Lawmakers weigh bills on genetically modified food
SALEM, Ore. (AP) — Oregon lawmakers heard testimony Thursday on several bills to require labels on genetically modified food and prohibit importing genetically modified fish.
Supporters say consumers should know what kind of food they are buying at the grocery store, and genetically engineered fish threaten Oregon's native fish.
Opponents say labeling foods would stigmatize the products, and the engineering process has been proven safe.
"We have a right to know what's in our food," Scott Bates of GMO Free Oregon told the House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee. He said the technology and the process aren't understood well enough to be sure they pose no health risk to consumers.
But biotechnologist Alison Van Eenennaam told lawmakers that many concerns about genetic modification stem from a misunderstanding or fear of the science behind it.
"The science is not out on the safety of genetically engineered food," she said. "The science is very definitely in."
Van Eenennaam, who has worked on engineering salmon, said it is highly unlikely that genetically engineered salmon would escape and interbreed with Oregon's native fish population. She said genetically engineered Atlantic salmon, which concerns the fishing industry in the Pacific Northwest, is bred sterile and raised in secure tanks in Panama.
Common genetically modified crops include corn, soybeans, canola and cotton. Crops may be altered to resist pesticides, produce extra nutrients or delay spoiling. And biotechnology companies are working to alter food and animals such as apples that stay fresh longer and salmon that grow faster.
Attorney John DiLorenzo said requiring companies to label products violates the First Amendment by compelling speech, and the bills could violate the commerce clause of the U.S. Constitution by favoring the in-state fishing industry over the national biotech industry.
"All we simply want to do is let consumers know what's out there," said Rep. David Gomberg, a Democrat from Otis and sponsor of one bill. "Maybe it's the same way my jacket is labeled whether it's polyester, silk or wool."
From Hawaii to Vermont, states are considering labeling requirements on genetically modified foods, an especially hot topic on the West Coast.
Lawmakers in Washington state are debating a ballot measure that would require labeling on food or seeds made entirely or partly from genetically engineered crops and sold in the state.
Last year, California voters narrowly voted down a similar measure, after a bruising advertising battle between food safety advocates and agricultural and biotechnology companies.
Oregon doesn't have state regulations restricting farmers from growing genetically modified crops, including alfalfa and corn, said Bruce Pokarney, a spokesman for the Oregon Department of Agriculture. Once the U.S. Department of Agriculture approves a genetically engineered product, it is legal to grow and sell, he said.
In Southern Oregon, Jackson County residents will vote on a 2014 ballot measure that would ban genetically modified crops in the county. A proposed Senate bill to give the state authority to regulate seeds would, if passed, pre-empt the measure.
More than 60 countries, including those in the European Union and China, require food labels marking products that have been partly or entirely genetically modified. In the U.S., however, only Alaska has passed such legislation, requiring labels on genetically altered fish and shellfish products.
Advocates of food labeling gained a victory earlier this month when the grocery chain Whole Foods Market announced it would begin labeling all genetically modified food it sells.
The Oregon Legislature will hear several more bills regulating genetically modified seeds, crops and products during this year's session, several of which require food labeling.
Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.
if ya want fish.....drop a line in the ocean my boy
Yes it would appear ignorance is bliss, there are quite a few reports (most are recent) even from former Mosanto employees that there are notices posted in the cafeteria saying "GM soya and maize has been removed from all food products served in our restaurant. We have taken the steps to ensure that you, the customer, can feel confident in the food we serve." Insanely hypocritical wouldn't you say? Monsanto spokesman Tony Coombes confirmed the authenticity of the notices and added the company "believes in choice." Tony also said employees in other locations are happy to eat GM food because "it's sprayed with fewer chemicals." There should at least be a label on this junk so people can make that choice to buy it/eat it and it shouldn't be automatically integrated into every food group. GM crops are burned and boycotted in other countries, and eventually here hopefully. You eat up and enjoy your fake food it's just a label, if that hurts a mega biotech corporation than too bad.. Make a safer product that's all there is to it.
Ok, that news paper was one single report in 1999 on Monsanto and it was over employee choice(go figure, they care about employees, how dare they?). Now if it were reverent it would have attracted the other 6 million news stands and made a bigger impact, thus irreverent . As far as presidential dinners, that was left wing food activists gave the white house no choice in the matter, it wasn't staff choice. Once again ignorance is slowing the advancement of the scientific community. Riddle me this, successive chief scientists to the UK Government, as well as science institutions such as the Royal Society, have endorsed the concept of GM technology as a tool for increasing food production in the 21st Century, but consumer opposition has so far blocked the approval of GM food for the home dinner table (September of last year this happened). Go figure a scientific community of WELL educated people come to agree that it is save yet uneducated ignorant people defies all logic.
