by Laurel Hopwood
Sierra Club Biotechnology Task Force Chair
Our government has helped slip genetically engineered foods (GEFs) onto our grocery store shelves without safety testing and labeling. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has stated it is “not aware of any information showing that foods derived by these new methods differ from other foods in any meaningful or uniform way.” By law, recognition of safety must be based on “scientific procedures.” Yet, neither the FDA’s records nor the scientific literature indicate that such a test exists for even one genetically engineered food. Without any scientific basis, the agency calls GEFs “substantially equivalent.” Using this assumption, the FDA has become a promoter, rather than a regulator, of GEFs.
Here’s the problem to human health in a nutshell—when you place a gene from an unrelated species into a plant, and then people consume those genes, the consequences are difficult to predict. For one thing, the foreign genetic material can adversely alter cellular function. Another source of potential problems is the routine practice of fusing powerful promoters, which can end up causing overexpression of surrounding native genes, which can upset complex biochemical feedback loops and metabolic pathways. Each of the above types of disruption can induce unexpected toxins, carcinogens or allergens—or degrade nutritional value in an unpredictable manner.
The biotech industry has developed corn genetically engineered with a bacterial toxin that acts as a insecticide. Are we supposed to eat that ear of corn and be confident that there’s nothing in there that’s going to harm us? Preliminary independent studies show that the application of glyphosate (Roundup‰) to Roundup Ready‰ soybeans alters their phytoestrogen levels. Antibiotic resistance genes, which are commonly used in most GEFs fed to farm animals and humans, will encourage the evolution of multiple antibiotic resistance in pathogenic germs.
The Sierra Club has called upon the Clinton administration for mandatory labeling, safety testing, and post–marketing surveillance on all GEFs. We have joined with numerous consumer, religious, community, and conservation groups with the stance that information must not be shielded from public knowledge and scrutiny. Please ask your representatives to cosponsor HR 3377, the Genetically Engineered Food Right to Know Act, introduced by Representative Kucinich (D–OH). For further information or to get a list of cosponsors, please e–mail Laurel Hopwood atjhopwood@wviz.org.