EPISODE 1 ACTIVISM INITIATIVES
U.S. Meat, Poultry, and Dairy Food Supply
YOU MATTER! YOUR VOICE MATTERS! TAKE ACTION NOW!
"The federal agency charged with protecting our food supply has failed us," said Rebecca Spector, West Coast Director of the Center for Food Safety.
"Consumers have the right to know that the meat and milk they feed their children is safe. Since FDA refuses to wait for science to show what's really happening with cloned animals, it is now up to individual states to protect consumers and their families. The Senator's labeling bill will protect Californians through labeling, which restores consumer confidence and choice."
The issue has been a contentious one since the draft risk assessment, published in December 2006, raised a number of questions and elicited a strong response from opposing parties and some consumers during the comment period.
One of the aspects of FDA's plan that has invited significant opposition is that the labeling of meat and milk products from cloned animals would not be required.
This, opponents say, would deprive consumers of the choice to opt for products not linked to the technology.
According to The Washington Post, however, there is a chance the FDA would allow the introduction of labels to indicate no material from cloned animals in the product.
There has also been criticism from other safety administrations. Last year, the Center for Food Safety issued a report critical of the FDA's risk assessment on animal clones, saying it relied almost entirely on unsupported assumptions and was based more on faith than science.
A 2007 national survey conducted by Consumers Union found that 89 percent of Americans want to see cloned foods labeled. Sixty-nine percent said that they have concerns about cloned meat and dairy products in the food supply.
Elisa Odabashian, director of Consumers Union's West Coast office, said: "Senator Migden's labeling bill will be a critical step in providing consumers with the information they are demanding about these foods."
The Center for Food Safety and Consumers Union are co-sponsors of the bill.
Last year Senator Migden authored a similar bill (SB 63) that was passed by the entire California legislature before being vetoed by Governor Schwarzenegger. He said he could not sign the bill as it is pre-empted by federal law, which governs labeling on a national level.
"It is our hope that the legislature will stand behind this bill. Its passage is needed now more than ever since the FDA has cleared the way for food from cloned animals to enter the market unlabeled," said Odabashian.
From: http://www.foodnavigator-usa.com/Legislation/Labeling-law-to-protect-against-cloning-risk
Jan 29, 2009 (foodconsumer.org) -- Consumer Union reported Jan 15, 2009 that the FDA had announced that it would not require labeling on meat or fish from genetically engineered animals.
The Final Guidance on Regulation of Genetically Engineered Animals, released just two days before the dissolution of the Bush administration, states that FDA will require a mandatory safety approval process, but no labeling will be required.
The consumer Union characterized the FDA action as a last favor intended for the industry. It said its recent poll found than 95 percent of consumers support labeling of meat and milk from genetically engineered animals.
"Despite thousands of comments from consumers saying they want to know if engineered meat or fish is in their supermarket
, FDA claims these foods are not different from conventional food, and therefore don't need to be labeled," stated Jean Halloran, Director of Food Policy Initiatives at Consumers Union, nonprofit publisher of Consumer Reports.
"This flies in the face of consumer opinion and common sense. These foods should be labeled because they are different--in FDA's terms the presence of novel genes is a material fact," Halloran stated.
Michael Hansen, PhD, a senior scientist at Consumers Union indicated that he was concerned about the safety of genetically engineered animals.
Please write to your members of Congress today and tell them to support the Preservation of Antibiotics for Medical Treatment Act, and put an end to the dangerous overuse of important human antibiotics in the feed and water of animals that are not sick.
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