Is it weird to you that Monsanto scientists do not allow GM foods in their cafeterias? Same goes for presidential and royal dinners. They say its safe though, so it's fine for us
I would like to know your sources, undoubtedly they are the assumptions based on coincidences and anomalies. Several years ago, some researchers raised the possibility that nitrites could be linked to cancer in laboratory rats. This suggestion received a lot of media attention. What received less media attention, however, was when further research revealed that they were wrong. Indeed, the National Academy of Sciences, the American Cancer Society and the National Research Council all agree that there's no proof of cancer risk from consuming sodium nitrite. Celery is a natural source of sodium nitrate. (Notice that no one is currently claiming that celery causes cancer or that people should reduce their intake of celery.) As far as pesticides, you have a valid point, but we have regulations that prevent contamination of any level (thanks EPA, although not perfect, your trying) Their is no doubt that pesticides are and difficult subject but GM foods will fix that, further research will and has produced insect resistant produce and has and will prove pesticides useless provided moronic laws are not passed and the research can continue. People assume to much, they see altered and run in fear instead of doing sound and thought out decisions based one actual research not popular media and unaccredited news reports or websites, ignorance spreads fast, and I wish for once someone would not be closed minded look at the facts in a logical since and at least consider the other side of the argument.
There is enough evidence linking the consumption of nitrates to a significantly increased risk of the major childhood cancers, including leukemia, lymphoma, and brain cancer. The nitrogen in chemical fertilizer does two things incredibly well. It supercharges crop growth, and it produces nitrates, chemicals that are ultra-soluble in water and easily pass through soil to accumulate in groundwater. Once there, nitrates can persist for decades and increase in concentration as more fertilizer is added. So the link can be proven, and has by multiple sources. The effects of changing the make-up of genes are unknown and untested and no one knows what the long-term health implications of GM food will be. And ok, MAYBE there are no remnants of pesticides or other harsh chemicals in the actual GM food, but it does trickle down into groundwater. There will be no way to sustain crops with no soil, repeated GMO cultivation will rob soil of nutrients, cause major soil erosion and incorporate vector DNA which leads to loss of biodiversity, Bacillus Thuringien toxins also accumulate and bond to soil particles. REAL farmers know how to sustain soil quality and nutrients without manufactored garbage. Corps like Monsanto have armies of legal teams to combat suits against them from farmers that are losing their way of life. Can't say constant reaping of soil nutrients and destruction of pollinators' populations are a benefit in any way. And neither you or I, or anybody in the world can fully grasp or understand the long term effects of GM products, but it's not looking good!
Really? nitrate it self causes cancer? Really? Ok nitrate is also found in everyone's drinking water, yet no problems. Nitrate has no link to cancer, Sodium nitrite is what Iam guessing you are talking about, and even yet the supposed "link" is anything but, the link CAN NOT be proven and still has yet. As far as pesticides, read up on the Annals of Internal Medicine, a study published proved conclusively and that their is NO differences in organics and GM's in final products, so no their are no pesticides in food. Monsanto was an unfortunate event but you do realize that we have antitrust laws and don't live in the olden times any more. What I don't understand is how so many people are wiling to do away with (its) 80% of its foods (can you say world hunger?) and to compound that GM food are the only way people with allergies can even consume normal food and feel good about not dying from it, so you may be ready for starving children and more allergies related deaths but Iam not. The benefits out weigh your made up excuses to embrace something you don't fully understand.
Fish that is not allowed in countries like Japan because of abnormally high levels of radiation are also imported to the U.S. because well, our standards are low
60% - 70% percent of processed food is GM so it shouldn't be a problem for some mis-informed people to buy that over organic. GM foods just happen to contain nitrate(causes cancer), sewage sludge, tons of yummy pesticides and other chemicals. GM foods are banned in Europe and other countries for a reason! The USDA refuses to restrict chemicals such as neonictinoids which destroy honeybee and other pollinators' populations and geneticevo which is slowly building harmful insect's immunity up to a point where repellents and insecticides will not do anything but poison our food. There are over 450 pesticides used on GM, all toxic and all eventually make their way into the ecosystem. Multi-national biotech companies are making millions developing this crap and not with our health in mind, their seeds migrate to a neighboring farmers' crop and take over, companies like Monsanto then sue the farmer for having their seeds. The natural consensus with top scientists worldwide is that GM foods are unpredictable, unlabeled, and untested so keep perpetuating the corporate money making scheme that is destroying farmland and putting women and childrens' health at risk. You don't need to go to college to be aware of whats going on, nor do you need to judge people that choose to buy organic. We deserve to know what we are eating, it's just a label! There are more negatives than positives when it comes to GM crap
I'm from Roseburg but currently living in Germany. We will be moving back to the states very soon. This is causing me some concern about GMO's because Germany does not allow GMO's. I'm afraid of not knowing what I'll be consuming once I arrive back in the states. I want to know that a "food" is a Frankenfood so that I can choose not to buy it.
