.

 

Critics complain that not enough testing has been done to determine the

long-term health effects of splicing the genes of two species together

to create food.

 

" The science is so immature, we don't know what we are doing, " Canadian

genetics professor David Suzuki said at an anti-biotech rally in a

Toronto park on Sunday. If you took Bono out of U2 and stuck him in the

Toronto Symphony and said make music, noise would come out but you have

no way of knowing what it would sound like. "

 

Thompson on Monday also called on drug makers to lower their costs and

promised to overhaul the approval process of the FDA.

 

" We are creating an FDA where risk management is the rule and not the

exception, " he said. " You will not recognize the FDA a year from now. "

 

He said the FDA currently treats all applications the same, whether its

for cosmetics or lifesaving drugs.

 

While the FDA is streamlining its application process, Thompson called

on drug makers to lower the cost of their products.

 

" They're looked at as part of the problem instead of part of the

solution, " he told a news conference. Some drugs sold in the United

States sell for 40 percent less in other countries, including Canada,

Thompson noted.

 

If drug companies don't heed the call to lower their prices, public and

regulatory pressure could ultimately lead to price controls, he said.

 

Thompson also said that the impact on his department of President Bush's

proposal to create a Department of Homeland Security have not yet been

detailed. Bush proposed to move 300 workers, mostly involved with

bioterrorism research, and $4 billion from Thompson's agency to the new

department.

 

Thompson also said a permanent FDA chief could be nominated " within a

few weeks. " The post has been vacant since Bush's inauguration.

 

***************************************************************

 

For Immediate Release: June 11, 2002

Contact: DJ Nordquist

202.347.9132 (direct) or 202-347-9044 ext. 246

 

Limited Federal Funds Spent on Food Allergy Research Means Biotechnology

Issues Are Not Being Addressed, New Report Finds

 

Washington, DC - The science needed for government regulators to assess

allergies in genetically engineered foods could be greatly improved,

according to a new report issued today from the Pew Initiative on Food

and Biotechnology.

 

The report, " A Snapshot of Federal Research on Food Allergy:

Implications for Genetically Modified Food, " found that nine federal

agencies or institutes currently supervise 33 food allergy research

projects totaling between $4.2 and $7 million, but that those funds are

spread thin and with little coordination among federal agencies or

between research teams. Moreover, the study found that the existing

research focuses on known allergens such as peanuts and milk, and that

almost no studies examine the allergenicity of novel proteins

potentially introduced by foods created through biotechnology. In other

words, the funds that have been committed to address the problem are not

being strategically allocated to ensure research needs and opportunities

are fully met.

 

Food allergy is an immune-mediated disease caused by food antigens; it

occurs only among people who are sensitive to those antigens. As many as

10 million Americans are estimated to have allergies to one or more

foods, and for them, reactions to those foods can result in illness or

even death. Little is known today about why some people have reactions

to food in general. In addition, the increasing use of genetically

modified (GM) crops raises several issues relevant to food allergies. On

the one hand, biotechnology may help remove or change proteins that can

cause allergies, but genetically modified foods could also introduce new

proteins into foods that could cause allergic reactions. Without prior

experience with the new protein, it is difficult for regulators to

predict the potential of the protein to be a serious allergen.

 

GM foods currently on the market have been screened for possible

allergenicity problems. But some new GM foods may be difficult to judge

with current science, as illustrated recently in the case of StarLink, a

type of genetically modified corn that was approved for use only in

animal feed because it could not be shown that the new protein in the

corn was not an allergen.

 

" Almost two years ago, Starlink accidentally made its way into the human

food supply, " noted Michael Rodemeyer, executive director of the

Initiative. " After massive consumer product recalls, lawsuits, buybacks

from farmers and a disruption to American farm export markets that

continues today, we still lack answers to the basic science questions

posed by government regulators whether StarLink was or was not an

allergen, " he said. " Was the Starlink recall even necessary for allergy

reasons? We just don't know.

 

" Unfortunately, this lack of scientific knowledge is hindering both the

government as well as the private sector -- we need to invest in the

science to give regulators the tools and information they need to

evaluate new products and protect the public, " he concluded Drs. Lynn R.

