Letters: Knowing What’s in the Food We Eat

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The March 15 editorial "Why Label Genetically Engineered Foods?" bases its misguided opposition to labeling of genetically engineered foods on the assertion that they have not been proved to pose health risks to consumers, but that is not the standard for labeling in the United States. We don't label dangerous foods; we take them off the market.

The government mandates food labeling not based on safety, but on whether there is a "material" change in the food that consumers should be informed about. Under this standard genetically engineered foods clearly merit labeling. Genetically engineered crops contain novel bacterial and viral genes never seen before in food. They are so novel that biotech companies have been granted dozens of patents on them.

It is past time that American consumers gain the same right to know enjoyed by the citizens in the 60-plus countries that have mandatory labeling of genetically engineered foods.

ANDREW KIMBRELL
Executive DirectorCenter for Food Safety
Washington, March 15, 2013

To the Editor:

The controversy over labeling foods containing genetically engineered ingredients reflects the public's nervousness about a technology that may sound scary, but that offers significant benefits. Genetically engineered crops have reduced the use of some environmentally harmful pesticides and increased farmer income. Soon, they may provide consumers with nutritional benefits, such as heart-healthy oils.

While a strong international scientific consensus considers current engineered crops safe to eat, consumer confidence would increase if Congress required the Food and Drug Administration to review the safety of engineered crops before they were marketed, as Senator Richard J. Durbin once proposed.

Currently, companies voluntarily send summary safety data to the F.D.A. for a cursory review. An affirmative safety decision by the F.D.A. would lessen the fears many consumers have about eating those products and eliminate one concern of labeling advocates.

GREGORY JAFFE
Director, Biotechnology Project
Center for Science in the Public Interest
Washington, March 15, 2013

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