It was never proven that Starlink corn had any part of mad cow disease, it was political EU garbage brought about by fear of outbreak, to even suggest it caused it is a logical fallacy and numerous scientific journals have disproved the hypothesis conclusively. Starlink corn does not cause mad cow disease.mad cow disease is estimated to have begun in the FIFTH century BC, mad cow disease is caused by a genetic MUTATION within a gene called the prion protein gene.
It should be illegal to sale it or even given away! ! Unfortunately our FDA would rather kill us off slowly (population control) by not making stiffer regulations on all foods (and much more)!!
Starlink corn wasn't meant for humans directly but it was fed to cattle. That meat then consumed by humans was responsible for several deaths in the form of Creutzfelt-Jakob disease ie Mad Cow
Wouldn't buy it!!!!!
DON'T WANT IT AT ALL!! Keep your crappy fish out of my State!
U gotta be kidding. This is what our Oregon lawmakers are working on! Oh great job guys. JW
We have the right to know, put it on the labels!
Anna, good point and its about time some one has something to say with knowledge to back it up, but you fail to realize that the USDA did blood culture tests, and that their was no evidence the reactions those people experienced were associated with Starlink Bt protein. And in addition the discussion and my point is human consumable food, Bt corn was never meant to be consumed by humans.
Don't need a PhD to know humans were not designed to consume huge amounts of anything but plant based. When we first appeared we ate a plant based diet, fish some, an even smaller amount of animal protein. There is to much science now, the food industry is over thinking production and extracting this and that, then mass producing the results at a huge profit. They are not putting GMO's in food to make us better more healthy it's all about money and financial growth.
Tyler, for someone who claims to be so educated I'm surprised you say GMO foods have never been shown to be dangerous. You may want to start a google search for Starlink corn and just keep reading. BTW this is what I did my senior project on in COLLEGE.
If it was good for you they would have no qualms about a label..... Its not good for you. LABEL GMOs NOW!
I agree Sherry, labels skulls & crossbones...don't want.
Monsanto is evil. Why do you think so many people are becoming Gluten intolerant ?
We shouldn't even be having this conversation! Why would any decent person/company even put others through the consumption of anything less than natural? Greed! Yes it needs to be labeled with a skull & crossbones
GMO's are modified to withstand heavy applications of poisonous herbacide that contaminates the air, drains into the soils, the rivers and soaks into our foods. 85% of our corn crops are GMO and 70% of our processed foods contain corn. We are eating a lot of poison. Don't stop at labeling. Lets ban the use of them in Oregon. If we made GMO products a controlled substance we could start things moving in the right direction.
LABEL IT!!!!!!!
Labels!
I avoid GMO food
Label it so people know what to avoid
Give us a choice! Label!!!
I will have you know, I refuse to eat food that haven't been genetically modified in some way! 1) A new study, conducted by a team of student researchers in the Department of Rural Economy at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada, showed that the greenhouse gas emitted when the produce is transported from great distances mitigates the environmental benefits of growing the food organically. 2 )A new study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine finds scant (little) evidence of health benefits from organic foods. 3) Genetically modifying DNA does not change the food or make it "bad", you show me one instance that genetically modified food caused adverse health side effects. You can't because that's not how it works. Go to college Oregon your bringing the worlds IQ down Single-handed.
Labeling the products seems like the best option. People can then make their own decisions on what they want to put into their bodies. Hopefully labeling foods with GMOs is just a small steps towards limiting their use in so many food products.
GMO's are bad! They need to be labeled or banned.
If it's not bad for us label it!!! I personally would not buy it.
Don't want it, wish they would stop doing it, and want it labeled so I can avoid it.
All natural is my way....
I don't want that crap in my house!
Thas like chubs yuk