The war over genetically engineered foods just had a major battle in Chicago. It started last month when the Food and Drug Administration held a hearing in Chicago to get public comments. In conjunction with the hearing, Conscious Choice, Sustain, Greenpeace, Natural Needs, Chicago Media Watch, Art and Revolution, Choice Marketing, the Green Party, and other local groups cooked up some major activism to put the heat on the FDA.
Sustain produced the "Rally to Stop Genetically Engineered Foods," featuring street theater, speakers, and over a hundred protesters concerned about the impact of genetic engineering (GE) on human health and the environment. In addition, human puppets focused national and international attention on the U.S. government’s support for "Frankenfoods." The purpose of the rally was to demand a moratorium on GE foods because of the absence of independent long term studies documenting safety for human health or the environment.
The highlight of the rally was a four-minute piece of street theater that was written and directed by Sustain creative director John Beske. It featured a human fish-tomato, a grotesque cow that was shot up with genetically engineered bovine growth hormone by a mad scientist with a four-foot syringe, a ten-foot tall Frankenfoods monster on stilts, a nine-foot mutant corn puppet (played by Conscious Choice ad rep Kevin Siarkowski) and eight children dressed as monarch butterflies who were symbolically killed by the genetically engineered pollen of the mutant corn.
And Mother Nature looked on holding up a sign that said, "it’s not nice to fool with mother nature."
The media coverage was tremendous. The Washington Post, New York Times,Wall Street Journal, CNN, Crain’s Chicago Business, the Chicago Tribune and Sun-Times, and most local radio and television stations covered the event. It also received coverage across the country by AP and Reuters wire services. After a long segment on CBS Nightly News, Dan Rather closed the story saying, "For five years now the biotech industry and the FDA have sat back, satisfied these foods would be accepted. But now, faced with public distrust, the government is playing catch up." And the Wall Street Journal commented that the "Placard carrying protesters outdoors were joined by children dressed up as monarch butterflies, the emerging symbol of the antibiotech movement."
The rally came at a critical time for biotech companies because farmers are in the process of deciding whether to plant genetically engineered crops for year 2000. The FDA hearing was the first of three scheduled across the country, each of which is expected to be a magnet for civil protest. In addition, the World Trade Organization meeting in Seattle, later this month, will have genetic engineering on the agenda of both international trade ministers and activists. If U.S. consumers reject genetically engineered food as have the citizens of Europe and Asia, it could be the death knell for the biotech food industry. You can already see this reflected in the precipitous drop in the stock price of industry leader Monsanto.
Of primary concern to GE opponents is the fact that the FDA has consistently relied upon manufacturer’s studies to establish safety. "Any genetically engineered food must be proven safe before it is allowed on the market." said Joe Mendelson, legal director of The Center for Food Safety which has sued the FDA over this issue. "Genetically engineered food could create new toxins, antibiotic resistance, allergic reactions, and other dietary risks for unwitting consumers. Up until now the government has considered these products‘Generally Recognized as Safe’ and not required any mandatory pre-market safety testing. This is a violation of the public’s trust and clearly illegal."
Organic farmers are also up in arms because genes from genetically engineered plants such as corn and soybeans can drift onto organic crops. In the process of pollination some of the organic crop can take on the form of the genetically engineered plants, thus endangering the end product. In one case, an organic manufacturer had to recall corn chips from Europe because they tested positive for a small amount of genetically engineered corn. "These crops pose a significant economic threat for organic farmers," said John Peterson, manager of Angelic Organics, the midwest’s largest community supported organic farm, and a speaker at the rally. "There are no legitimate safeguards to protect organic crops from being polluted."
