Preserving the Safety of Our Food, the Health of Our Environment, and the Harmony of Our Relationship with Nature 54 North Park Street, Fairfield, Iowa 52556
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Copyright Steven M. Druker 2004 This article may be copied and circulated as long as the entire document
remains intact and authorship is properly attributed.
Steven M. Druker A slightly shortened version of this article was published
in the Comment section of
The US requirement to uphold the precautionary principle is neither
new nor nuanced. It's unambiguous and has been on the books since 1958,
when Congress enacted an amendment to the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act
requiring that any new additive to food be presumed unsafe until its
safety has been demonstrated through scientific procedures. An official
Senate report described its firm intent: "While Congress did not
want to unnecessarily stifle technological advances, it nevertheless
intended that additives created through new technologies be proven safe
before they go to market." Although the term "precautionary
principle" had not yet been coined, this statute clearly instituted
a precautionary approach. In fact, US law mandates the strictest degree
of precaution found in any food laws and demands demonstration of "a
reasonable certainty" of no harm. The White House's ignorance has been abetted by officials at the Food
and Drug Administration (FDA), who themselves know the law but are apparently
intent on keeping others confused about it - presumably in furtherance
of their admitted agenda "to foster" biotechnology. They have
also endeavoured to cover up the warnings of their own scientific experts
about the unique risks of GM foods. This was revealed when my organization
brought a lawsuit against the FDA that forced it to divulge its files,
which clearly show FDA's scientists repeatedly cautioned that genetic
engineering could disrupt the organism in unpredictable ways and induce
production of unintended harmful substances that are difficult to detect.
The pervasiveness of concern within the FDA's scientific staff is attested
by an internal memorandum in which an official reported: "The processes
of genetic engineering and traditional breeding are different, and according
to the technical experts in the agency, they lead to different risks."
(FDA Document #1 at www.biointegrity.org ) Because of the potential
for unexpected harmful effects, the FDA experts stated that every GM
food should undergo rigorous testing to screen for them. Further, FDA's
Biotechnology Coordinator acknowledged there is not a consensus about
safety among experts outside the FDA either. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
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