I've been waiting for a list like this, not for its intended reasons.
http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20001004/sc/biotech_list_dc_1.html
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The anti-biotech group Greenpeace issued a ``shopping
list'' on Wednesday outlining thousands of brand-name cereals, snacks,
frozen dinners and other foods that contain genetically-altered corn,
soybeans and other ingredients.
The activist group said it published the list on its web site, along with a
list of foods that do not contain gene-spliced ingredients, to give
consumers a choice at the grocery store.
``While food companies have eliminated genetically engineered ingredients in
Europe, the shopping list is the only way American consumers can avoid
genetically engineered contaminated food,'' said Charles Margulis, a
Greenpeace food spokesman.
Japan, Australia, Italy, Britain and a dozen other nations now require
labels on foods containing genetically-altered ingredients.
U.S. regulators have rejected pressure from activist groups for similar
labelling requirements, saying the foods are no different from those grown
with conventional crops.
Labelling has been thrust into the spotlight with the Food and Drug
Administration (news - web sites)'s current investigation into how a biotech
corn variety ended up in taco shells, even though it wasn't approved for
human food. The taco shells were recalled because of concern that some
people could be allergic to the corn.
The FDA is expected to soon issue voluntary guidelines for U.S. companies
that want to add a label saying a food does or does not include biotech
ingredients.
American food companies, which oppose mandatory labels, said the new
Greenpeace shopping list failed to tell consumers that regulators have found
all the foods safe.
``These products are safe and adhere to science-based federal food
regulations already on the books,'' said Karil Kochenderfer, a trade
official with the Grocery Manufacturers of America.
``Activist opponents of food biotechnology need to do their homework on the
studies done by the National Academy of Sciences and other authoritative
bodies on products derived through biotechnology,'' he added.
The U.S. biotech industry contends gene-spliced foods are just as safe as
conventional ones, and have been subjected to more safety and environmental
tests.
The National Academy of Sciences issued a report earlier this year that
cautiously endorsed the safety of biofoods but called for more study into
long-term health and environmental effects.
The Greenpeace list was posted on the Internet at www.truefoodnow.org.
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