The rally also featured Jane Akre, an award winning investigative reporter and anchor for Fox-owned WTVT-TV in Florida. She recently filed suit against the station charging she was wrongfully terminated in December 1997 for refusing to broadcast a story she knew to be false and misleading, concerning genetically engineered milk. Akre contends that the biotech giant Monsanto pressured Fox to alter the story. (For more information see foxbghsuit.com)
Internationally recognized public health expert, Dr. Samuel Epstein warned of the risks of GE milk from cows injected with the genetically engineered Bovine Growth Hormone (rBGH). "GE milk differs nutritionally and in many other ways from natural milk and the hormone induces a wide range of toxic effects in cows," said Dr. Epstein who is professor of environmental and occupational medicine at the University of Illinois at Chicago. "Drinking GE milk poses serious health risks, particularly for children, of developing breast, colon, and prostate cancer. This evidence which has been the basis of the Canadian and European ban on GE milk, has been denied and suppressed by both the FDA and Monsanto."
The rally climax was a dramatic representation of the dangers of genetic engineering. "The FDA’s lack of scientific rigor towards genetic engineering is appalling," said Sustain’s Beske. "The symbolic death of these children clearly represents the toxic threat genetic engineering poses on humans and our environment."
National Campaign to Flood the FDA with Comments
Sustain is working with national partners to launch a national campaign to generate comments to the FDA. If you want to help, the best thing you can do is write a letter to the FDA. Include the following points in your letter:
• Ask for a moratorium on all genetically engineered foods since there have been no long term studies exploring their impact on human health or the environment.
• Ask for independently verified safety testing on all genetically engineered foods.
• Express the concern that GE foods could create new toxins, antibiotic resistance, allergic reactions, and other dietary risks for consumers and therefore are not "generally recognized as safe." This was recently highlighted in an article in The Lancet, a British medical journal which published a study documenting that genetically modified potatoes fed to rats caused significant health problems.
• Express the concern that GE foods can be a significant threat to the environment. A recent study has shown that pollen from genetically engineered corn kills the Monarch butterfly. Other studies have shown that genetically engineered crops kill other beneficial insects.
• Express the concern that individuals with ethical or religious dietary concerns may be unwittingly consuming foods which contain genes from other species.
• Ask for mandatory labeling of any genetically engineered foods on the market.
Here is where to send your letter:
Commissioner Jane Henney
Docket No. 99N-4282
FDA Dockets Management Branch (HFA-305)
5630 Fishers Lane, Room 1061
Rockville, MD 20852
To send the FDA an e-mail go to their web site.
Include this in your comment:
Also apply to Center for Food Safety lawsuit
Docket #98-1300 (CKK) (DDC) Filed 5/27/98
(This lawsuit is asking the FDA to require pre-market safety testing and mandatory labeling of genetically engineered foods.)
To get more involved, check the Sustain web site or call 312-401-8019. To get an activist kit, send $5.00 to Sustain, 920 N. Franklin, Suite 206, Chicago, IL 60610.
Special Thanks
Many people and groups played an important role in making the Rally to Stop Genetically Engineered Foods such a success. I want to express sincere gratitude for the incredible creativity and hard work they put forth: Marla Rose, Kelly Norris, Dave DeRossa, Julie Winsberg, Tsering Tashi, David Smathers, Chris Lackner, Keith Ashdown, Ben Lilliston, Sam Epstein, Karen Peters, Liane Casten, Joe Mendelson, Jane Akre, John Peterson, Kevin Siarkowski, Paz, Reed and Prem Glidden, Jane Alexander, Howard Lyman, Jennifer McGowan, Barbara Mullarkey, Jordan Lome, Charlotte Flinn, Sheri Reda, Jeremy Hansen, Rhiannon, Healing Earth Resources, Chicago Diner, Bob Scaman, Goodness Greeness, Jo Kaucher, Mickey Hornick, Art and Revolution, Michael Seasons Chips, Organic Valley, Cloud Nine, People’s Market, Rainbow Distributing, Whole Foods Market, Charles Margolis, Bill the clown, Cheryl Henley, Marie Greenfield, Rose the PR temp, Patti Slama, the wonderful children dressed like butterflies and their mothers, plus Sonya and Eddie Kugler who worked with Greenpeace to feed activists a tremendous organic lunch after the protest. Apologies in advance to any people or groups we may have omitted.