Goldman and Luca Bucchini of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of

Public Health conducted the study. The authors reviewed food allergy

research funded by the federal government and aimed at investigating

food safety. Research abstracts were sourced from CRISP (Computer

Retrieval of Information on Scientific Projects), a database of research

supported by the Department of Health and Human Services, and CRIS

(Current Research Information System), a database supported by the US

Department of Agriculture as well as additional sources. Because of the

way CRISP and CRIS are maintained, the study is a snapshot in time; it

captures research projects that were active in Q3 2001 and does not

account for studies that may have just been completed or that will soon

be approved. The study also does not include research undertaken by the

private sector, NGOs or states, which all may have an impact on the

advancement of food allergy research but are not easily investigated.

The study did not include ongoing federal research projects that more

generally investigate allergy and may, in time, produce results that

contribute to understanding of food allergy.

 

For a copy of the study, go to:

http://www.pewagbiotech.org/research/allergy.pdf

<http://www.pewagbiotech.org/research/allergy.pdf>

 

The Pew Initiative on Food and Biotechnology is a nonprofit, nonpartisan

research project whose goal is to inform the public and policymakers on

issues about genetically modified food and agricultural biotechnology,

including its importance, as well as concerns about it and its

regulation. It is funded by a grant from The Pew Charitable Trusts to

the University of Richmond.

 

***************************************************************

 

" Labeling Genetically Modified Foods: Communicating or Creating

Confusion? "

 

National Policy Forum To Be Held in Chicago

 

Consumer Activists, Food Manufacturers and Academics to Debate Whether

To Label Genetically Modified Foods

 

Washington, D.C. -- The Pew Initiative on Food and Biotechnology

announced today that it is hosting a policy dialogue, " Labeling

Genetically Modified Foods: Communicating or Creating Confusion? " on

June 27, 2002 from 12 noon to 1.30pm CST (1pm - 2.30 EST) in the Paris

South Room of The Hotel Monaco, 225 North Wabash, in downtown Chicago.

Dan Charles, Contributing Science Correspondent for National Public

Radio and author of Lords of The Harvest: Biotech, Big Money and the

Future of Food, will moderate the lively discussion with consumer

activists, a major food company representative and academic researchers.

 

 

" One of the most contentious issues in the debate over the use of

agricultural biotechnology has been over whether or not foods made with

genetically modified ingredients should be labeled as such, " said

Michael Rodemeyer, executive director of the Initiative. " We are pleased

to provide a forum for all viewpoints on this issue to engage one

another and help illuminate the discussion in a moderated, thoughtful

manner. "

 

Panelists are:

 

*Professor Jonathan K. Frenzen, Clinical Professor of Marketing at the

University of Chicago's Graduate School of Business, who has researched

consumer attitudes toward GMOs and believes mandatory labels are an

ineffective way to communicate information to the average consumer.

 

*Gregory Jaffe, Director of the Biotechnology Project at the Center for

Science in the Public Interest (CSPI). CSPI has taken the position that

the best way to ensure consumer confidence in GM foods is to improve the

U.S. regulatory system and that food labeling should not be a substitute

for safety.

 

*Austin P. Sullivan, Jr., Senior Vice President of Corporate Relations

at General Mills. Inc., who believes that mandatory labeling of biotech

ingredients would, perversely, limit consumer choice, retard the

development of a beneficial technology that has repeatedly been found to

be safe, and that voluntary labeling is a far more efficient way to

provide market-based choices for consumers.

 

*Craig Winters, Executive Director of the Campaign to Label Genetically

Engineered Foods. The Campaign has been leading a national grassroots

effort to get Congress to pass legislation that will require the

mandatory labeling of foods that have been genetically engineered.

 

Note: The dialogue will also be presented via a live Internet webcast.

To watch go to www.PewAgBiotech.org or

www.ConnectLive.com/events/pewagbiotech

 

To attend the lunch event live in Chicago, please RSVP to DJ Nordquist

at djnordquist <

TITLE= " djnordquist "

TARGET= " _blank " >djnordquist or

call (202) 347-9132.

