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tuesday, 14 august
2001
"stop threatening to
overturn other nations food safety laws" -
200 groups worldwide tell president bush
sri lanka, thailand among those targeted
by bush administration over genetically
engineered food regulations
Washington, DC--More than 200 consumer, farm
and environmental groups worldwide sent a
letter today protesting threats by the Bush
administration to challenge food safety laws
of other countries as barriers to
international trade. Groups representing
citizens in Australia, Brazil, Germany,
India, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Thailand, the
United States and Zimbabwe signed the letter.
The groupsóincluding the Third World Network,
Via Campesina, Friends of the Earth
International, and the Consumer Policy
Institute/Consumer's Union (U.S. publishers
of Consumer Reports)órepresent millions of
members around the world.
The groups called the U.S. threats
unreasonable, especially since the U.S.
allows states to establish food safety and
environmental laws that are tougher than
national laws. For example, a five-year
moratorium on engineered fish was passed in
the state of Maryland last April.
Additionally, U.S. pesticide law allows
states to set limits on pesticide use that
are more strict than federal law.
ìIf a U.S. state can have a moratorium on
genetically modified foods, why can't other
countries do the same?î said Ricardo Navarro,
Chair of Friends of the Earth International
and a resident of El Salvador. ìThe U.S. has
no right to tell Sri Lanka or any other
country how to write their food safety
laws.î
Weyland Beeghly, Agricultural Counselor
from the U.S. Embassy, New Delhi publicly
threatened in May that the U.S. might
challenge a ban in Sri Lanka of genetically
engineered organisms by submitting a
complaint to the World Trade Organization
(WTO). The ban is scheduled to take effect on
September 1, sixty days later than planned as
Sri Lanka granted a WTO request to allow
exporters time to adjust to the law.
Wichai Chokwiwat, Secretary General to the
Thai Food and Drug Administration told the
Thai newspaper, The Nation, on July 19th that
his country was a target of threats to use
U.S. trade laws to retaliate against a Thai
proposal made in July to require labeling of
genetically engineered corn and soy
crops.
The letter to the Bush administration
argues that Sri Lanka and other nations have
a scientific, regulatory and moral basis to
set limits on the proliferation of
genetically engineered organisms.
For more
information follow these links:
letter signed by
200 consumer, farm and environmental groups
worldwide
en
español
list of signatories
of letter
en español
sri lanka law
banning genetically modified foods
www.foe.org/safefood
Contact:
Mark Helm, Friends of the Earth, 01
202-783-7400 x102, 01 202-270-2650 cell
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