Summary by Washington, D.C., May 27, 1998 An unprecedented lawsuit against the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has just been
filed in Federal District Court. The suit, coordinated by the Alliance for Bio-Integrity,
with key collaboration from the International Center for Technology Assessment (CTA), has
scientists, health professionals, religious leaders, consumers and chefs as its
plaintiffs. Charging that the FDA has violated its statutory mandate to protect the public
and provide it with proper information, these plaintiffs are seeking to obtain mandatory
safety testing and labeling of all genetically engineered foods. The basis for the suit by religious leaders is that the FDA's present policy of
permitting genetically altered foods without appropriate labeling will make it impossible
for some persons to adhere to religious prohibitions against the eating of certain
animals, such as pork in the case of Muslims, pork and shellfish in the case of Jews, and
animal products of any kind in the case of devout vegetarians. Religious leaders allege
that the FDA is infringing the free exercise of religion guaranteed by the Constitution
and the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA). They also see genetic engineering as
altering the integrity of God's creation and arrogantly substituting limited human
intelligence for Divine intelligence. Scientists and health professionals joining in the suit allege that FDA's policy on
genetically engineered foods poses significant health risks for the public. They point out
that genetically modified foods may contain antibiotic resistant genes. They also argue
that a nontoxic food element could become toxic as a result of gene insertion. Such a
mechanism has been postulated in the case of the genetically engineered L-tryptophan that
caused deaths and injury to Americans taking this supplement several years ago.
Additionally, the health professionals cite food allergies as a major health concern,
pointing out that without relevant labeling allergy patients won't know which foods to
avoid. In this connection, the Alliance for Bio-Integrity and the International Center for
Technology Assessment mention a recent study reported in the New England Journal of
Medicine. In this study, a gene from a Brazil nut was inserted into a soybean. The
study subjects, who were allergic to Brazil nuts but had not been allergic to soybeans,
were subsequently found to react to the genetically altered soybeans. There are currently 33 genetically altered foods sold without appropriate labeling or,
as alleged by the lawsuit, adequate safety testing. These include potatoes, tomatoes, soy,
corn, squash, and other vegetables as well as a number of fruits. The plaintiffs point out
that many of these foods, which contain new genes from different species, are used as
ingredients in processed foods and are present in a number of mass-consumed food products
ranging from soy-based infant formulas to corn chips. "By failing to require testing
and labeling for genetically engineered foods," states Andrew Kimbrell, Executive
Director of the Internation Center for Technology Assessment, "the agency [FDA] has
made consumers unknowing guinea pigs for potentially harmful, unregulated food
substances."
Marjorie Rosenfeld