 

To send an email to -

 

 

[Guest guest]

News Update From The Campaign to Label Genetically Engineered Foods

 

Now it is time to get down to business and get HR 2916,

the " Genetically

Engineered Food Right to Know Act, " passed into law. This e-mail will

explain how we can accomplish this important goal.

 

We are pleased to announce that The Campaign to Label Genetically

Engineered Foods has a new home page on our popular web site at:

http://www.thecampaign.org

 

You will find the new home page is geared for ACTION in the effort to

get HR 2916, the " Genetically Engineered Food Right to Know Act, "

passed into law.

 

The current 108th U.S. Congress runs until October 2004. So we have

well

over a year to gather congressional support for this landmark

legislation.

 

In order to get Congress to pass the " Genetically Engineered Food

Right

to Know Act " into law, we will most likely need to generate between

500,000 and 1,000,000 letters into Congress. That is a lot of

letters,

but it is a goal easily obtainable with a focused effort by the

organic

and natural products industry, the environmental community and

concerned

citizens.

 

Over a period of a few months in 1998, nearly 280,000 comments were

sent

to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) complaining about their

attempt to include genetically engineered and irradiated foods in the

definition of organic. If we duplicate that type of concentrated

effort

now, there is an excellent likelihood that the 108th Congress will

act

to pass the " Genetically Engineered Food Right to Know Act " into law.

 

There are many factors that are working in our favor. For example, in

July 2003, a new ABC News poll indicated that 92 percent of the

public

said " the federal government should require labels on biotech foods. "

With that type of overwhelming recent statistical evidence on our

side,

any politician who starts to receive hundreds of letters sent to him

or

her via the U.S. mail is unlikely to oppose labeling legislation.

 

If the polls were showing 60% of the American public are for labeling

and 40% are against labeling, then our job would be much more

difficult.

But when a poll from a highly respected news agency such as ABC News

reports an overwhelming 92% want labeling, if a politician starts to

receive hundred of letters from the voters who have the power to

elect

him or her, it is political suicide to not go along with the will of

the

people.

 

As a matter of fact, members of congress who get flooded with letters

sent by U.S. mail on an issue that has broad popular appeal will

often

co-sponsor the bill to show they are on the right side of the issue.

Remember, all 435 voting members of the House of Representatives are

up

for re-election in 2004.

 

The key factor in getting the " Genetically Engineered Food Right to

Know

Act " passed into law is the power of DUPLICATION. If 10 people tell

10

other people and you take this down just five levels, watch what

happens:

 

10 x10 = 100

100 x 10 = 1,000

1,000 x 10 = 10,000

10,000 x 10 = 100,000

100,000 x 10 = 1,000,000

 

To help facilitate such duplication, on The Campaign's new web site

home

page there are " Three Basic Action Steps " we are asking everyone to

take:

 

Step Number One: Mail a letter to your U.S. House Representative

asking

him or her to co-sponsor bill HR 2916, the " Genetically Engineered

Food

Right to Know Act. "

http://www.thecampaign.org/letters_house.php

 

Step Number Two: Print out at least 10 additional form letters and

give

them to your friends and associates to mail to their House

Representative.

http://www.thecampaign.org/letters_house.php

 

Step Number Three: Go to our Tell A Friend web page and send an e-

mail

message to your friends and associates that informs them about The

Campaign's web site and asks them to mail a letter to their

Representative in the U.S. House of Representatives.

http://www.thecampaign.org/tellafriend.php

 

Our web site also features numerous " Advanced Action Steps " and

" Activist Action Steps " for people who want to do more than just the

" Three Basic Action Steps. "

 

Folks, if you are still reading this far, listen up: We have a GOLDEN

opportunity to pass HR 2916 into law. NOW is the time to start

spreading

the word to your friends.

 

Let's show Monsanto and the biotech industry that it is NOT okay to

contaminate organic agriculture in the United States. Let's show

Monsanto and the biotech industry that the American public will NOT

continue to be guinea pigs in the largest feeding experiment to ever

take place on planet earth.

 

And how do we show them? By passing the Genetically Engineered Food

Right to Know Act, HR 2916, into law during the current 108th

Congress.

