Bush Administration's Pre-Emptive Strike On Our Right-To-Know
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Here is another example of the Bush administration's interference with our right-to-know. For those who think, "oh me, oh my," labels might frighten people and keep them away from GE food --- tough!!
Look at all the firepower the corporations, their government cronies, and other unaccountables (like the WTO) have and yet they have been unable to convince the public that GE is OK. Quite amazing, isn't it?
If that's not enough to convince you that something may be "up" consider this blatant pre-emptive strike launched by the Bush administration's FDA and just maybe there is something to worry about. ;) (wink). Think so? Well, uh, gee, I ...
Hmmmm! Then there is this ridiculous banter about how African governments are starving their populations because they won't accept GE food aid that is being jammed down their throats, ruin indigenous farming economies (what little may be left) and leave them totally subservient to western corporations et al.
This is blatant interference with our right-to-know as citizens about what is in the stuff we put in our bodies and it's gotta stop .... Mike.
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Source: USA Today.
10/09/2002
FDA tries to remove genetic label before it sticks
By Elizabeth Weise USA TODAY
PORTLAND, Ore. — In an unusual move, the federal government has warned the state of Oregon that it could be interfering with national food producers if voters pass a ballot measure requiring all genetically modified foods sold in the state to be labeled.
The unsolicited letter, which arrived Monday in the office of Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber, says the measure "would impermissibly interfere with manufacturers' ability to market their products on a nationwide basis." The letter was signed by Food and Drug Administration deputy commissioner Lester Crawford.
As much as 80% of the foods found in a typical American supermarket contain at least one ingredient created from genetically engineered crops. Backers of the measure don't claim the foods are dangerous, but they say consumers should be able to make informed choices. Critics say labeling is expensive and will force one label for Oregon foods, a different one elsewhere.
If voters pass the measure Nov. 5, Oregon will be the first state to require labeling of so-called GE foods. Europe and Japan already require labeling.
The FDA letter now inserts a federal interest in what to this point had been a brewing state fight.
Still, Measure 27 is the subject of intense interest far beyond Oregon's borders. Food suppliers and processors argue that if they lose in Oregon, they'll face unjust suspicion from consumers that the foods aren't safe and the prospect of labeling laws in other states.
"In this letter, we are not promising to take action, but we are letting the people of Oregon know, as best we can, what our views are about the ordinance," a senior FDA official said.
The FDA statement appears to allude to the commerce clause of the Constitution, which prohibits states from impeding the flow of interstate commerce, says Jonathan Adler, a professor of environmental and constitutional law at Case Western Reserve law school in Cleveland.
The governor's press secretary, Tom Towslee, says the governor was surprised to get the letter. "For the federal government to weigh in on a ballot measure in little old Oregon is a little unusual, but they obviously feel strongly about it," Towslee says.
The two-page letter also states that the FDA has found that, in its scientific judgment, there "is no significant difference" between bioengineered foods and their conventional counterparts.
Donna Harris, who launched the campaign to get the initiative on the ballot, doesn't buy it. "If they're the same as everything else, then how come they have a patent on them?"
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