US Will Officially Legalize Genetic Pollution of Crops---Action

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http://www.foei.org/media/2004/1123.html

us plans to allow experimental gm crops to contaminate food

washington, dc(us)/ brussels (belgium) -- Plans to allow contamination of human food crops with biotech or genetically modified (GM) experimental crops grown on 'test' sites will be published tomorrow Wednesday by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). [1] In sixty days from Nov. 24 the new proposal could be accepted, reducing the legal liability on biotech companies and acting as a major disincentive for them to control GM field tests. Contamination is therefore likely to increase. It is impossible to test for the presence of experimental GM food crops in foods imported from or processed in the US, because over two-thirds of US experimental GM crops contain genes classified as confidential which therefore can't be detected. Juan Lopez from Friends of the Earth International said:"The Bush Administration, with the active support of the biotechnology industry, is about to force their untested genetically modified experiments into the world's food

supply. This proposal should be ringing alarm bells in every consumer, every food company and every food agency of the planet." Adrian Bebb of Friends of the Earth Europe added: "Because of the secrecy behind experiments in the United States, no one - not food companies, not even governments - will be able to test food products or food imports for contamination because they won't know what to test for. This will leave consumers worldwide exposed to new risks from genetically modified foods." Experimental GM crops are currently permitted to be grown on a minimum of 23,000 hectares in the United States, and some individual releases are over 400 ha in size. The approved acreage for GM crop tests since the late 1980s is over 200,000 ha. They include crops engineered for herbicide or insect resistance, altered nutritional properties, or sterile pollen or seeds. Other crops generate pharmaceuticals or anti-fungal compounds that resemble proteins

that cause food allergies. The US government is not proposing any maximum threshold for 'inadvertent' contamination of food, feed and seed stocks from experimental sites. The new policy sets out loose 'safety assessment' guidelines under which a company may voluntarily consult with the FDA to have its experimental GM crop material deemed 'acceptable' as a contaminant in food. The 'safety assessment' is based on paperwork and two inadequate tests that the FDA estimates will take companies just 20 hours to complete. The proposed review also excludes testing for unintended effects caused by genetic modification. This inadequate review would grant biotech companies the legal cover to allow their experimental GM crops to enter the American food supply. And the US biotechnology and grain industries are already calling on the US government to "vigorously promote global adoption" of this policy [2] Bill Freese, Research Analyst with

Friends of the Earth US said: "Allowing conventional food to be contaminated by experimental crops is a recipe for disaster. What is even more unbelievable is that the Bush Administration wants to promote this policy around the world as an international model." Since over two-thirds of experimental GM crops grown in the US contain genes classified as confidential, there is little public information about what genes are being tested. Without this basic information, laboratories will be unable to look for their presence in food products. This will have serious consequences for food companies wishing to avoid such contamination and Governments carrying out checks on imports. Neither will be able to detect the contamination as they won't know what they are looking for. The FDA policy comes in response to a 2002 initiative by the Bush Administration. FDA Commissioner Lester Crawford describes the policy as "a high priority for the Administration and the

industry, to enhance public confidence, avoid product recalls, and provide an international model" for similar policies around the world [3] In January, the US Dept. of Agriculture proposed a similar policy for its sphere of GM crop regulation (plant pest risks). The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is expected to issue its own contamination approval policy applicable to pesticide-producting GM crops in the near future. for more informationA briefing paper with more information is available at: www.foei.org/publications/pdfs/contamination.pdf contact: William Freese, Friends of the Earth US, 301-985-3011 e-mail:

billfreeseAdrian Bebb, Friends of the Earth Europe, +49 1609 490 1163 (Germany); email:

adrian.bebbJuan Lopez, Friends of the Earth International, +39-333-1498049 (Italy); e-mail:

juan.lopeznotes[1] FDA release of the policy was announced at: www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/ANSWERS/2004/ANS01327.html FDA's draft policy is available at: www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/bioprgui.htm . [2] "US Grain Industry, BIO Urge US Government to Expedite 'Trace-Amounts' Policy for Biotech Products," press release, Biotechnology Industry Organization, National Grain & Feed Association, and other trade groups, April 7, 2004, www.bio.org/news/newsitem.asp?id=2004_0407_01 [3] Lester M. Crawford, Acting Commissioner of the FDA. Speech before The U.S. Vatican Mission's Conference "Feeding A Hungry World: The Moral

Imperative Of Biotechnology," September 2004 www.agbioworld.org *************************************************

http://www.foei.org/cyberaction/fda.html

stop the us food and drug administration from legalising contamination of the food supply with experimental gm crops. food imported to your country is at risk!

