Greenpeace to FDA: Stop misleading the public on GMOs

MANILA, Philippines - Militant environmentalist group Greenpeace called on the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Friday to stop claiming that genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in the form of food are safe to eat and pose no risks to the environment.

"The FDA should stop feeding the public with propaganda. They are not truthful in saying that GMOs are safe for consumption. There is no scientific proof that GMOs pose no danger to human health and the environment. Even the scientific community is divided on whether GMOs are safe,” said Daniel Ocampo, sustainable agriculture and genetic engineering campaigner for Greenpeace Southeast Asia.

The group sent a letter this week to the state agency urging it "to be more forthright in providing public information on the propagation of GMOs by disclosing that 80 percent of the GMOs in the world are planted only in four countries, namely the (United States), Canada, Brazil and Argentina."

Amid a growing debate on its consumption, the FDA announced last week that eating GM foods is safe, citing the Codex Alimentarius or the United Nations' regulations on the safety of eating them.

Greenpeace said these are just protocols for risk assessments of GMOs and that there are no set standards in the consumption of food with GM ingredients.

"Filipinos have a right to know about what goes into the food they eat. We call on the FDA to maintain its role as a regulator and to protect the welfare and health of the people by being more discerning in assessing the safety of GMOs. We ask that the FDA retract its statement about GMOs being ‘safe’ and to stop making conclusive statements that may mislead the public into thinking that the safety of GMOs has already been established," Ocampo added.