Grace Chua, president of Consumer Rights for Safe Food (CRSF), gave a report to its members during the General Assembly last March 22, 2014. Sharing it with you.
8. Forum with Dr. Jack Heinemann on Golden Rice:
Third World Network (TWN) in partnership with
Miriam College (ESI) and CRSF
9.
10.
11. 1. GMO- free restaurants
2. Continuing orientations
3. Partnering – UMAK, SugarLeaf
4. Media Exposure
5. Networking – NO2GMO
6. Lobbying the GMO Labeling Bill
12. FDA: GMOs food safe, requires no
labeling (Dec 8, 2013)
“These are as safe as the usual crops in the market. The nutrition contents too are
substantially equivalent compared to usual farmers’ produce, so why should GM
food be labeled?” Oscar Gutierrez Jr., chairman of the FDA Policy Planning Office,
was quoted in the statement as saying.
Packaged products containing GM crops like the Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) corn and
those that are not yet in the market, the Bt eggplant and the Vitamin A-rich
Golden Rice, have no verifiable difference from any other conventional crops,
adding that labeling is only mandatory if there are safety issues.
GMOs virtually has no difference from conventional food, is not cancer-causing, and
has been proven safe for human health under numerous tests, the FDA statement
said.
13. FDA: GMO protein is destroyed or
denatured by stomach acids.
• ACCORDING to the FDA, the difference between GM and non-GM
crops is the presence of recombinant DNA. They add that in the
process of cooking the GM crop, the protein is destroyed or denatured.
• “Once cooked, it’s no longer there. The food no longer carries the
verifiable recombinant DNA. So what is there to label?” Gutierrez said.
• Bt corn, which contains the Bt protein, cannot harm humans because it
will need an alkaline environment to be activated, and human guts are
acidic, Antonio A. Alfonso said in an interview.
14. Maternal and fetal exposure to pesticides associated to genetically
modified foods in Eastern Townships of Quebec, Canada.
Aziz Aris and Samuel Leblanc 2011
Cry1Ab, a specific type of Bt toxin from GM crops, has been
detected in human and fetal blood samples. In testing 69
women who were eating a typical Canadian diet, researchers
found BT toxin in:
93% of blood samples of pregnant women
80% of fetal blood samples
69% of non-pregnant women blood samples
US FDA: BT Toxins does not survive
human stomach acids!
15. FDA: GMOs food safe, requires no
labeling (Dec 8, 2013)
• In its Advisory 2013-014 on “Safety of GM Food Produced through Modern
Biotechnology” dated June 24, 2013, the FDA stated that food-safety assessment
of biotechnology products “is more rigorous,” compared to other conventionally
bred crops.
• “For the GM food crops that have undergone food-safety assessment and approval
process, the consensus of scientific opinion and evidence is that the application of
GM technology introduces no unique food safety concerns and up to this time
there is no single case of evidence of harm in man,” the FDA said.
16. The Court of Appeals stopped the field testing of BT
Talong because of the lack of biosafety protocols that
will protect the environment and the health of the
people from its possible harmful effects.
17. CRIIGEN Study Links GM Maize and Roundup to
Premature Death and Cancer
http://sustainablepulse.com/2012/09/19/crigen-study-links-gm-maize-roundup-premature-death-cancer/
19. THE DANGERS OF
GOLDEN RICE
-Efficacy and Safety not tested
-Endangers our indigenous rice varieties
-Teaches an expensive and unsustainable solution
-Puts the supply of our staple in the hands of multi-
nationals
-Destroys Philippine Culture
-Endangers biodiversity of plants and insects
-Chemical pollution
- Tolerant insects and weeds
21. Petition against Golden Rice
Dr. Secretary Alcala,
I am writing as a concerned citizen who wishes to urge the Department of
Agriculture to come to its senses with regard to the field trials and possible
commercial approval of Golden Rice.
I believe that we do not need Golden Rice to address Vitamin A deficiency.
There are already working solutions such as the distribution of Vitamin A capsules
and fortification of foods that are already in place and has dramatically reduced
the incidence of VAD in the Philippines. The real solution should be the promotion
of a diverse diet and the promotion of varied sources of Vitamin A and other
nutrients which can be achieved through ecological farming. These solutions
should be the ones focused on by our government and where funding should go.
GMOs such as Golden Rice is a distraction and a waste of valuable resources that
expose Filipinos and our environment to the inherent risks of GMOs.
Behind the Golden Rice project are giant corporations that sell GMOs and
employ the patent system to ensure control over these crops and deprive small-
scale farmers of access, control and stewardship over plant genetic resources that
they have nurtured, exchanged and shared across communities for generations.
Once commercialized, Golden Rice can also contaminate the rich genetic pool of
local, indigenous and traditional rice varieties.
Therefore I urge you to immediately stop the field trials, the planned feeding
trials and eventual commercialization of Golden Rice.
22. How can you help?
1. Be a member of CRSF.
2. Practice and spread our advocacy.
3. Look for groups we can talk to.
4. Keep track of CRSF activities and participate.
5. Sign Petition on Golden Rice
6. Contribute time, talent and treasure.
