Newly-Formed National Coalition Cites Deep Concerns In Letter to U.S.
Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman
(MARCH 5) - A newly-formed national coalition of organic food industry
producers, scientists, and consumer activist groups this week will send a
strong message to U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Dan Glickman and the biotech
industry: "Keep genetically engineered organisms (GEOs) out of the organic
market."
The coalition launches a high profile campaign to ban all GEOs from the
organic market at a time when the biotech industry is splicing human genes
into pigs, fish genes into tomatoes, and insect, viral, and bacterial DNA
into foods on grocery stores shelves.
The campaign will be launched simultaneously this week on both coasts and
includes:
1. A letter signed by 28 top organizations within the organic foods industry
to Secretary of Agriculture Dan Glickman, urging the Secretary to uphold the
National Organic Standard Board's (NOSB) September 1996 resolution to
categorically ban all genetically engineered organisms from the organic
market.
2. A national news conference on Friday, March 7, 11:00 a.m. at the Anaheim
Marriott, Los Angeles Room, during the Natural Foods Expo in Anaheim,
California. (The Expo will be attended by an estimated 25,000 manufacturers
and retailers.)
3. A nationwide drive to collect one million signatures from consumers who
are opposed to GEOs in the organic market, to be presented during the
International Codex Committee on Food Labeling in Ottawa, Canada, April
14-18. (This Codex committee determines the status of international food
labeling laws, including whether genetically engineered foods must be
labeled.)
"Contrary to biotech advertising and the official USDA position, genetic
engineering is not harmless. It is a radical new technology that poses
serious risks to our health and environment," said John Fagan, Ph.D., a
Cornell-trained molecular biologist who gained international recognition when
he returned $1.5 million in NIH grants because his research could have been
used for harmful genetic engineering applications. Dr. Fagan is a leader of
the new coalition.
"Many scientists believe that the genetic manipulation of the food supply
could set off a chain reaction throughout the entire ecosystem, upsetting the
delicate balance in nature for generations to come. Unlike chemical or
nuclear contamination, genetic pollution cannot be cleaned up or contained.
The effects of genetic mistakes are irretrievable and irreversible," Fagan
said.
Current FDA policy does not require any long-term safety testing on
genetically engineered foods.
"There have been no human feeding studies done on genetically engineered
foods. And the FDA, by its own admission, doesn't have a complete record of
information on these foods," said Laura Ticciati, executive director of the
American Campaign to Ban Genetically Engineered Foods.
"Despite incidents of illness, allergic reactions, and death, and increasing
warnings from scientists and physicians, these foods are sitting on our
grocery store shelves unlabeled. Right now the only non-genetically
engineered food source available to the consumer is the organic market. But
the integrity of the organic market is in jeopardy," Ticciati said.
The following organic industry leaders signed the letter to U.S. Agriculture
Secretary Dan Glickman, calling for a ban on genetically engineered food in
the organic market.
John Hagelin, Director
Institute of Science, Technology and
Public Policy
John Ardrey, Michael Potter
Eden Foods Inc.
James A. Riddle, Organic Inspector Independent Organic Inspectors
Association
Fred and Annie Kirschenmann
Farm Verified Organic
Professor Phil Bereano
Washington State Biotechnology Action Council
Doreen Stabinsky, Ph.D.
Council for Responsible Genetics
Richard W. Stewart
Chief Executive Officer
Frontier Cooperative Herbs
Kingsley Brooks, Chairman
Natural Law Party
Theresa Carbrey, Education Director, New Pioneer Co-op
Neil Carman, Ph.D.
Clean Air Program Director
Lone Star Chapter, Sierra Club
Ronnie Cummins
Pure Food Campaign
Eileen Danneman
National Coalition of Organized Women
Thomas B. Harding, Jr. President
Organic Crop Improvement Association International
Joan Dye Gussow Emeritus Professor
Teachers College, Columbia University
Just Food, NYC
Jeffrey Hollender
Seventh Generation
Judith Kew, Renu Namjoshi, Lynn Powell, Mary Pritchard
Texas Consumers for Safe Food
Jerry DeWitt, Coordinator
State Sustainable Agriculture
Iowa State University
Steve Druker
Alliance for Biotechnology
John Kinsman, President
Faily Farm Defenders
Rodney Leonard
Community Nutrition Institute
Hildy Nelson
Animal Alliance
John Fagan, Ph.D.
Professor of Molecular Biology, Maharishi University of Managment
Laura Ticciati
Executive Director Mothers for Natural Law
David Vetter OCIA
Grain Place Foods, Inc.
Craig Winters Chairman of the Board
Citizens for Health
Charles Walters
N.O.R.M.
Margaret Wittenburg, Pamela Boyar
Whole Foods Market
Susan Futrell
Director of Marketing and Sales Blooming Prairie Coop
Judy DeRuvo
Mintaka Mountain Farms, Austin, TX
CONTACT: BOB ROTH, 515-472-2477, 515-469-9372