Food Safety

For its February 2000 Spotlight,
TIES has decided to focus on the GMO issue which affects both the EU and the USA, and is obviously generating a growing interest from the people on both side of the Atlantic.

You will find here lots of links, articles, papers, organisations, representing the diversity of the EU and US civil society
regarding this GMO question.

. ARTICLES
. PAPERS
. HOW TO BE ACTIVE ?
. US GOVERNMENT / EUROPEAN COMMISSION
. INFORMATION SITES
. ORGANISATIONS

ARTICLES

- "Are Bioengineered Foods Safe?"
by Larry Thompson, U. S. Food and Drug Administration, FDA Consumer, January-February 2000

- "Biotech reaps what it sowed"
by Henry I. Miller, National Post, Saturday, January 29, 2000

- "Guess what you've been eating"
By Mark RAGG, SMH, December 1999

- "Huge Organic Response Should Mean No Compromise"
by Jim Slama, Keep organic "organic", 1998

- "Organic Versus 'Organic': The Corruption of a Label"
from The Ecologist (U.K. Environmental Magazine), July/August 1998

- "The Biosafety Protocol"
At the end of January (24th - 28th) Environment Ministers met in Montreal to regulate trade in "living GMOs" through what is calledthe `Biosafety Protocol'. "The Battle for International Rules on GMOs" The Biosafety Protocol set out to establish international rules on GMOs, enshrining in international law two very simple basic rights; a country’s right to know what it is importing, and a government’s right to refuse an import if its population is threatened.

- The Guardian GM debate articles in the archive section of the Guardian

- "The Reality of GMOs"
by Puget Consumers' Co-op (PCC), November 1999
A recent survey shows that only a third of Americans are aware that GMOs have infiltrated our food chain. Nearly half simply don't believe it ...

- "Unpalatable truths"
April 1999, from the New Scientist
Demanding proof that genetically modified foods are safe is all very well, but without a rational system for testing conventional foods, we may never get it.

PAPERS

- "Genetic Engineering Biotechnology - Challenges and Opportunities"
by Mae-Wan Ho, Institute of Science, UK, May 1999

- "Preparing America's Food Safety System for the 21st Century"
By Michael Taylor, Resoureces for The Future, 1997
Recent regulatory changes will help the food safety system focus on prevention and should clearly define the respective roles of government and industry. But more work is needed to assure the system's future success.


HOW TO BE ACTIVE ?

- Act Locally on The Campaign To Keep "Organic" Organic

- The Greenpeace True Food campaign
The True Food campaign aims to ban GM food, phase-out industrial farming, and promote organic food.
This website will tell you about the issues and how to get involved in the campaign - not just in terms of the food you buy, but through action to set a proper agricultural agenda.

Petitions

- Mothers For Natural Law
Mothers for Natural Law recently submitted 500,000 anti-GE petition signatures to the U.S. government.

- Campaign for Food Safety and the Organic Consumers Association: Food Agenda 2000, petition facts and petition


US GOVERNMENT

- Government Food Safety Information
News and food safety alerts, consumer advice, foodborne pathogens.

- Food Biotechnology & Product Labeling

- US Food and Drug Administration Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition
Pesticides, Metals, and Chemical Contaminants: Includes FDA pesticide reports and technical and regulatory information.

- Information on Organic food US legislation
By BioDemocracy and the Organic Consumers Association

- GMO public registers
List of applications received by the US Secretary of State to release GMO into the environment.
Table of permits (1998).


EUROPEAN COMMISSION

- DG VI Agriculture
Provides information on Regulation (EC) No 1467/94 on the conservation, the characterization, the collection and the utilization of genetic resources in agriculture.

- DG XXIV Health and Consumer
(a website under current reconstruction)
White Paper on Food Safety; Inspection reports; Agriculture, Foodstuff and Health section.


INFORMATION SITES

- All You Can Eat
from the Environmental Working Group
A site that allows consumers to instantly find out what pesticides are on the foods they eat, feed their children, and buy at the grocery store.

- Genetically engineered food Safety Problems
from the Network of Physicians and Scientists for Responsible Application of Science and Technology

- Genetically Modified Foods - UK news and info

- Norfolk Genetic Information Network (UK)


ORGANISATIONS

- Alliance for Bio-Integrity
A non-profit organization coordinating the lawsuit against the FDA to obtain safety testing and mandatory labeling of genetically engineered foods.

- The Bio-Democracy Campaign
A public interest organization dedicated to a safe, sustainable system of food production and consumption.

- Center for food safety
A project of the International Center for Technology Assessment.
A non-profit organization also working (with Alliance for Bio-Integrity) on the lawsuit against FDA demanding safety testing and mandatory labeling of genetically engineered food.

- The Council for Responsible Genetics
A national nonprofit organization of scientists, public health advocates, and others which promotes a comprehensive public interest agenda for biotechnology.

- European Gen-Ethics Network
This organisation launched a campaign to ban GE foods.

- Organic Consumers
A advocacy organization promoting organic foods and preserve organic standards, advocate a global moratorium on GE foods and crops.

- S.A.G.E. - Students for Alternatives to Genetic Engineering Articles about the dangers of GE foods and action steps you can take.

- Union of Concerned Scientists