 

WE CAN MAKE THIS HAPPEN, but not by simply wishing for it. It will

ONLY

happen if we each take the responsibility of getting our friends,

relatives

and neighbors to send letters to their members of Congress.

 

Please be aware that we are not talking about sending e-mail to

members

of Congress. The letters need to be sent in the U.S. mail to have the

proper impact. Why?

 

It is much more time-consuming and labor-intensive for a member of

Congress to response to letters they receive by U.S. mail than those

they receive by e-mail. Elected officials get so many e-mails that

such

electronic messages often don't stand out. On the other hand, letters

that arrive by U.S. mail get maximum attention, especially in these

modern times when e-mail is so common.

 

A one-size-fits-all generic sample of our new form letter is posted

below.

 

Please go to The Campaign's home page and follow the instructions to

print out a customized form letter addressed to your House

Representative.

 

Simply sign and complete the letter and then mail it to your

Representative's

Washington, DC office by the U.S. Postal Service. That is Basic

Action Step

One. Remember to do Basic Action Step Two and print out 10 more

letters to give to your friends. And take Basic Action Step Three by

sending

e-mails to your friends telling them about The Campaign's web site.

 

It is ONLY through the power of ACTION and DUPLICATION that we will

get the

" Genetically Engineered Food Right to Know Act " passed into law.

 

Thanks for your continued activism and support!

 

Craig Winters

Executive Director

The Campaign to Label Genetically Engineered Foods

 

The Campaign

PO Box 55699

Seattle, WA 98155

Tel: 425-771-4049

Fax: 603-825-5841

E-mail: label

Web Site: http://www.thecampaign.org

 

Mission Statement: " To create a national grassroots consumer campaign

for the purpose of lobbying Congress and the President to pass

legislation that will require the labeling of genetically engineered

foods in the United States. "

 

***************************************************************

 

Please Co-Sponsor H.R. 2916, the

Genetically Engineered Food Right to Know Act of 2003

 

 

Representative _________________________

U.S. House of Representatives

Washington, DC 20515

 

Dear Representative _________________________,

 

I am writing to ask you to support and co-sponsor H.R. 2916, the

Genetically Engineered Food Right to Know Act of 2003.

 

It is shocking that the FDA considers genetically engineered foods

" substantially equivalent " to non-genetically engineered foods.

Genetically engineered crops contain antibiotic-resistant marker

genes,

viral promoters and foreign proteins never before consumed by humans.

These are not found in crops produced through normal means of

hybridization.

 

Further, the FDA is not testing these products itself. The agency is

relying on edited summaries provided by the very companies that have

a

financial interest in bringing these biotech crops to market. And

under

current FDA law, the companies are not even required to provide

summaries!

 

The major producer of genetically engineered crops is Monsanto -- a

company that was found guilty in 2002 in Alabama of negligence,

wantonness, suppression of the truth, nuisance, trespass and outrage.

Monsanto suppressed the truth about PCBs. How do I know they won't do

the same thing when it comes to their genetically engineered crops?

 

Labeling is essential for me to choose whether or not I want to

consume

genetically engineered foods. Genetically engineered foods are

required

to be labeled in the 15 European Union nations, plus Japan, China,

Australia, New Zealand and many other countries around the world. As

an

American, I firmly believe I should also have that right to know if

my

foods have been genetically engineered.

 

A poll released July 15, 2003 by ABC News found that 92 percent of

the

American public wants the federal government to require mandatory

labeling on genetically modified foods. The figure was 93 percent in

a

poll ABC News conducted in 2001, so support for mandatory labeling is

strong and consistent. As ABC News stated, " Such near-unanimity in

public opinion is rare. "

 

I hope you will listen to me and the other 92 percent of the American

public who want mandatory labeling (and not to Monsanto and a

handful of

biotech companies) and show your support for American consumers by

co-sponsoring H.R. 2916, the Genetically Engineered Food Right to

Know

Act.

 

I look forward to a written response confirming your support. Thank

you!

 

Sincerely,

 

 

(signature)

 

(print name)

 

(address)

 

(city, state, zip)