Fw: US Will Officially Legalize Genetic Pollution of Crops

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Friday, December 03, 2004 6:25 PM

US Will Officially Legalize Genetic Pollution of Crops

 

 

US Will Officially Legalize Genetic Pollution of Crops

MEDIA ADVISORY

Friends of the Earth International

November 23, 2004

 

US TO LEGALIZE BIOTECH CONTAMINATION

 

US sets out plan to allow contamination of the world's food supply with

experimental GM crops

 

WASHINGTON, DC (US) / BRUSSELS (BELGIUM), November 23, 2004 ­ A new proposal 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. 25 the new proposal could be accepted, giving biotech

companies a major disincentive to control field tests contamination ­ which is

therefore likely to increase.

 

It is already 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.

 

A briefing paper with more information is available at:

http://www.foei.org/publications/pdfs/contamination.pdf

 

FOR MORE INFORMATION

 

William Freese in the US, 301-985-3011 e-mail: billfreese Adrian

Bebb, Friends of the Earth Europe, +49 1609 490 1163; email

adrian.bebb Juan Lopez, Friends of the Earth International,

+39-333-1498049 (Italy);

e-mail: juan.lopez

 

 

NOTES:

 

[1] FDA release of the policy was announced at:

http://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/ANSWERS/2004/ANS01327.html

FDA's draft policy is available at: http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/bioprgui.htm.

 

[2] 3US Grain Industry, BIO Urge US Government to Expedit, " 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/newsroom/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

 

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