GE crops

[Guest guest]

Dear hebalists,

for those who have been helping by writing to their Congressmena and

calling their food suppliers...here is some good news...You have all

been doing a splendid job...carry on till the war is won!..Best Wishes

Penny

 

GM Hits the Wall: United States

 

The U.S. is behind Europe but moving in the same direction. A

January 1999 Time magazine poll revealed that 81 percent of U.S.

respondents wanted GM foods to be labeled. In a movement reminiscent of

the organic standards groundswell, 500,000 signatures were sent to

Congress and the President last summer calling for the labeling of such

foods.

 

In the past year, GMO labeling bills have been introduced in

Minnesota (S.F. 3638), California (S.B. 1513) and Michigan. In Maine,

proponents are now organizing a Maine Right to Know initiative to hold a

 

statewide referendum in 2001. In the U.S. House of Representatives,

Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) introduced the Genetically Engineered Food Right

to Know Act (H.R. 3377) last November. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) has

introduced a companion bill (S. 2080) to the Senate. Several states-New

York, Minnesota and Vermont--have also introduced bills to ban the

selling, cultivating, planting or harvesting of GMOs.

 

American food businesses have begun to imitate their European

brethren. Whole Foods and Wild Oats natural food companies announced

they would remove GM products from their shelves altogether. Frito-Lay

Inc. announced it would accept only GE-free corn for use in its snacks.

Gerber and several other food processors followed suit. In April,

McDonald's announced it would use only non-GM potatoes. In early May,

the White House put forth new proposals that make submission of company

data on GM crops mandatory rather than voluntary. The proposals also

direct the FDA to develop guidelines for companies that want to

voluntarily put labels on foods indicating whether they contain GM

ingredients or not.

 

Farmers have begun to reconsider their reliance on GM seeds. For

many the more expensive seeds have not translated into higher profits.

And the markets for GM crops are shrinking. Since 1998, the EU has

ceased importing American GM corn, costing the U.S. $200 million a year

in lost sales. Soybean exports to the EU have fallen by half. The

pressure against GM crops has increased further as major U.S. commodity

handlers recently announced they would not buy GM crops not approved for

 

the EU market. Many farmers discovered that they would have to begin

separating GM from non-GM varieties, an expensive proposition for farmer

 

and grain elevator.

 

Two years ago, farmers received a premium for GM varieties. Now many

are receiving a premium for non-GM varieties. As a result, the USDA

expects plantings of GM soybeans, corn and cotton to decrease this year.

 

GM acreage will decrease even further due to a new EPA biosafety rule on

 

Bt corn requiring 20 percent of farmers' land to be sown with

conventional varieties. (4)

 

A declining market for GM seeds has dimmed investor enthusiasm for

the companies that market them. Last year Deutsche Bank, Europe's

largest, recommended that investors sell their holdings of genetic

engineering stocks. Now even the biotech giants are thinking twice.

While the industry may not be in full-scale retreat, finding a warm

reception these days can be a challenge. As thousands converged to

attend a Biotechnology Industry Organization's conference in March 2000,

 

the Boston City Council unanimously passed a resolution declaring March

26 " You are what you eat Day. "