[from The Campaign - www.thecampaign.com - cool list to get - Will]
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 10, 2002
GENETICALLY ENGINEERED FOOD IS LABELED, BUT NOT FOR AMERICANS "GE" label
on U.S.-made Heinz product explodes the myth of food label practicality
and costs
Food produced for one of the country's largest food companies, H.J.
Heinz, is already being labelled if it contains genetically engineered
(GE) ingredients. But the labelled product is not sold in the U.S., even
though it is produced here. Heinz sells the product in Australia, where
GE labelling is required - at about the same price Americans pay.
Greenpeace revealed the label today to demonstrate that identifying and
labelling GE ingredients for food produced in the US is possible at no
increased cost to consumers.
"Everyone in Oregon should get a chance to see this label," said
Greenpeace spokesperson Lindsay Keenan. "When a major company like Heinz
can label all the GE ingredients, ship the product all the way to
Australia, and still make a profit selling it, then you have to wonder
why labelling opponents say this is not possible for Oregon."
A concerned member of the public sent Greenpeace the label of a Heinz
product sold in Australia, on which four ingredients are listed as
"genetically modified". The product, Michelina`s brand Macaroni and
Beef, is made in the U.S. for Heinz by Duluth, Minnesota-based
Luigino's, Inc. It is labelled "Product of USA".
Heinz told Greenpeace that they only sell the product in Australia and
that they have decided to drop this product line because the
manufacturer has been unable to guarantee its ingredients are not
genetically engineered.
Heinz US policy on GE (or Genetically Modified) ingredients issued in
January 2001 states, "Heinz seeks to avoid the use of GMOs in its
products.. This policy has led Heinz to remove all GM ingredients from
its US baby food varieties.. We also source our own non-GM tomatoes for
our Ketchup. GM ingredients may only be considered for use where there
are not adequate non-GMO options available.. If it is necessary to
utilise GMOs or ingredients derived from GMOs, systems must be in place
to track the source and use of these ingredients."
In the U.S., the largest association of food producers, the Grocery
Manufacturers Association (GMA), claims that GE labelling is not
practical. Yet some of their own members, such as Heinz, are already
labelling GE ingredients, at no extra cost to consumers.
"This label makes a liar of anyone who says GE labelling can't be done
in the US," said Keenan. "Greenpeace calls upon the GMA to come clean
and admit that GE labelling is feasible and is already happening, at no
extra cost to consumers. The people of Oregon have the right to know
that food companies are already labelling their GE products, without
making consumers pay more for safe food."
Note: A scanned copy of the label is attached or available on request.
CONTACT: Charles Margulis, Greenpeace (202) 413-8512 (mobile);
Alisa Arnett, Greenpeace Media, 415-255-9221 x330;
Lindsay Keenan, Greenpeace (001) 491715052896 (mobile).
***************************************************************
Farmers, environmentalists ask Veneman to block sale of corn that may
contain toxic mold
By Emily Gersema, Associated Press, 10/8/2002 22:04
WASHINGTON (AP) Midwestern farmers and environmental groups are asking
Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman to block a biotech corn suspected of
containing a toxic mold that they fear could contaminate the food
supply.
They want the corn kept off the market until tests can determine whether
it caused some hogs and cattle in Midwestern states to become infertile.
Agriculture Department researchers suspected some Iowa cattle and hogs
became sterile after eating the potentially moldy corn. An environmental
group, Friends of the Earth, has sent letters to Veneman asking that the
corn be blocked.
Most farmers in Minnesota, Michigan and Iowa who have had problems with
the corn produced by Garst Seed Co. don't want to discuss it publicly,
said Larry Bohlem, a spokesman for Friends of the Earth.
''They're kind of afraid because they're afraid to lose the value of
their corn,'' Bohlem said Tuesday.
Bohlem said the agencies in charge of regulating grain, including the
Agriculture Department and the Food and Drug Administration, have failed
to act quickly. He said he worried that the grain will end up in tacos
and tortilla chips. That would be a replay of a scare that occurred two
years ago when Aventis' StarLink corn, which wasn't approved for human
consumption, was found in the food supply. Recovery efforts cost the
agriculture industry billions of dollars.
Maria Bynum, spokeswoman for the Agriculture Department, said the
potentially moldy corn is the FDA's responsibility to investigate. FDA
officials said they were looking into the matter.
The corn is a variety known as Bt corn, genetically designed so that it
won't contain molds. Initial tests have indicated, however, that it
contains the mold fusarium, which can sicken animals and humans.
Researchers for the USDA's Agricultural Research Service have said they
believe the problem may be caused by a biological chemical compound.
Jerry Rosman, a farmer who operates Rolling R Farms in Harlan, Iowa,
said he thought the corn was the source of his problems when
reproductivity in his hog herd dropped from about 90 percent to 20
percent from October 2000 to August 2001.
The sows appeared to be pregnant but produced no litters. Rosman said he
destroyed the herd but notified the Agriculture Department after four of
his neighbors said they had similar problems.
The corn ''was the common denominator'' in all the cases, Rosman said.
Scientists began testing Rosman's corn last fall but had to stop this
summer because of a court battle between Rosman and his father about the
farm's operations. To settle the dispute, a district court judge in
Shelby County, Iowa, ordered the corn sold and the cattle auctioned,
Rosman said.
''That's the wrinkle in this. Otherwise, this wouldn't be an issue, and
this corn would be in my control and the livestock would be in my
control and we'd just hang onto it for research,'' he said.
Rosman said he hopes Veneman's office will hold the 35,000 bushels of
corn.
''I just think that this has some far-reaching effects,'' he said.
''What if I'm right with this?''
Although the corn was sold, publicity about the grain led the elevators
that bought it to refuse to take delivery.
Rosman's case has drawn attention from farmers in surrounding states.
Rosman said nearly a dozen farmers from Michigan, Minnesota and others
in Iowa have stepped forward, saying they saw reproductivity drop in
their hog and cattle herds.
Garst Seed spokesman Jeff Lacina said in a statement Tuesday that the
Slater, Iowa, company is aware of the situation and already conducted
its own investigation.
''We are confident that corn seed has not caused the problems he has
experienced,'' Lacina wrote. ''The hybrids that Mr. Rosman purchased
have been widely grown for several years and no one else who has grown
them has reported similar experiences to us.''
On the Net: Agriculture Department: http://www.usda.gov Food and Drug
Administration: http://www.fda.gov Garst Seed Co.: http://www.garstseed.com
