February, 22 2013, 10:44am EDT
For Immediate Release
Contact:
Seth Gladstone, sgladstone(at)fwwatch(dot)org, 718.943.8063
Coalition Launches Campaign to Label Genetically Engineered Foods in New Jersey
Bipartisan Legislation Would Require Disclosure of Genetically Altered Ingredients Currently Found in Most Processed Foods
Trenton, NJ
A broad coalition of consumer, environmental, labor, student, health, farming, faith and business organizations announced the launch today of a statewide campaign to pass legislation requiring the labeling of genetically engineered (GE) foods in New Jersey. The coalition presented a letter from more than 30 state advocacy organizations calling on legislative leaders to move a GE labeling bill through the legislature. Related legislation, A3192/S1367, has already been co-sponsored by a bipartisan group of a dozen lawmakers in the Senate and Assembly.
Since their introduction to the market more than a decade ago there has been an explosion of GE foods on the shelves of grocery stores. Inadequate testing of these products by government agencies and a reliance on industry-produced health and safety data has resulted in a growing GE labeling movement among consumers across the nation.
"Over the years, consumers have fought for labeling of calorie counts, saturated fat content and ingredients lists so they can make smarter, healthier choices for their families," said Jim Walsh, Regional Director of Food & Water Watch. "But as food production technology evolves, so should our food labeling. Consumers have a right to know which products on market shelves contain genetically engineered ingredients."
Labeling GE foods is not a novel idea. The European Union specifically addresses the new properties and risks of biotech crops by requiring all food, animal feed and processed products with GE contents to bear labels. The EU is among nearly 50 developed countries that require the GE products they import from the United States to be labeled. Furthermore, a 2012 Mellman Group study showed that 91% of US voters favored GE labeling requirements.
"Without the labeling of genetically engineered foods we are all guinea pigs in a giant experiment launched by the biotech industry without our knowledge or consent," said Julia Lawlor, steering committee member of Slow Food Northern NJ.
"Just as we label food with nutritional facts and allergy warnings, we should label foods that are genetically engineered," said Amanda Nesheiwat, Chair of NJ Sustainable Collegiate Partners. "The environmental and health risks tied to genetically engineered foods are reason enough not to give corporations the power to dictate the decisions that consumers should make on their own."
"The public has a right to know what is in their food, just like labeling for whether there is high fructose corn syrup, organic materials or preservatives in our food," said Jeff Tittel, Director of NJ Sierra Club. "Many people have concerns about genetically modified foods and others do not - it should be up to them to make that choice. We need hearings on this bill before the Senate and Assembly Health Committees as soon as possible."
"We strongly urge the legislature to support the bill to label genetically engineered products. Consumers have the right to know the ingredients in the food they purchase," said Lucia Huebner, Vice President of the Northeast Organic Farmers Association of NJ. "We are very concerned about issues such as cross contamination of seeds, integrity of agricultural ecosystems, protection of native pollinators and the wellbeing of farmers."
"With absolutely no authority and no consent of the governed, a handful of human beings have claimed the right to reengineer life, patent their inventions and bully people to accept it without knowledge or consent," said Sister Miriam MacGillis, Director of Genesis Farms. "Members of the Senate and Assembly Health Committees have the responsibility to safeguard our fundamental right to know and choose what we eat.
Food & Water Watch mobilizes regular people to build political power to move bold and uncompromised solutions to the most pressing food, water, and climate problems of our time. We work to protect people's health, communities, and democracy from the growing destructive power of the most powerful economic interests.
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'Collapse of Political Ambition': EU Shelves Nature Restoration Law
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Mar 26, 2024
Environmental ministers in the European Union on Monday warned that the bloc's credibility on heading off the global biodiversity and climate emergencies is in peril following the European Council's decision to remove the historic Nature Restoration Law from its agenda after the proposal lost key support.
"We inspired others, yet now we risk arriving empty handed at COP16 [the 2024 UN Biodiversity Conference]," Virginijus Sinkevičius, E.U. commissioner for environment, oceans, and fisheries, said in a statement. "Backtracking now is... very difficult for me to accept."
The law, first introduced in 2022 and approved by European Parliament last month, faced one final hurdle to passage with the planned Council vote, but recent protests by farmers over the new nature restoration requirements helped push some previous supporters to reverse their positions on Monday.
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The World Wide Fund For Nature (WWF) accused far-right Hungarian President Viktor Orbán, who has dismissed European climate policies, of being behind the "unexpected and clearly politically motivated change in Hungary's position."
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Eamon Ryan, Irish minister for the environment, accused other policymakers in the bloc of "buckling" before the farmer protests, which continued Tuesday, ahead of June elections.
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Shortly after the resolution's approval, several administration officials—including State Department spokesman Matthew Miller, White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby, and U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Linda Thomas-Greenfield—falsely characterized the measure as "nonbinding."
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Watch Matt Lee ask StateSpox about the passing of the UN ceasefire resolution. Basically the US position is it makes no difference and Miller calls 🇷🇺/🇨🇳 veto cynical.
Lee: Do you expect Israel is going to announce a ceasefire?
Miller: I do not
Lee: What’s the point of the UN? pic.twitter.com/FibaSKWjuh
— Assal Rad (@AssalRad) March 25, 2024
Josh Ruebner, an adjunct lecturer at Georgetown University and former policy director of the U.S. Campaign for Palestinian Rights, wrote in response that "there is no such thing as a 'nonbinding' Security Council resolution."
"Israel's failure to abide by this resolution must open the door to the immediate imposition of Chapter VII sanctions," Ruebner wrote.
Beatrice Fihn, the director of Lex International and former executive director of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, condemned what she called the Biden administration's "appalling behavior" in the wake of the resolution's passage. Fihn said the administration's downplaying of the resolution shows how the U.S. works to "openly undermine and sabotage the U.N. Security Council, the 'rules-based order,' and international law."
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Israel Katz, Israel's foreign minister,
wrote on social media Monday that "Israel will not cease fire."
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As the Baltimore Sunreports:
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The terrifying footage of the bridge's collapse—which CNN correspondent Omar Jimenez commented was "almost unbelievable" to watch—is circulating widely on news channels and social media:
This video is almost unbelievable. The Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore literally collapsed this morning after it was struck by this large ship. pic.twitter.com/rYuy4U2r7H
— Omar Jimenez (@OmarJimenez) March 26, 2024
U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said Tuesday that he had spoken with Mayor Scott and well as Maryland Governor Wes Moore and was helping to coordinate federal assistance.
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