Organic Consumers Association Responds to FDA Push for Voluntary GMO Labeling and Safety Claims
March 28, 2014 |
Organic Consumers Association
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 28, 2014
CONTACT: Organic Consumers Association, Katherine Paul,
207.653.3090
207.653.3090
FINLAND, Minn. The Organic Consumers Association (OCA) today called on
the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) to drop its plan to
finalize guidance on the voluntary labeling of genetically modified
organisms (GMOs), and instead respond to consumer demand for mandatory
labeling of foods containing GMOs or genetically engineered ingredients.
The OCA also called on FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg to acknowledge
the growing body of scientific evidence that GMOs, and the chemicals
required to grow GMO crops, are potentially damaging to human health.
It is an insult to anyone who buys food in this country to go on record
stating that the FDA has not found evidence of safety risks
associated with GMOs, said Ronnie Cummins, national director of the
OCA. The American Medical Association has called for pre-market safety
testing of GMOs, and almost 300 scientists and doctors last year signed a
statement saying that there is no scientific consensus on GMO safety.
PoliticoPro reported that on Wednesday (March 27), during a House
subcommittee hearing on the FDAs proposed budget, Hamburg said, “We put
out a proposed guidance and we hope to finalize that soon. Mandatory
labeling really is appropriate when there is a fault claim. The fact
that a product contains GE ingredients does not change the material
content of the product.”
Hamburg also said: We have not found evidence of safety risks. It’s an area that deserves further discussion and study.”
The OCAs response to that statement is: If further studies are needed
before the FDA can state unequivocally that GMOs are safe for human
consumption, then GMOs should be eliminated from the food supply until
those further studies have been done, said Cummins. At the very least,
products containing GMOs should be clearly labeled, and labeling should
be mandatory, so consumers can choose to avoid GMOs if they have any
concerns. We should not allow the biotech and food companies to test
these products on our families.
In late February, the FDA announced plans to overhaul its 20-year-old
rules governing the nutrition labels on food products. There was no
mention
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dave-murphy/dan-quayle-and-michael-ta_b_1551732.html
of labeling genetically engineered ingredients, despite polls revealing
that about 90 percent of Americans want GMOs labeled.
The FDA has been under pressure from biotech and food industry lobbyists
to resist consumer demand for labels. The Grocery Manufacturers
Association (GMA), a multi-billion-dollar lobbying group representing
over 300 junk food and pesticide makers, recently announced a draft bill that would require the FDA to rule against GMO labeling, and also make it legal to label foods containing GMOs as natural.
We see this latest move by the FDA as a desperate attempt to confuse
the issue of mandatory GMO labeling, especially now that Vermont and
Oregon are poised to pass mandatory GMO labeling laws in 2014, said
Cummins. We have consulted lawyers who assure us that if the FDA
finalizes its voluntary guidance, this will in no way preempt states, or
Congress, from passing and implementing mandatory GMO labeling laws.
As for no evidence of safety risks, Cummins said, one of the
reasons doctors and scientists are calling for mandatory labeling laws
is precisely so that illnesses can be traced back to their source.
Without labels on GMO foods, its easy to say theres no evidence
linking them to health problems. Theres also no accountability.
Recent studies have linked GMOs to human health issues, including kidney and liver failure, allergies and cancer.
The FDA ruled in 1992 that GMOs were substantially equivalent to
non-GMO ingredients, and that on that basis, no labels were required.
That ruling occurred under then-FDA Deputy Commissioner for Policy, Michael Taylor,
a former Monsanto lawyer. Taylor left his FDA post to return to
Monsanto, only to return to the FDA as its current Deputy Commissioner
for Food.
For press inquiries, please contact Katherine Paul by email or phone:
207.653.3090
207.653.3090
The Organic Consumers Association
(OCA) is an online and grassroots non-profit 501(c)3 public interest
organization campaigning for health, justice, and sustainability.
The Organic Consumers Fund is a 501(c)4 allied organization of the
Organic Consumers Association, focused on grassroots lobbying and
legislative action.