All attorneys: Mr. Wallbanger wants us to familiarize ourselves with this material. We may be going to court in August.
Bans--Below is a partial list of nations worldwide that have banned GM foods
- In 2002, Zambia cut off the flow of Genetically Modified Food (mostly maize) from UN's World Food Programme. This left a famine-stricken population without food aid.
- In December 2005 the Zambian government changed its mind in the face of further famine and allowed the importation of GM maize. However, the Zambian Minister for Agriculture Mundia Sikatana has insisted that the ban on genetically modified maize remains, saying "We do not want GM (genetically modified) foods and our hope is that all of us can continue to produce non-GM foods."
- In April 2004 Hugo Chávez announced a total ban on genetically modified seeds in Venezuela.
- In January 2005, the Hungarian government announced a ban on importing and planting of genetic modified maize seeds, which was subsequently authorized by the EU.
- On August 18, 2006, American exports of rice to Europe were interrupted when much of the U.S. crop was confirmed to be contaminated with unapproved engineered genes, possibly caused by cross-pollination with conventional crops.
- On February 9, 2010, Indian Environment Minister, Jairam Ramesh, imposed a moratorium on the cultivation of GMF "for as long as it is needed to establish public trust and confidence".His decision was made after protest from several groups responding to regulatory approval of the cultivation of Bt brinjal, a GM eggplant in October, 2009.
Above is a brief segment from an article at:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genetically_modified_foodFDA official site giving their guidelines for labeling
http://www.fda.gov/Food/GuidanceComplianceRegulatoryInformation/GuidanceDocuments/FoodLabelingNutrition/FoodLabelingGuide/default.htm
Government Accounting Office site about need for stronger Gov't authority to enforce regulations
http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d08597.pdf
Pro-labeling sites with some useful links http://labelgmos.org/
http://www.truthinlabeling.org/GMO_IndexPage.html
Good overview of the pros and cons
http://www.agbioforum.org/v1n1/v1n1a07-phillips.htm
This site gives a nice--primarily pro-labeling--argument
http://www.gmo-compass.org/eng/regulation/labelling/
An overview of the arguments both for and against:
http://www.triplepundit.com/2011/04/gmos-gmos-label-label/
Below is a short segment from an article at:
http://www.quackwatch.org/03HealthPromotion/gmo.html
Should foods derived from GMOs be labeled?
Although providing consumers with information about genetically modified foods is important, labels may not be the best way to do so because they are inherently pejorative. Food labels were established by the FDA to provide "material information" about a product, such as ingredient and nutrition information, or warnings about a health risk, such as the presence of a potential allergen. Because genetically modified foods are already scrutinized to ensure that they do not pose new or unique risks, such labels are likely to mislead consumers by implying a warning. For the same reason, labels are excluded from conventional foods that cause sensitivity or illness in a small fraction of consumers. For example, though some people may be sensitive to milk due to lactose intolerance, milk is not labeled as such.
Moreover, labeling rDNA-engineered foods would not be economically prudent because thousands of common foods containing small amounts of genetically modified ingredients, such as soybean and corn products, would have to be labeled. Costs associated with this would be passed on to producers and consumers. Farmers, in particular, would absorb significant costs by having to pay for equipment and/or other resources to separate genetically modified crops from non-modified ones.
For more on the debate over product labeling for GM Foods, READ THIS ARTICLE.
For more on the debate over product labeling for GM Foods, READ THIS ARTICLE.
