-Caveat Lector- Dave Hartley http://www.Asheville-Computer.com/dave -----Original Message----- From: Craig Winters <[EMAIL PROTECTED] To: News Update <[EMAIL PROTECTED] Date: Tuesday, January 04, 2000 10:10 PM Subject: More national media on Whole Foods & Wild Oats actions Broadcast News From The Campaign to Label Genetically Engineered Foods ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Dear Health Freedom Fighters, Last Thursday The Campaign to Label Genetically Engineered Foods posted an article from Bloomberg news service titled "Whole Foods, Wild Oats to Ban Gene-Altered Foods." Note: This article is archived at: http://www.thecampaign.org/newsupdates/decemberz.htm#Whole As often happens in the press, several other media sources have picked up on this important story gathering more national headlines. On Tuesday, CBS Evening News with Dan Rather featured an excellent segment about "Gene-Altered Food" that reported on Whole Foods Market and Wild Oats Markets decision to remove genetically engineered ingredients from their private label brands. Posted below is a summary article from the CBS news web site titled "The Fear Over Frankenfood." If you have a video player on your computer, you can view the actual segment that ran on the CBS Evening News at: http://www.cbs.com/now/story/0,1597,146123-311,00.shtml (Click on the "Video" button on the right of the page. We are not sure how long this link will remain active.) Also on Tuesday, the popular national newspaper USA Today had a front page article titled "Retailers dropping bio-foods." The article is posted below or you can read it from the USA Today web site at: http://www.usatoday.com/usatonline/20000104/1812168s.htm National Public Radio also picked up on the story. On the program All Things Considered, Margaret Wittenberg, Vice President of Governmental and Public Affairs for Whole Foods Markets, was interviewed. You can listen to that segment if you have an audio player on your computer by going to the following web page: http://search.npr.org/cf/cmn/cmnpd01fm.cfm?PrgDate=1%2F4%2F2000&PrgID=2 (Note: Click on the link that says "Biotech Foods." If the link above gets broken in two, you will need to paste it into the one long address to be able to pull up the web page.) This national publicity is great news because the majority of Americans still do not know their foods are genetically engineered. The CBS Evening News segment, the USA Today front page story, and the NPR All Things Considered interview provided excellent exposure to millions of people about the growing controversy over these experimental foods. Please remember to visit The Campaign to Label Genetically Engineered Foods' web site for form letters to send to Congress, our extensive News Archives, our Educational Information section, and much more. Plus, we will adding some great new sections in the near future. Stay tuned at: http://www.thecampaign.org Craig Winters Executive Director The Campaign to Label Genetically Engineered Foods The Campaign PO Box 55699 Seattle, WA 98155 Tel: 425-771-4049 Fax: 603-825-5841 E-mail: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Web Site: http://www.thecampaign.org Mission Statement: "To create a national grassroots consumer campaign for the purpose of lobbying Congress and the President to pass legislation that will require the labeling of genetically engineered foods in the United States." ************************************************************** CBS News The Fear Over 'Frankenfood' NEW YORK Tuesday, January 04,2000 - 08:13 PM ET (CBS) At the dawn of this new century it's estimated that up to 70-percent of all food on grocery store shelves is genetically modified: it's DNA has been altered to improve flavor and durability. The technology is booming, but CBS News Correspondent Elizabeth Kaledin reports, some retailers are saying enough is enough. "If you need to get a point across sometimes you need to raise your voice," says Jim Lee, CEO Wild Oats Markets. The nation's two largest natural food chains want the FDA to clearly label any food that has been genetically modified. The goal is so such foods can be kept out of all health food store products, keeping them natural and untouched by chemicals or technology. "People have the right to know and we need to understand the long term impact of these type of products," says Lee. It's a small scale protest sparked by the moral outrage of health conscious consumers, but it's the first of it's kind among American retailers who are just beginning to respond to growing fears about genetically modified foods. In Europe crops have been torn up and thousands of stores have banned the so-called "Frankenfoods". But Gene Grabowski of the Grocery Manufacturers of America, a group that supports the technology, says such a scenario is unlikely in America. "There's a word for stores that don't carry food with bio tech ingredients and that word is empty. They would not have consumers in them and they would not have a lot of products in them." The GMA seems to have little concern about consumer backlash. Still this most recent outcry is not the only sign of dissent. The maker of Gerber baby foods recently stopped using genetically modified crops in its products. The consensus is that until these foods are officially labeled safe, the American public will continue to label them suspicious. ***************************************************************** USA TODAY Page 1A Retailers dropping bio-foods By James Cox The USA's two largest natural foods retailers are stripping their shelves of many genetically engineered foods, prompting manufacturers and supermarkets to keep an eye out for a biotech backlash among consumers. Whole Foods Market and Wild Oats Markets have vowed to rid most of their private-label foods of bio-engineered corn, soy, canola oil and other ingredients this year. ''There's an absolute anger among customers that foods are being genetically modified and they don't know what ingredients are in their foods,'' says Margaret Wittenberg, vice president at Whole Foods. The Austin, Texas, retailer has 103 stores in 22 states. A genetically modified (GM) crop is one implanted with a gene from another organism. Proponents say biotechnology makes crops more resistant to weeds and pests, easier to process and more nutritious. Opponents say GM products may not be safe to plant or eat. GM ingredients show up in everything from pasta to soft drinks to cooking oil to veggie burgers. Natural foods retailers and supermarkets say they don't know what percentage of their goods contain GM material. That's because grain suppliers and food manufacturers are not required to label foods as genetically modified. Neither Whole Foods nor Wild Oats can say when their private-label foods will be 100% GM free. ''This is a journey and it's slower than anybody would like,'' says Jim Lee of Wild Oats. The Boulder, Colo., retailer has 110 stores in 22 states. Eden Foods of Clinton, Mich., the nation's largest natural foods manufacturer, certifies that its products are free of genetic modifications. Opposition to genetically modified foods has sparked a consumer revolt in Europe, where thousands of markets have cut back on the products. No anti-GM groundswell has hit the USA. Whole Foods and Wild Oats ''are very unusual, if not unique. We haven't seen any other stores doing the same,'' says Gene Grabowski, spokesman for the Grocery Manufacturers of America. Ridding stores of the foods is impractical, he adds. ''There's a word for stores without biotech foods: empty.'' Many supermarket chains, however, want the Food and Drug Administration to set guidelines and require labels. An estimated 55% of the nation's soybean harvest and 33% of the corn crop in 1999 were GM grains. Those numbers should drop because of European resistance. ------------------------------------------------------------------ Please visit The Campaign's web site at http://www.thecampaign.org To unsubscribe send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] with UNSUBSCRIBE NEWSUPDATE in the BODY of the message. DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion and informational exchange list. Proselyzting propagandic screeds are not allowed. Substance�not soapboxing! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory', with its many half-truths, misdirections and outright frauds is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. 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