“Consumers should not be used as guinea pigs by companies who
continue to sell genetically contaminated food,” said Jeanne
Merrill, Greenpeace True Food Network coordinator. “Since the FDA
refuses to protect consumers and the environment, Greenpeace
created the Shopping List. The Shopping List gives consumers who
want to avoid genetically engineered foods a fighting chance.”
Organized like supermarket aisles, the True Food Shopping List
covers dozens of foods in each of 20 categories, including baby
food, cereal, frozen foods, snacks and soups. The “Red” list shows
genetically engineered foods, such as Kellogg’s Corn Flakes. The
“Green” list shows alternatives made by companies that have
eliminated genetically engineered ingredients. The “Yellow”
transitional list includes products made by companies that are
working to eliminate genetically engineered ingredients.
Recently, store-bought Taco Bell taco shells tested positive for
a variety of genetically engineered corn, called StarLink, that is
not approved for human consumption. Kraft, which produces the
supermarket brand shells, voluntarily recalled the tainted product.
Aventis, the biotech company that makes the GE corn found in the
taco shells, said it would stop selling the seed. The Agriculture
Department said on Friday that it would broker the entire remaining
StarLink crop for Aventis, to insure that it is only sold for feed.
On Monday, FDA finally announced an official recall notice for the
Kraft Taco Bell taco shells, and said that it would begin testing
other corn products for contamination. The agency acknowledged that
the engineered corn could cause “temporary adverse health
effects.”
“Clearly, Americans can’t trust the biotech industry to keep its
genetic experiments out of our shopping carts,” said Charles
Margulis, Greenpeace genetic engineering specialist. “While food
companies have eliminated genetically engineered ingredients in
Europe, the Shopping List is the only way American consumers can
avoid GE-contaminated food.”
Kellogg’s and other food giants have already stopped using
genetically engineered food in Europe, but these companies continue
to use the experimental crops here. In Japan, Australia, Russia and
throughout Europe, genetically engineered food must be labeled.
Many companies have announced that their products in these
countries will exclude genetically engineered ingredients. But in
the U.S., the FDA has sided with the biotech industry in opposing
mandatory labeling. Instead, FDA says that standards for
“voluntary” labeling of GE or non-GE foods will soon be
announced.
