No Genetic Engineering in US Organics Demanded

["greenbase" <greenbas@gb.greenpeace.org>]

GREENPEACE KEEPS PRESSURE ON USDA, DEMANDING  "NO GENETIC
ENGINEERING IN ORGANIC!" Transgenic "Fishberry" greets public at
USDA hearings

SEATTLE, February 26, 1998 - Greenpeace activists, along with
organic farmers, consumers,  and other environmentalists,  today
continued to pressure the US  Department of Agriculture (USDA)
to ban all uses of genetic  engineering in organic foods. 
Attending public hearings today on a  proposed USDA ruling on
the issue, the groups brought along "  shberry," a strawberry
crossed with genetic material from a flounder,  to dramatize the
types of food that could be considered "organic" under pending
USDA regulations.

Fishberry greeted members of the public as they arrived to
participate in the hearings, held in the Rainier Room at the
Seattle Center. Approximately 30 participants also wore
Fishberry t-shirts, with the  words "Organic?  Keep organic
foods safe from genetic engineering."

"Genetically engineered products are completely incompatible
with organic production," said Jennifer Hillman, Greenpeace
spokesperson. 

 "The USDA is desperately trying to protect genetic engineering 
corporations by slipping these manipulated products into
organic."

Genetically engineered soybeans, corn, and potatoes first
appeared in US supermarkets in 1997.  These foods, developed by
multinational chemical companies such as Monsanto and Novartis,
are not required to be labeled as being genetically engineered. 
The only alternative US consumers have is to buy organic.

The proposed organic rule was developed by the National Organic 
Standards Board (NOSB), an advisory body to the USDA established
under the Organic Foods Production Act of 1990; the NOSB is
composed  of organic farmers, businesspeople, consumer
advocates, and environmentalists.  In September 1996, the NOSB
passed a resolution rejecting any uses of genetic engineering in
organic production.  The proposed rule, posted by the USDA in
the Federal Register on December 16, 1997, eliminated this
rejection, leaving the door open for many genetically altered
products to be considered "organic" by the Federal government. 
The USDA is accepting public comment on the proposed rule until
April 30, 1998.

Due to the provisions on genetic engineering in the proposed
organic rule, Greenpeace is calling for a withdrawal and rewrite
of the rule to reflect the NOSB position.

Genetically engineered crops are opposed by many environmental,
 farm, and consumer groups as being risky to human health, the 
environment, and the farm economy.  Risks of transgenic foods
include unknown and unpredictable health effects; the risk of
increased dependence on toxic pesticides; and a loss of foreign
markets for American farmers.

"Consumers depend on organic foods to be the safe, sustainable 
alternative to industrial farming," says Hillman.  "If the USDA
lets organic be contaminated with genetic engineering, American
consumers will have no choice at all in what we feed our kids."

Greenpeace on the Internet at http://www.greenpeace.org