GM crops under new US scrutiny

Genetically modified (GM) crops have been at the center of a storm of protests in Europe, which has begun to move into the United States. US surveys show increasing consumer concern about food biotechnology and some major food companies have announced decisions to purchase only non-bioengineered products. Recently, the finding of StarLink® corn in taco shells has raised harsh criticisms about the adequacy of US regulations of biotechnology. StarLink®, a genetically-altered corn variety produced by Aventis Crop Science, was approved for animal but not human consumption out of concern that it might contain an allergen. “The assertion that there is no problem with these products was undercut substantially by StarLink,” says Art Jaeger, assistant director for the Consumer Federation of America Foundation (CFAF). In an attempt to maintain public confidence, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued in midJanuary a proposed rule that would require GM crop developers to notify FDA of their intent to market a food or animal feed and provide evidence that the product is as safe as its unmodified counterpart. FDA would post the information submitted by manufacturers, as well as FDA’s responses, in the Agency’s electronic reading room. The FDA, however, continues to oppose full-fledged government safety reviews and the labeling of foods created by biotechnology. As a result, consumer groups don’t think FDA’s proposed changes go far enough. Currently, the area planted with GM crops is growing. More than half of the world’s soybean crops and about one third of the corn crops are transgenic. According to the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications (ISAAA), from 1996 to 2000 the global area of transgenic crops increased by more than 25 fold from 1.7 million hectares to 44.2 million hectares (almost twice the area of the United Kingdom). In 2000, four countries US, Argentina, Canada and China grew 99% of the global transgenic crop area. In the United States, over 40 GM food crops have completed all the federal regulatory requirements and have made their way into thousands of consumer items. The approval of such products falls under the jurisdiction of three government agencies: the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the FDA.