More Science And Labeling Needed For GMO Products 

Healthwell 22dec00

Though some believe biotechnology holds the potential to develop drastically superior produce, a committee formed by the United States and European Union recommended tighter controls Monday on genetically engineered foods, stating that consumers should have the right of informed choice regarding the foods they consume. The 19-page report said the U.S. and Europe should set “content-based mandatory labeling requirements” for foods that contain genetically engineered ingredients. Under the report’s recommendation, any foods with detectable traces of genetically engineered crops should be labeled, said panel member Carol Tucker Foreman, director of the Consumer Federation of America’s Food Policy Institute.

Although the Clinton administration agreed to set up the committee, it currently backs the U.S. policy that does not require the labeling of products with gene-altered ingredients, which is based on the premise that they are essentially the same as conventionally bred crops. Some panel members believe the report’s language is vague enough to continue to support this position. “If we’re not changing the content of the food or putting anything new in it, it is saying that we do not have to label,” said panel member, Missouri farmer Ryland Utlaut.

One example of the lack of human testing for GMO foods is the recent announcement from a team of Scottish scientists who have invented potatoes that may be able to ask the farmer for a drink of water. A team of researchers from the University of Edinburgh claimed Monday to have invented a genetically-modified potato that glows bright green when it needs watering, courtesy of a fluorescent gene from a jellyfish introduced into the leaves of the plant.

The study was encouraged by projections that within 40 years, water will be the most expensive agricultural commodity, said Antony Trewavas, who led the group of spudding scientists. Though the team of researchers claims their invention will help make better use of limited water in developing countries and will increase crop yields by providing an early warning when plants do not have enough water, environmental campaigners condemned the project yesterday. “We don’t think there is any justification for releasing genetically-modified food into the environment before a full assessment has been done,” said campaigner and Friends of the Earth member Peter Riley.