Conferees say genetic alteration should be on label

ASHLAND -- If the tomatoes on your grocer's shelves had parts of a fish inside, would you want to know?

More than 200 people who work in the organic foods industry answered with a resounding "Yes" Sunday during a panel discussion on "genetically engineered" foods. Organic food producers at a natural foods conference called on federal regulators to label genetically altered foods and test their long-term health effects.

"If they're adding flounder to tomatoes and Brazil nuts to soybeans," said Robin Ahle of Ashland, "we must know."

Statements like Ahle's surfaced frequently during the weekend meeting of the Provender Alliance, an organization that provides support and information for organic food producers and sellers in the Northwest, California and British Columbia. The conference was the group's 23rd annual meeting, and its first in Ashland.

Federal laws do not require special labelling for genetically altered foods. Many organic food producers and sellers want genetically manipulated foods to be labeled so consumers can know what they're buying.

Conference organizers gathered a panel of scientists, ethicists and organic farming advocates to discuss biotechnology's role in the American food system. During the past 10 years scientists have learned to take pieces of genetic material from one species and insert it into the genes of other species. By cutting, joining and transferring genes between unrelated species they have developed plants with unique qualities.

Some tomatoes, for example, have been altered with genetic material from flounders to make them more resistant to cold weather. Other crops no longer need to be sprayed with pesticides because the pesticide has been incorporated into the cells of the plant.

Genetically manipulated food already accounts for a substantial share of the food supply in the United States. As much as 50 percent of the soybean crop and one-third of the corn crop may be grown from genetically manipulated seed, said Craig Winters, who is leading a national campaign to require labelling for "bioengineered" foods.

Winters said many people in Europe are concerned about the long-term health effects of eating bioengineered foods. In the United States, concerns have surfaced mostly among people who favor organically produced foods.

He said federal regulators' failure to require labelling for such foods has convinced many people the foods are safe. But he noted there has been little testing to make such a determination.

Alan Bennett, a representative of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, explained why federal regulations do not require labelling for bioengineered foods. Foods must be labelled only when they have been substantially changed, and the FDA does not consider gene manipulation a significant change of the food itself.

Bennett's explanation stunned many organic food advocates. To people like Ahle, a co-owner of Ashland Soy Works, manipulating the genetic material of a tomato seems like a significant change even if the tomato itself appears unaltered.

Alan Kapuler, a seed scientist from Corvallis, said federal regulators have yielded to pressure from giant agribusiness firms that produce bioengineered seeds. He said genetically altered crops could affect other food crops in ways scientists do not know and have not considered.

"This is a crime against humanity," said Kapuler.

"We are destroying the fabric of sustainable life for generations."

Increasing pressure for labeling may soon force federal regulators to reverse their stance, said Greg Fowler, a geneticist at Oregon Health Sciences University.

Fowler (who taught at Southern Oregon University for 20 years) said scientists' ability to manipulate plant and animal genes will continue to expand. He said scientists need to talk more with ordinary people about the ethical and moral implications of genetic research.