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Reports of StarLink contamination have been in the news, almost daily, in the past few months. It was first discovered in Taco Bell taco shells and has since been found in over 300 now recalled products. So you may be wondering...
Q: What is StarLink and what's all this fuss about?
A: StarLink is a variety of corn that is genetically engineered
(GE) to produce a protein toxic to a common pest, the corn borer.
It was developed by Aventis, a transnational genetic engineering
company based in France, and was sold to farmers in the U.S.
StarLink is not authorized for human consumption but illegally
entered the food chain and contaminated nearly 300 supermarket
and restaurant foods. It was found to have contaminated large
quantities of corn for the U.S. and international markets, including
Canada, Korea and Japan, in September-October 2000. StarLink
has not been approved for any type of use in any country besides
the US.
Q: Why was it not approved for human consumption by the Environmental Protection Agency?
A: StarLink corn contains a protein called Cry9C that scientists
say could cause allergies to some people. For this reason, it is only
licensed for use as animal food. The Environmental Protection Agency
(EPAâs) review of StarLink found that many of the allergenicity
data submitted on StarLink were "either inconclusive or indicate
that Cry9C exhibits some characteristics of known allergens."
The Cry9C protein has characteristics that many other allergy-
causing proteins have: it is heat-stable and resists digestion. Since
scientists know little about allergens, making this kind of
comparison is the best way they have to predict what proteins
might or might not cause allergies. There is no known history of
human dietary exposure to the Cry9C protein. Moreover, the
concentration of this protein in StarLink seeds is up to 100 times
that of the Cry proteins found in other engineered corn varieties.
There is no known safe level of allergens in food.
Q: To what extent did StarLink contaminate the food chain?
A: Nearly 300 kinds of taco shells, tortillas, chips and tostadas
were recalled from U.S. grocery stores and restaurants, including
Kraft taco shells (sold under the Taco Bell brand name), Safeway
store brand products, and foods from Wendyâs and Applebeeâs
restaurants. In the U.S., no one knows for sure how much
StarLink is in the food supply, though in Iowa alone, experts say
that up to half of the stateâs 2 billion bushels of corn may be
contaminated.
Q: Did the industry take enough precautions?
A: No, it clearly did not. Aventis, which developed the corn, was
required by the EPA to insure the corn didn't get into the food
supply. The company clearly failed to live up the regulations it
agreed to, yet EPA has taken no action against the company.
Mounting evidence shows that Aventis failed to tell many farmers
about the restrictions on the sale of StarLink, as well as planting
restrictions to prevent cross-pollination. As a result, crops
cultivated in fields close to the fields growing StarLink corn run a
risk of being contaminated by genetic pollution.
Q:Did the EPA discover the StarLink contamination?
A: No, environmental watch dogs found the contamination and
alerted the public. The Genetically Engineered Food Alert
commissioned laboratory tests that showed StarLink in
some U.S. corn products. The tests were later confirmed by the
food companies and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). By the
time FDA ordered recalls, some voluntary food product recalls
were already underway.
Q: How can I know if my food contains StarLink corn?
A: Laboratory testing for genetically engineered ingredients in
processed foods is complex and expensive. The best way to avoid
foods that may contain StarLink is to buy organic whenever
possible. Look for organic and non-GE brands with the True Food
Shopping List.
Q: Are consumers in the US protected enough from genetically engineered food contamination?
A: Aventis says that the U.S. "enjoys the safest food supply of
any country in the world because of the detailed scrutiny FDA,
EPA and USDA apply to the products they regulate in all sectors
of agriculture and the food chain." Yet the companyâs disregard
for regulations, and the governmentâs failure to monitor or enforce
its regulations shows that this technology is rushing ahead without
consumer or environmental protections.
Q: What should be done?
A: The EPA must not now rush to approve StarLink. Aventis should be held responsible for its failure to
follow the law, and consumers should be protected from eating
this potential allergen in our food. At minimum, if StarLink is
retroactively approved, corn products that may contain the crop
must be labeled, so consumers know if they are being exposed to
a potential food allergen. True Food Network also calls on EPA and other
agencies to hold genetic engineering companies accountable for
losses suffered by farmers and food producers.
Q: Who is to blame for what happened?
A: First of all Aventis, who caused the contamination and is now cynically reacting by demanding the retro-active right to allow StarLink in our food. It even admitted it planted StarLink also outside the US but would not disclose where.
The US government and especially the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) are to blame too as they did nothing to prevent the sale of contaminated foods, and did not inform the public and importing countries properly. It also still claims that GMOs could be grown without reaching the food chain sooner or later while evidence proving the contrary exists, as the StarLink contamination shows.
Q: What should be learnt from the StarLink case?
A:
1) GE companies and farmers in a country such as the US are unable to even live up to their own requirements and standards regarding the use of GMOs.
2) GMOs are extremely hard to effectively segregate on a field by field basis. Only regional bans and segregation measures appear realistic at this stage.
3) The US approval system even allows for the release of GMOs which are suspected to have detrimental health effects.
4) We should not trust any US corn and soybeans - they have to be considered contaminated unless proven clean.
5) Aventis must be held responsible for the damage it caused. However there are no international laws to do so at this point.
6) The so-called Biosafety protocol (biodiversity-based international rules to control the transboundary movements, transit, handling and use of genetically modified organisms) is urgently needed.
7) As long as there are GMO releases, a world-wide register of such releases must be established and accessible to the public, in order to avoid the current situation where companies can do clandestine releases in countries they refuse to name.
On October 31st, Aventis -- which said its StarLink maize has been grown on an experimental basis in other countries besides the US -- declined to specify which countries had played host to the trials of the genetically modified corn.
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