Dear Raeders,
If you were fortunate enough to be at our 32nd Ecofarm Conference this year, there was a lot of focus on GE labeling. Both the Federal petition to the FDA (www.justlabelit.org) and our own California state ballot iniative (www.carighttoknow.org or www.labelgmos.org). Below is the letter that was signed by so many of you and sent to the FDA,
Thank you and please visit these web sites and be active. This is the time of change and consumer awareness about GMOs has gone viral.
Onward,
Thomas
The Ecological Farming Association has created this petition in
support of the Center for Food Safety's petition to the FDA to Require
Labeling of Genetically Engineered Foods. This letter was signed by
317 people during the 2012 EcoFarm Conference in Pacific Grove,
California.
Thank you!
Lisa Bunan, Board President
Ecological Farming Association
February 4, 2012
RE: Docket No. FDA-2011-P-0723-0001/CP
Dear Commissioner Hamburg:
On behalf of the attendees of the EcoFarm Conference, held in Pacific Grove, California, 1-4 February 2012, we the undersigned are writing to you to express our unequivocal support of the Center for Food Safety's Legal Petition to FDA to Require Labeling of Genetically Engineered Foods.
We believe that it is our fundamental right to know what is in our food and how it is grown so that we can make informed and safe food choices for ourselves, our families, our communities, and our clients. And, so do the majority of Americans. A recent Washington Post public opinion poll found that 94 percent of Americans want genetically engineered (GE) foods labeled. Such near-unanimity in public opinion is rare and must be taken seriously. People in other countries around the world also agree with the need to label GE food. That is why nearly 50 countries, including all European Union (EU) member states, have mandated labeling of GE foods, rendering the U.S. policy outdated and in direct conflict with the will of the people.
Whether FDA believes that GE foods are "substantially equivalent" or "of the same or equal quality" as their conventional counterparts is irrelevant when considering the fundamental question of whether unlabeled GE foods are acceptable to the American public. The appropriate focus of FDA's GE food policy should be to make certain that consumers are not being deceived by false labeling or by the absence of a label that allows them to make informed food choices. Because consumers do not expect foods to be genetically engineered without a clear label, their right to know what is in their food is being violated by FDA's GE labeling policy. We take exception to the fact that FDA's GMO policy to date has focused on supporting the biotech industry's desire to deceive consumers instead of championing the public interest and mandating GE food labeling.
Several studies over the past decade have revealed that genetically engineered foods can pose serious risks to humans, domesticated animals, wildlife and the environment. Human health effects include higher risks of toxicity, allergenicity, antibiotic resistance, immune-suppression, and cancer. Moreover, the unregulated planting of GE crops has led to: uncontrolled transgenic pollution that threatens numerous microbial, plant, and animal species with extinction; a dramatic increase in pesticides released into our environment; and the creation of an epidemic of herbicide-resistant "superweeds." These health and environmental impacts are reason alone to label GE food and ensure the public's right to know what is in the foods they are eating and the types of production systems they are supporting with their food dollars.
The Ecological Farming Association represents the diverse interests of people engaged in all aspects of food production, consumption, education, and advocacy - from food producers, suppliers, retailers, and farmers, to food transporters, equipment sellers, compost makers, consumers, gardeners, chefs, researchers, NGOs, and teachers, etc. Mandatory labeling of GE food gives all of us the ability to make informed food choices. We urge FDA to take immediate steps to establish a robust and mandatory GE food labeling program.
Respectfully submitted by,
Lisa J. Bunin, Ph.D.
Board President, Ecological Farming Association
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