ACTION ALERT + Comments on new Secretary of Agriculture

[Guest guest]

" News Update from The Campaign " <newsupdate

 

ACTION ALERT + Comments on new Secretary of Agriculture

Tue, 7 Dec 2004 09:40:51 -0600

 

News Update From The Campaign to Label Genetically Engineered Foods

----

 

Dear News Update Subscribers,

 

The Campaign has launched an ACTION ALERT requesting that people send

comments to the FDA over their recently issued " Draft Guidance for

Industry. "

 

Before discussing the ACTION ALERT in greater detail, I wish to make a

few

comments about President Bush's new nominee for Secretary of

Agriculture,

Nebraska Governor Mike Johanns -- and ask for your continued support of

our

efforts to fight for labeling and safety testing of genetically

engineered foods.

 

SECRETARY OF AGRICULTURE

 

As you may be aware, our current Secretary of Agriculture, Ann Veneman,

has

been a big supporter of genetically engineered crops. Veneman served on

the

board of directors of Calgene, the maker of the very first commercially

grown genetically engineered crop, the Flavr Savr tomato.

 

Because Ann Veneman has been such a strong supporter of agricultural

biotechnology, we figured whoever President Bush nominated as the new

Secretary of Agriculture would probably be an improvement over Veneman.

 

Well, President Bush has managed to find someone who is perhaps even

more

enthusiastic about agricultural biotechnology than Ann Veneman --

Nebraska

Governor Mike Johanns.

 

Since 2003, Governor Johanns has been serving as " Chairman of the

Governors

Biotechnology Partnership. " Here is a web page where you can see his

position

as Chairman: http://www.governorsbiotech.org/chairs.html

 

The goal of the Governors Biotechnology Partnership is to " increase

public

understanding and support of biotechnology as a key component in

providing a

safe, nutritious and abundant food supply to a rapidly growing global

population. "

 

When commenting on Mike Johanns' nomination, the Biotech Industry

Organization (BIO), stated: " we look forward to working with him to

continue

the development and acceptance of agricultural biotechnology

worldwide. "

 

So, it appears we have our work cut out for us.

 

American citizens must be permitted to know if our foods have been

genetically

altered through adequate labeling. To protect human health and the

environment,

biotech crops must be adequately safety tested. And organic crops must

be

protected from cross-pollination from genetically altered DNA.

 

Neither adequate labeling or safety testing is now occurring in the

United

States or Canada. And organic crops continue to be subject to genetic

contamination from biotech crops.

 

YOUR SUPPORT REQUESTED

 

In order to continue our important efforts, your continued financial

support

of The Campaign is greatly needed and appreciated.

 

If possible, please make a donation before the end of the year. You can

make

a donation over our web site or print out a mail-in donation form at:

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

 

OUR NEW ACTION ALERT

 

In the November 24, 2004, Federal Register, the Food and Drug

Administration

(FDA) released a " 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; Availability "

 

While promoted as an effort to help prevent the food supply from

becoming

contaminated with genetically altered proteins never approved for human

consumption, the new Draft Guidance for Industry is actually allowing

this

contamination to take place.

 

Under current regulations, the entire process of notifying the FDA that

a

biotech company is bringing out a new genetically engineered crop is

voluntary. In other words, a biotech company could choose to not even

notify

the FDA. Notification is a suggestion, not a requirement.

 

The FDA is accepting comments on their Draft Guidance for Industry

until

January 24, 2005. We have made it easy for you to submit comments by

sending

an instant e-mail to the FDA.

 

Please visit the following ACTION ALERT on The Campaign's web site to

instantly submit your comments:

http://www.thecampaign.org/alertFDA012405.php

 

Posted below is the text of our ACTION ALERT. (If you wish, you can add

your

own comments or otherwise modify it before sending your e-mail.)

 

Also posted below is an article that discusses the nomination of

Nebraska

Governor Mike Johanns for Secretary of Agriculture.