The closing date for comments is 24 January 2005

* Send in your comments to the FDA today - see below for a sample response * Urge your Government to object to the proposals

Background

On November 19 the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced new draft guidelines to deal with the growing problem of unapproved genetically modified plants contaminating food crops. But instead of tightening controls on GM crops, the FDA is proposing simply to legalise this contamination of the food chain. In addition, the FDA wants to promote these proposals as a model around the world.

 

 

 

 

 

Flavr savr tomato goes rottenIn early 1994, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced that the ‘Flavr Savr', a new genetically modified tomato produced by Calgene, was as safe as tomatoes bred by conventional means. Thus the Flavr Savr became the first fresh genetically modified crop sold in the world

Contaminated food imported into your country?

Experimental GM traits are being tested in a huge variety of food crops which are exported in large quantities from the US , for example maize, soy, rice and wheat. This means that not only would the guidelines allow contamination of the American food supply with experimental material that escapes from GM crop test sites, but contaminated food could then be exported to your country.

What's the risk?

Over 40,000 GM test plots have been authorised by the US government on over 500,000 acres since 1987. Many of the genes spliced into these experimental GM crops are hidden from the public as trade secrets, and it would be impossible to test for the presence of experimental GM material in foods imported from the US . Those experiments we know of include radically altered nutritional content for use as animal feed or anti-fungal compounds that resemble food allergens. Others include crops engineered to be resistant to chemical herbicides, produce their own insecticides or have sterile pollen or seeds. These proposals could see u napproved, untested GM material not intended for human consumption ending up in the food chain – with unknown consequences.

US proposals go against the Biosafety Protocol and its precautionary approach

The US proposals to legalize contamination from GM experimental crops are a clear breach of the precautionary approach anchored in the UN agreement dealing with GM crops, the Biosafety Protocol. Taking into account the potential threat of irreversible or serious damage derived from the unknown consequences of introducing untested GM material not intended for human consumption into the food chain, no Government in the world should allow the legalization of experimental GM crops in the food supply.

Protecting biotech companies over consumers

While presented as a food safety measure, both FDA Commissioner Lester Crawford and Michael Phillips, vice president of the Biotechnology Industry Organization, have acknowledged that these new rules would provide legal cover to companies whose novel crops contaminate the food supply, and avoid the need for expensive and inconvenient product recalls. But if US companies are protected from legal liability, who would then be liable if contamination was detected in food imported into your country? And who would be responsible if negative impacts on human health are discovered in the US or anywhere else in the world?

The proposed policy sets out loose ‘safety assessment' guidelines under which companies may voluntarily consult with the FDA to have their experimental biotech traits deemed “acceptable” as contaminants in food. The ‘safety assessment' is based on paperwork and two inadequate tests that FDA estimates will take companies just 20 hours to complete. It also sets no limits on the amount of GM contamination allowed in foods.

Tell the FDA that it needs to devise rules to stop contamination of the food supply with experimental GM traits, not find new ways to make it okay for companies to do so!

Submit your comments by 24 January 2005 Through the FDA website, (Docket ID “2004D-0369”) at www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/oc/dockets/comments/commentsmain.cfm?EC_DOCUMENT_ID=534 & SUBTYP=NEXT & CID= & AGENCY=FDA

Or send written comments, referencing Docket ID 2004D-0369 to: FDA Commissioner, Division of Dockets Management (HFA-305), Food and Drug Administration, 5630 Fishers Lane , Room 1061, Rockville , MD 20852

Urge your Government to object

Adapt the draft response to the FDA to ask what the position of your government is on these proposals and demand that it lodges a formal objection to them because of the impact it could have on consumers and food companies in your country.

For more information: Press release: www.foei.org/media/2004/1123.html Briefing paper: www.foei.org/publications/pdfs/contamination.pdf

Draft Guidance for Industry: Recommendations for the Early Food Safety Evaluation of New Non-Pesticidal Proteins Produced by New Plant Varieties Intended for Food Use: www.cfsan.fda.gov/%7Edms/bioprgui.html

Sample letter at:

http://www.foei.org/cyberaction/fda.htmlDo You ?