WASHINGTON—As Americans
get ready for Thanksgiving meals around the country, the Food and Drug Administration
has acknowledged that contamination of the food supply by genetically engineered
crops is inevitable, but its new proposed guidance to the industry does little
to protect consumers. The FDA draft guidance published today in the Federal
Register simply encourages producers of new genetically engineered crops to
voluntarily consult with the agency earlier in the process of development.
Simply encouraging a developer of a genetically engineered crop to voluntarily
consult with the agency a little earlier in the process does nothing to address
the fact that genetically engineered crops that are field-tested in the open
will inevitably contaminate conventional and organic food crops through wind
and insect dispersal of pollen. The FDA continues to offer ineffective solutions
to the serious risks that agricultural biotechnology poses to the safety of
our food supply.
The voluntary nature of the draft guidance is a significant problem that permeates
FDA oversight of genetically engineered foods overall. In the notice, the FDA
admits that many producers will indeed determine, on their own, that they need
not follow the guidance and will not consult with the FDA. Furthermore, the
draft guidance will likely result in a decrease in FDA safety consultations
that come closer to commercialization of genetically engineered crops.
This type of administrative response is like encouraging a child to talk about
the eggs he plans to drop off the roof of a 20-floor building on unsuspecting
pedestrians before he drops them. The FDA should get serious about protecting
our food supply because the American consumer is depending on it.