 

Craig Winters

Executive Director

The Campaign to Label Genetically Engineered Foods

 

The Campaign

PO Box 55699

Seattle, WA 98155

Tel: 425-771-4049

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. "

 

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

 

TEXT OF ACTION ALERT E-MAIL MESSAGE TO FDA

 

Dear FDA,

 

My comments are for Docket No. 2004D-0369 regarding the FDA's " 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; Availability. "

 

I object to the policy outlined in the Draft Guidance for Industry. It

is

essentially permitting the continued contamination of our food and seed

supply with genetic material from thousands of biotech crop

experiments. And

it falls to address the major shortcomings of the FDA's regulation of

crops

produced through biotechnology.

 

The FDA acted irresponsibly in 1992 when it initially addressed the

safety

evaluation of genetically engineered crops and determined them to be

" substantially equivalent " to non-genetically engineered crops.

Genetically

engineered crops contain antibiotic-resistant marker genes, viral

promoters

and foreign proteins never before consumed by humans. These factors are

not

found in crops produced through normal means of hybridization. These

crops

are NOT " substantially equivalent " and it is beyond common logic to

represent them with this status.

 

Rather than recognizing and dealing responsibly with the shortcomings

of

your initial 1992 determination, the FDA is continuing to jeopardize

the

safety of the American public by attempting to fine-tune your flawed

regulatory scheme.

 

Under current FDA regulations, a biotech company bringing out a new

product

is not even required to notify your agency. Even though companies have

notified the FDA until this point, there is no guarantee that they will

continue to do so on an ongoing basis. The lack of a mandatory

notification

requirement leaves the door open for a wide range of abuses at any

point in

the future. These abuses could run the gamut from mischievous behavior,

to

negligence, to deliberate acts of terrorism in an attempt to

contaminate the

American food supply.

 

Further, the voluntary review process outlined in the Draft Guidance

for

Industry is most likely inadequate to actually determine potential

problems.

The proposed review does not involve safety tests in animals, and it

excludes testing for unintended effects caused by genetic engineering.

It

also sets no limits on the amount of contamination allowed in foods.

 

The FDA approach to regulating genetically engineered foods appears to

be

designed to promote the biotech industry rather than protect the health

of

the American public. Rather than protecting the food supply, this Draft

Guidance for Industry appears to be designed to provide biotech

companies

with legal cover for contaminating the food supply with experimental

biotech

traits.

 

We only need to look at the contamination of the food supply from

StarLink

corn a few years ago to get evidence that the FDA has shirked it

responsibilities. Why was it that the problem with the digestibility of

the

protein contained in StarLink corn was discovered by the Environmental

Protection Agency rather than the FDA? The answer is that your agency

wrote

yourselves out of an adequate review process with your " substantially

equivalent " and voluntary notification guidelines.

 

And perhaps it would be worthwhile to remind the FDA that it was the

non-profit organization Friends of the Earth who discovered the

contamination of the American food supply with StarLink corn. If

Friends of

the Earth had not discovered the contamination, StarLink corn may still

be

in the U.S. food supply causing allergic reactions in thousands of

unsuspecting citizens.

 

The FDA's policy for regulating genetically engineered crops is broken

and

needs a major overhaul. The band-aid approach that this Draft Guidance

for

Industry provides is totally inadequate.

 

The FDA needs to develop an entirely new policy for regulating crops

produced through agricultural biotechnology. The new policy should

include

the following requirements:

 

1) mandatory labeling of all genetically engineered foods

2) mandatory safety testing of recombinant-DNA plants similar to what

is

required for a new drug or food additive

3) all biotech crop experiments should be conducted in greenhouses or

similar controlled environments

 

Only when the FDA adopts these three policy requirements will the

public be

able to rest assured that biotechnology-derived plants will not cause

health

problems and the contamination of the American food supply.

 

Sincerely,

 

Your Name Here

Your Address Here

 

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

 

 

 

-------